Shamus Young said:
Loot Boxes Are Bad for Publishers, Too
Judging by comments and social media interactions, everyone agrees that loot boxes are bad for gamers, but according to Shamus, they're even bad for the publishers pushing them.
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Hmmm you seem to be cought up in 'think about the kids sudo-argument' which at this point is more of the straw man or deflection tactics by publishers (player choice, diversity and representation being cried while all they intent to do is get more money...) than actual voice coming from community. Gamers are either children that obviously think that they don't need any damn protection or adults that understand to what a child can be exposed consuming the media or in general being on-line much more in depth than any other adult that isn't a gamer. So that part of your opinion is rather stale.
However the thesis is correct. Publishers are busy harming their own business right now.
The roots of it are numerous though. Starting with outdated law and lack of representation of gamers (gamers, not gaming industry workers) in politics (law makers) and mass media.
That led to few major issues with catastrophic consequences:
(1) Legislation never cought up with marketing schemes developed for virtual goods and services.
(2) Gamers got vilified by xenophobes who never understood nor cared why suddenly large portion of population would rather sit in front of computer and later on TV and console rather than do 'normal things'. Gamers were losers, geeks and basement dwellers (cool kids/bro's/normies take), than they were satanists, devil worshipers and mass murderers/shooters (religious figurehead and right-wing politicians take), than troglodytes sexists, racists, toxic haters and breeding ground for nazis (authoritarians and left-wing politicians take). All of it bollocks but it helped immensely politicians to care what happens to these customers and what sort of borderline criminal practices are used on them as much as they care about clients of drug dealers. All bad people. At least publishers pay taxes, right? (answer is 'wrong' but that's a whole different story).
(3) Initial industry run by enthusiast for enthusiast turned into wild west were no monetization practice, no marketing scheme is out of question. Where money flows in for 'nothing'. Where you can say that thin air costs $15 and there are actually customers to buy it. That attracted the worst sludge of financial and marketing CEOs. They took over. Kind of people that right now display their contempt to their own customers. Patronize them and take them for fools or outright lash back teeming with barely concealed hatred.
It took a politician from Hawaii, someone in power and absolutely out of reach and control of industry to make industry representant look like
Timmy-forgot-to-wear-pants-to-school in 4-5 questions.
In short, gamers need better representation among people in power. Entertainment virtual goods and services need droves of regulations, leveling up playing field between providers and customers.
To start with:
(1) Ban on all skinner box mechanics in games and services without finite price tag on entry (ie. if there is shop, possibility to introduce direct of indirect payment for in game goods or services, use of such mechanics is illicit), extreme examples: FIFA fails to meet requirement, XC2 meets requirement despite having a GIANT skinner box/slot machine built into the game.
(2) Ban and severe punishment of ANY behavioral data collection and processing of clients beyond data needed for secure access and collection of fee.
(3) Classifying any game failing to meet (1) as gambling scheme and having it being regulated by respective gambling laws.
These would let publishers finance games via expansions and dlc sales ('cosmetics' included) but restrict gambling and especially marketing schemes that aim to 'monte-carlo' price tag of good or service in order to hide from customers actual price they have to pay up in the end.
As to F2P model? If it has on-line component and skinner box component it should be adults only product. Simply don't construct honey pots to lure in children and coerce them to get money somehow to 'look cool'/'do better' etc. Just sell product/service slap on a price tag and if it is good enough, parent will buy it for the child. If not your business will go down in flames with poor quality product you created.
Edit.
Oh and your conclusion is spot on to. Although I would rephrase it to
loot boxes not being a 'problem' but just being the most glaring symptom of problems that industry swelled up with. Removing them with hastily prepared legislation will not improve situation long term.
I enjoyed your write up! Probably hard to tell with amount of hectic things I had to add so I wanted to put it separately in final line.