One cannot deny the giant that is EA Games. As a publishing company, Electronic Arts has always known their way around what makes games sell. They are the brains behind the popularity of titles such as Dragon Age, The Sims, and Command & Conquer: Red Alert. Unfortunately, just because “it sells” does not mean “it is what the consumers want.” This is evident in Star Wars Battlefront 2’s abysmal first week. Join me, fellow gamers, in this discussion of the EA Loot Crisis: Why the Loot Box is Bad for Gaming.
2017: The Loot Box Epidemic
First of all, in-game purchases are not inherently evil. In fact, it is perfectly acceptable in free games. Free-to-play titles such as Warframe however, are dependent on microtransactions in order for the developers to make a living. These purchases can be as cheap as $1.00 (roughly 50 Php), which is a far cry from the $60.00-$120.00 (3000-6000 Php) of a full-priced AAA title. F2P games offer their players the opportunity to pay whatever they want for the game. Because microtransactions are only small — and often temporary — bonus game content, the same player can spend again, and again, and again with no ceiling in sight. Case in point? Games giant Ubisoft has earned $197 billion in games sales in the first half of 2017-2018, and a whopping $204.8 billion dollars in microtransactions (Ubisoft’s Earnings and Sales Page.)
Microtransactions themselves are not always a bad thing, though game companies abuse the concept by including them in full-priced games. The true problem begins when these microtransactions are for containers with no guarantee that what you want to buy in the first place will be rewarded to you. That is where in-game purchases take the form of pseudo-gambling tickets more commonly known as the loot box.
The EA Loot Box Crisis
Microtransactions and DLC, in general, have long been a subject of controversy. Many publishers have made the terrible mistake of releasing full games, only to reveal that assets essential to the core game are locked away behind “optional” downloadable content. Every time this has happened, the community backlash has been glorious. So when EA decided to introduce loot boxes into a title with a name as big as Star Wars, there was no reason to expect anything less from its fans. Naturally, EA as a publishing company cares for its image, and on November 14, released a defense.
Within 24 hours, that official response on the Star Wars: Battlefront subreddit became the most disliked comment in the site’s history at 675k downvotes. On the evening of November 16, EA pulled the plug on the loot box system. It is unclear as to whether or not the reaction on Reddit directly led to this decision. However, it later became known that James Pitaro of Disney consumer products contacted EA about concerns that the backlash could potentially affect the December release of Star Wars: The Last Jedi. As of this article’s writing, Star Wars: Battlefront 2‘s sales are down 60% to its predecessor. Needless to say, it seems Pitaro’s concerns have merit.
Loot Box=Online Gambling?
The 2017 loot box craze has landed not only EA but several other publishers as well in hot waters. This is due to more than just the public image mishap from the Battlefront fiasco. Video game developers and publishers are adamant that loot boxes and gambling are two different entities. Publishers also defend this by saying that since every box contains something regardless of worth, loot box systems are not gambling systems.
From a technical standpoint, that makes sense. But while publishers insist that loot box systems are not gambling, those who open loot boxes consider their odds before a purchase is made. There is always a currency spent in order to get uncertain rewards. The mental processes behind legally-defined gambling and random-reward systems are the same. Countries such as China and Korea already regulate loot box practices as if they are gambling systems. The question then becomes: are they not?
The Dangers of the Loot Box
Publishers are first and foremost moneymakers. They cannot be blamed for thinking of their success. However, as consumers of digital media, people demand some semblance of value per centavo spent. The loot box is not hated because it is potentially a form of gambling. The loot box is hated because it charges consumers more for the same amount of value.