The unethical scourge to Gamers that is "Lootbox" business platforms.

[Sandstone]

Pretty much all big name gaming industry developers and publishers are putting in these new Loot Boxes, generally called various things between different games, which amount to gambling for micro transaction content that would have a year ago been offered as a direct DLC purchase to players. This practice is shitty for multiple reasons, but it is super shitty in that it follows business practices of mobile game developers in praying on people with gambling addictions or perfectionists who cant have a game without wanting all the possible content. These things quickly add up to create a game that may cost 100s of dollars. What is more upsetting is that these lootbox dlcs are now being included in games which you already had to purchase instead of just in free to play games.

 

The most notorious upcoming instances of this is WB's sequel to Shadow of Mordor set to be released soon offering loot box gambling in a 60 to 100 dollar single player game (depending on which version you buy). The other is the newly released EA sequel to Destiny, Destiny 2, which offers shit like loot box gambling for individual recolors of individual items which were previously offered as direct micro transactions for entire sets of items directly to the player. What's worse is that companies like EA are now also including Loot Box reward points with real life junk food business partners such as Totinos Pizza Rolls to offer a type of "coke rewards" style points that can be redeemed in game for buying their shitty junk food.

 

This shit is just extreme amounts of unethical corporate greed and laziness on the part of the developers and publishers. And while I am a supporter of capitalism, unfettered unregulated capitalism such as this ultimately results in unethical business practices which take advantage of a long time player and fan base who have been more than supportive of these companies in consistently buying their games. This shit should be regulated or at the very least mass boycotted in order to dissuade these types of things from being weaseled in. Gone are the days of buying a finished game for a set price or even a few worthwhile expansions that expand legit gameplay and here are the days in which you must buy your games piece-mill and now you must gamble to maybe get a chance at the piece you really want.