Star Wars Battlefront II removed paid loot boxes. The game has had disappointing sales.
Gaming regulators in the United Kingdom, Belgium, New Zealand, and Australia have discussed whether loot boxes are gambling over the past year. Some parents’ groups and writers in the gaming industry believe loot crates are a form of gambling, but one which allows underage players to engage in the betting.
US gaming associations have discussed loot crates — in-game enhancements for video games, online games, and MMORPGs – but American regulators have hardly weighed in on the debate. That is about to change. Three Washington State Senators have submitted a bill that will question the state on whether or not loot boxes constitutes gambling.
Now that the debate concerns Star Wars Battlefront II, loot boxes have gotten more mainstream media attention in the United States. The Star Wars video game made a larger impression than the Disney Company or Entertainment Arts (EA) would have predicted, but not necessarily it a good way.
Though its graphics and details are said to be top notch, the game is getting a lot of heat for the inclusion of loot boxes, which has seemed to spark up the loot boxes conversation in the US.
What Is a Loot Box?
Those unfamiliar with gaming may never have heard of the term loot boxes or loot crates. In many video games, loot boxes are offered as a way to enhance the player in some way. Players do not have to buy them, but they enhance gameplay, offering weapons, pieces of wardrobe, or enhanced abilities.
Depending on the type of game you are playing, different forms of loot boxes are offered. Confusing the conversation is the fact that loot boxes have many different names. For shooter games you might see “loot box”, “loot crate” or “lockbox”. These types of loot boxes typically consist of new outfits or gear. Counter-Strike: Global Offensive calls them “skins”.
With digital card games, the term “booster pack” is used, deriving from collectible card games (CCGs).
Loot boxes, a lot of the time, are given to a player as a reward for free during play. In games like Call of Duty, players might receive them for their character leveling up or completing a multiplayer game without quitting. Games often give out loot boxes for watching a promotional clip in-between gameplay, usually for new games coming out or certain streaming events.
Paid In-Game Enhancements
Those free giveaways are not the reason for all of the debate. Paid loot boxes are what causes the controversy.
For a price usually ranging from $1.99 to $100, players can buy loot boxes. The unpredictable nature of a lockbox or booster pack is what makes it such a controversial topic. Like a pack of baseball cards, you never know when you’ll get flashy items, or less valuable loot.
There is no age limit to who can purchase these boxes. Thus, loot boxes are a game of chance with each purchase. Some call it gambling.
Senate Bill 6266
On January 11 the Senate Bill 6266 in the Washington Legislature was introduced to the Labor & Commerce Committee. A public hearing is scheduled for January 31 at 1:30 PM in the Senate Committee on Labor & Commerce.
The bill asks for the Washington Gambling Commission to conduct a study which will take a detailed look into whether or not loot boxes which contain “mechanisms that provided randomized virtual items in online games or apps” should be considered gambling under Washington law. The senators’ bill even wants to question whether these said mechanisms should be in video games at all.
One of the concerns behind loot boxes are the threat it may cause problems for the younger demographic, “who may be more vulnerable to gambling addiction”. The Senators believe this issue falls back on the game developers and are calling them out for “lack of disclosure and transparency” when it comes to the odds behind loot boxes.
Who Introduced SB6266?
The Democratic senators who are behind the bill, Kevin Ranker, Reuven Carlyle, and Karen Keiser, are requesting a fairly question completion of this study. The three senators hope that the Washington State Commission will have it ready for submission no later than December 1, 2018.
The commission is being asked to submit “written findings and provide recommendations regarding how to best regulate the practice of including loot boxes and similar types of mechanisms in online games and apps, including options for the adoption and implementation of a regulatory and enforcement system, restrictions on the sale of games containing these mechanisms, and any appropriate disclosures.”
The gaming commission got involved in a related issue in 2016, as it required Valve (owner of Steam) to send 22 cease-and-desist letters to skin-gambling sites which catered to Counter-Strike: Global Offensive players.
What Changes Would This Bring?
If the Washington legislature passed such a measure, major implications would come along with the change. Regulations might not follow, so SB6266 might classify loot boxes gambling.
Under Washington state law, people under the age of 18 would not be permitted to buy the game, which is the legal gambling limit age. Since games are online now, it also mean that loot boxes might violate Washington’s online gambling laws.
This could create a domino effect if it gets passed. Often, US states use another state’s laws as a model, so other states might start to follow Washington’s lead.
Sen. Kevin Ranker has a hardline stance on loot boxes. While speaking to Washington’s News Tribune, a spokesman for Sen. Ranker said, “If (parents) realized how predatory these games are, then they wouldn’t want them under their Christmas tree, they wouldn’t want them going to their kids.”
Star Wars: Battlefront Loot Boxes
Loot boxes is not a new thing with videos games. The CSGO controversy swept the globe in 2016, but even it was not the first. The EA-published game Star Wars Battlefront 2 has made the controversial topic a debate item in the United States.
Because it was released weeks before the latest Star Wars movie, The Last Jedi, the game created constant global debate about the issue of merging gambling mechanisms and video games.
The game’s progression system relies almost entirely on loot boxes, which mean players are forced to use their own personal funds to receive equipment and “star cards” that would have varying levels of effectiveness for their character.
Due to the amount of backlash, the game’s publisher, Electronic Arts, was forced to remove the in-game purchases from Star Wars Battlefront 2 on the eve of the game’s full release. This does not mean they will never make their way back into the game, but the absence of such an in-game economic system could cost the game publishing industry hundreds of millions of dollars.
The Senators Behind the Loot Box Bill
Kevin Ranker is a Democratic member of the Washington State Senate. He was first elected in 2008. Ranker represents District 40. He previously served as Assistant Majority Whip. In 2004 Ranker served as chair of the Board of County Commissioners and from 2004-2008 He was a council member for San Juan County.
Karen Keiser is a Democratic member of the Washington State Senate. She was first appointed in 2001. Keiser represents District 33. Starting 2018, Keiser was selected as state Senate president pro tempore. In 1996 Keiser was appointed to the Washington House of Representatives. There she served until she was appointed to the Senate. Keiser’s was Precinct Committee Officer of the 33rd District from 1988 to 1995.
Reuven Carlyle is a Democratic member of the Washington State Senate. He was first appointed in 2006. Carlyle represents District 36. From 2008 to 2016 Carlyle served in the Washington House of Representatives, representing District 36. He, like Ranker, served as an Assistant Majority Whip.
