What does that even do? There are little children play call of duty
Many places won’t sell M rated games to minors without a guardian present. It also allows guardians to make better informed decisions about what they’re about to buy for their children. It may not be a silver bullet, but it might start to put some pressure on studios to think twice about putting gambling in games targeted towards children.
I can’t think of many minors who would be able to afford a game, so it’ll be the parents buying it anyway.
I could see it helping.
“I have to inform you that this game is rated M for Mature, and isn’t suitable for minors.”
“What? It’s just football, isn’t it?”
“It says this game has gambling that uses real world money.”
I don’t know how many sales it’d stop, but at least parents would know.
While I’m happy they’re doing something, they got it backwards. In my opinion games that have simulated gambling but don’t take any real world money should be mature (age 15 suggested) or even unregulated, and games that have real world money that control an element of chance should be 18+ (legally required).
Here’s some games/series that would be 18+ if released under this law: Pokemon Red and Blue, Ni No Kuni, Knights of the Old Republic, Witcher, Yakuza, Fallout New Vegas, Dragon Quest, Final Fantasy, Fable, Mass Effect, Jade Empire, many more.
Simulated gambling isn’t really a problem it’s the real world money tied to elements of chance that’s the problem.
The title says “paid lootboxes,” and I don’t think they mean in-game currency.
Maybe not then, read reply
Simulated gambling still cause the brain to become addicted to gambling, which then in turn leads to serious issues.
I think “cause” is a little bit of a strong word here unless there are studies I haven’t seen. The studies I’ve read are about correlation between simulated gambling and problem gambling. A child who spends a lot of time on simulated casino games is more likely to problematic gamble as an adult - but that’s not a causal link. The child could like the simulated gambling and real gambling because they were already predisposed to gambling in general.
The problem with loot boxes and micro-transactions tied to chance is they let kids actually problematic gamble. And this lootbox/real world money style of gambling is also correlated with problematic gambling in adulthood yet they’re being left at mature instead of 18+. It really doesn’t make sense treating simulated only gambling harsher.
Yeah they choose where they work at the end of the day.
I’m a software developer and I would never work for a gambling company, even for double money for the same work. It’s just not something I would be cool with.
You are fortunate that you have the experience to make that decision. Lots of kids are sold on becoming game devs young, and the ones who succeed land a job at mega publisher studio who has all the financial capital to hire junior devs.
At the end of the day, it is the employer at fault. They are the ones saying “your family’s health insurance will be revoked if we don’t like you” and there are no industry-wide or general unions to tell em to fuck off. “It’s their choice” sure, but they have a family to feed and they know how to make games since they were in high school and that has always fed their kids—how’d they know this industry would turn into a capitalist fuckfest? I get the frustration, but it should be pointed towards organizing and put the pressure upwards, not down or sideways.
I mean, lootboxes as gambling for kids is more dubious, at least to me, than programming gambling games for adults, or working for a gambling company.
at least they have some level of legitimacy and some (feeble) attempts at damage prevention, compared to the alternative that they may take, which would be going straight into the arms of the black market and all the even worse shennanigans that comes with.
same view as legalised drugs, safe injection sites, etc etc.
Dumb. They’re giving restricted 18 to “simulated gambling” where money doesn’t even change hands but actual gacha gambling that hits all the reward centers with real money and exchanges is M? I think they’ve got their wires crossed.
Let them cook, we only got steam refunds thanks to them.