The phenomenon of loot boxes — these next-generation surprise boxes embedded in games — worries parents.
In French, a 'loot box' can be translated as 'loot box' or 'loot chest'.
These are chests containing random contents in video games.
The digital version of our good old surprise boxes, in a sense.
The problem is that, while some are free, others are paid. And it looks a lot like gambling, such as casinos or the French National Lottery, which are off-limits to minors in our country and can cost parents dearly!
What is a loot box?
In the world of video games, a loot box is a virtual object, usually presented as a chest, containing one or more virtual items, giving the player in-game improvements, ranging from simple character customization (skin) to acquiring new functionalities (jump higher, shoot faster...).
These 'Mystery Boxes' are purchased by the player without any guarantee of a result. Once these boxes are opened, the player can decide to have what they just won sent to them or to replay an amount equivalent to the price of their prize.
If this process is accepted in free-to-play games, it is less acceptable when games are sold for up to €70. And even more so when the player has the impression that the game has been set up so that these extra purchases are almost indispensable to progress. This was the case for Star Wars Battlefront. The game published by Electronic Arts whose history will be remembered as being full of microtransactions. Its multiplayer mode – the game's main draw – indeed offered players to unlock content only via loot boxes.
Same for FIFA. To advance in the game at a comfortable pace, it is impossible not to go through these random purchases.
In recent weeks, Loot Boxes have been at the heart of an open war between YouTubers. The most-followed in the world, PewDiePie, accuses others of encouraging children in their audience to gamble by enticing them to buy these surprise packs, profiting in the process. We are no longer talking about video games but about a site whose game is to buy Loot Boxes containing real-world items, won in real life.
The Modern Lottery.
You bet 2 euros, you either win nothing or the latest fashionable sneakers. In Europe, Loot Boxes are banned in some countries, like our Belgian neighbors who made this decision in spring 2018.
Yet for PEGI, the European body responsible for assessing the age categories for video games, it is not a matter of considering loot boxes as gambling. The body had already spoken on the subject at the end of last year :
You always receive something when you buy these packs, even if it's not what you expected. For this reason, the loot box cash shop system does not correspond to a traditional gambling or money game.
In France, loot boxes are considered a 'worrying trend', but not yet gambling.
For months, UFC-Que Choisir has called for them to be treated as such. The association warns especially about the dangers to children, 'susceptible to succumbing to these purchases under social pressure'. It also worries about the 'generalization of paid transactions' in games.
The online gambling regulator ARJEL, responsible for regulating online gambling, has stated that since there is no financial gain to obtain, nothing justifies a ban for minors. However, it has publicly expressed its concern and has taken the initiative to bring together, in a joint statement, eighteen gambling regulators who call for a dialogue with the video game industry to find solutions to effectively protect young people.
It's up to us, parents, to talk about it at home and monitor our credit cards.