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Change my view: loot boxes aren't as bad as people claim they are. (lemmy.dbzer0.com)

submitted 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago) by [email protected] to c/games

25 comments fedilink hide all child comments

Inb4 "sense of accomplishment" I'm not taking about obviously predatory practices here, more of the basic stuff.

So from what I understand, people are against loot boxes, because they are like gambling for children. I argue that gambling isint inheritly bad, and therefore loot boxes aren't either. The vast majority of people are able to go to a Casio and have a fun night. The vast majority of children can go to chuck E cheese and not become degenerates. Yes some people go overboard with it, but that's the same with alhocol, weed, food, etc.

I think a teenager pulling a double shift and spending some money on a virtual slot machine to win a virtual knife skin or some shit is perfectly fine. Yes, some will go overboard, but I think most people are okay.

Change my view

Edit: down voting because you disagree with me is going to lead to the same echo chamber we had on reddit. I'm actually trying to have a discussion on this

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[–] [email protected] 5 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago) (1 children)

You keep relying on the Chuck E. Cheese anology, but it simply doesn't work. At Chuck E. Cheese the prizes are a bunch of toys that your parents could otherwise buy, and the fun is in playing the games themselves which pay out tickets toward earning those prizes. That is in no way the equivalent of gamble boxes in video games.

Gamble boxes contain prizes that can't be bought outside the game, and in nearly every case contain prizes that can't be bought with the "consolation prize" (i.e. "tickets") that are dropped when you otherwise win nothing or very little compared to the actual prizes. And there is no inherent "fun" in clicking an "UNLOCK BOX" button compared to actually... playing a game in order to earn prizes. Not comparable at all, really.

If you're going to try to convince people they're not gambling (and you have quite the uphill battle to fight), you're better off likening them to blind bag grab-packs of card games / collector cards / toys, etc. - Pokemon, Magic the Gathering, sports cards, blind-bag toys etc. That is their closest real-world equivalent. Many would argue that those are also a form of gambling, as well.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 1 year ago (1 children)

I like a lot of your points, but I have to correct you in one area, I'm not trying to convince people this isint gambling. I don't think that casual gambling is a bad thing.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 1 year ago (1 children)

Well fair enough, that is a different conversation. I'm not ready to take a hard stance on how it impacts children, people with addictive personalities, etc. but all I know for certain is that it doesn't feel right to include it in virtually every online video game, and it sure as hell got very annoying and tiresome very quickly years ago when it started.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 1 year ago

Oh to be sure, there are way to many examples of jerks taking the loot box concept too far. But I'm not sure I'm ready to demonize it like some people do