Facts: Loot boxes
So-called loot boxes (loot boxes in English) is a collective name for a type of randomly generated content that players buy or are rewarded with. The purchase can be made with real money, the game’s own currency or sometimes given as a reward for achievements in the game.
The content can be, for example, football players as in “Fifa”, or so-called skins that change the appearance of the game character in, for example, “Overwatch”.
Since players do not know what is in the boxes, there are similarities with the lottery. In some cases, players have even sold coveted items that are in the boxes for real money.
The question of how to look at the boxes, and whether they should even be allowed, has been discussed in several countries and in Belgium they have been banned. Various measures have been developed both within and outside the industry, some developers now report more clearly how great the chance is that players get the different types of content.
Sweden’s Consumers and 19 other European consumer organizations want the gaming industry to sharpen. The Swedish organization addresses “five sharp recommendations” to both the industry and authorities and politicians.
The background is a new report from the Norwegian Consumer Council where so-called loot boxes have been looked at more closely. Loot boxes have become a collective term for randomly generated content in games, such as packages with new players in “Fifa 22”. The purchase of the “boxes” can be made with the game’s own currency, given as a reward for game performance – or bought for real money. It is the latter part that Sweden’s consumers and sister organizations are particularly annoyed with.
Five suggestions
The “five recommendations” are in turn legal requirements that purchases in games are always stated in real currency, that games must not manipulate consumers to spend more than they intended, that games aimed at children must not contain loot boxes, that authorities must have transparency in how gaming loot boxes work as well as an overall review of the gaming market to “identify exploitative business practices”.
Per Strömbäck, spokesperson for the Computer Games industry, says that the criticism is not new and that the industry has already adapted:
– We have taken several measures since the criticism first came, we think they are good and have an effect.
Among the measures, Strömbäck mentions that the chance to get a certain object in play must be clear, that a clear marking indicates that there are random purchases in the game and an 18-year recommendation on games that contain descriptions of games about money.
One third of income
Sinan Akdag, expert on digital consumer issues at Swedish Consumers, tells TT that the problems in the industry are great and that it is difficult for the players themselves to refrain from spending money on the games.
– I do not think that the gaming industry is able to regulate itself. There are so many of the companies that are dependent on the profit this generates, he says.
In the report, the Consumer Council has focused mainly on “Fifa 22” and “Raid: Shadow legends”. The former is the world’s most popular sports game and the latter is one of the most successful mobile games in recent years. When it comes to “Fifa 22”, the Consumer Council has taken a closer look at the Ultimate team game mode, from which the developers Electronic Arts 2021 presented a profit of $ 1.62 billion. The gaming mode reportedly accounts for about a third of the entire company’s profits.
“Sensitive to their audience”
The Consumer Council has further calculated, in a hypothetical example, how much money would need to be spent for a player to be “sure” of getting a special version of the game’s cover star Kylian Mbappe – approximately SEK 142,000. The organization emphasizes that the example is hypothetical but at the same time emphasizes that “the probability of getting this player in a package is in fact even smaller”.
Sinan Akdag at Sweden’s Consumers:
– We have also sent a letter to the Minister of Consumer Affairs Max Elger (S) due to this, but we prefer that any legislation is comprehensive at EU level.
Per Strömbäck, in the Computer Games industry:
– Every wise company is sensitive to its audience. If the players do not appreciate something, the company will not continue with it, he says and adds that games where you can win real money may not be members of the Computer Games industry but are subject to the Gaming Act, formerly the Lottery Act.
TT: Okay that you can not win money but a person can lose, spend, a lot of money in a game?
– You should spend as much money as you think is right. It is possible to set limits on credit cards and if you have bought something you regret, you can always contact customer service.