Not sure if this has been posted already but here's Ted Cruz's take on the matter, he seems well-informed and did his research on the subject and provides an explaination on how this is predatory especially when marketed towards kids.
Props to Asmongold on this one as well, although I'm not a fan of him he's done his thing bringing this up to the senator.

Will we see predatory systems like this being banned like in the Netherlands or would it at least be regulated to some degree?

This post was edited by Lionhearted on Jun 20 2022 02:05am

Activision has got around the tern "loot box". By adding "gameplay" to the lootbox. For example

In most gacha games, whenever you summon (most gachas have a 10 at once summon to speed things up) an animation will play and your random items will then be shown.

In Diablo immortal, there isn't an animation. Before you can see what's in your lootbox you are required to do a rift. This rift is essentially the same exact thing as a lootbox without the animation. This is why even if you die, you get your crests back.

Yes it should be heavily regulated.

This post was edited by SP00K on Jun 20 2022 02:41am

Gacha is the correct term for the RNG-based lucky draw system, however people are unfamiliar with the term in the west.
Since gambling is illegal in Japan, casinos and game developers have disguised the act itself as gachapon shops which are essentially "innocent-looking" casinos, you get a chance to gain credits by playing slot machine arcade games which you can exchange for real life items.
This model has since been adapted in video games and mobile games as well all around the globe.

There's a +18 age limit to entering a gachapon joint as well as removing your purchase limit for video games in Japan as well as in Korea since games require a social security number as well as a phone number to register, this also greatly reduced in-game scams as well,
but I don't think that'll happen in the west.

asmon and senators are similar in the fact they pretend to care about this stuff so the average joes will donate to them and they can partake in what they are speaking against

Hence why I call Diablo immortal: d3m casino edition. There is no difference between Diablo immortal and every other gacha system when it comes to lootboxes besides the means of delivery.

I'm also not sure how it can be properly regulated here since it's so random easily accessable. The only thing I can think of is some type of verification system that ensures the person purchasing the gacha is of legal gambling age. And if this is found to be bypassed in some way the company could be subjected to serious fines and penalties.

Can't tell for sure if Ted's response to this matter was genuine but he seemed to have quite an understanding of the situation and definitely did some case studies before the talk show unlike that other reporter who was absolutely cringy,
but for Asmon he always had a pretty firm stance against P2W gaming and RNG lootboxes, a lot of his videos are parodies on P2W features of different games such as Lost Ark showing how much of an advantage paying players have on top of F2Pers.



Like I said the only way to properly regulate this is to enforce a compulsory ID check upon registration like Korea and Japan, it's super effective against multis, scams, hacks and botters too.

This post was edited by Lionhearted on Jun 20 2022 04:06am

Very interesting.

Would love to see more regulation for the US in video games specifically for the gambling aspect that every game seems to have now.

I enjoy lootboxes personally but I'm not blind to the fact that it's not great for the industry or kids as a whole.

Yeah it's built and designed to be very enjoyable and rewarding, just like if you hit the jackpot on a slot machine, that is however the worst thing about it.

I am totally against anyone claiming that F2P games shouldn't be P2W, all games should be regulated to a subscription, one-time-purchase with DLCs model or whatever since devs and publishers are entitled to make money.
What needs to be regulated are the prices they are charging for the gachas, the odds, the pity and an age limit.

The cash shop model which Diablo Immortal exploits players is amongst some of the worst right now, alongside Genshin Impact.

Genshin at least shows probability of their lootboxes. Diablo found a loopole so they aren't required to.

Not to mention the endless paywalls that Activision has set up making it essentially impossible for low to medium spenders to achieve. F2p on this game isn't really an option.

It's like Activision only releasing the demo to free players but for some reason they are content only playing the demo and actually defend only playing the demo.

idc about 'loot boxes' i.e what CSGO has its purely cosmetic

the problem is when it directly influences your ability to own other people