Valve updates Counter-Strike: Global Offensive for French players to deal with loot boxes

Quoting: GuestIf you don't want to gamble to get something good just go to the market and buy the item you're after.

You do realize that the overwhelming majority of these lootbox-driven games makes these desirable items available ONLY through gambling, yes?

Not very cool, Valve. Lootboxes and microtransactions are harmful and manipulative anti-features and this whole X-ray thing to me just seems like Valve will put in the least possible effort into addressing any of it.

I, for one, am hoping that more regulation on this front is put in place. I'd much rather games companies like Valve had to compete by making better games at better price points, rather than by coming up with the next psychological trick to pull in order to fleece customers.

Quoting: HoriDon't they make enough money already? Is it really worth tarnishing they reputation by looking like hungry rats, for a little more money?

I really hope the EU will adopt laws soon to categorise lootboxes and similar practices and gambling, and tax all transactions accordingly.

You didnt read the article right? it is just about talking shit about companies, "look how cool I am".
Free games needs monetization to keep running, you cant keep a game alive just by love, this was done just to adapt to ridiculous laws on France. In Japan nobody cant profit beyond 50.000 dollars participating in gaming tournaments because "its gambling" according to Japan law, maybe some people thinks that those "greedy bastards" who practice many hours a week to stay in competitive level deserve such a stupid law.

If people doesnt like lootboxes, dont buy or play games that use loot boxes, this is not a sensitive sector like health, communications or education, this is gaming and people doesnt need to play these "loot boxes videogames" to have a dignified life.

If gaming industry needs regulation is the labor part with many people working a lot of time with ridiculous timelines to finish the job, but no politician is doing anything for it, they just want tax shit to keep stealing public funds.

Quoting: KimyrielleI have NO idea why people in this time and age still believe in the "free markets will solve it all" paradigm, when it clearly doesn't and all it has ever done was creating a small group of people having obscene power and even more obscene wealth, while the large rest works double-income and double-jobs and STILL struggle to pay their bills.

Cant be more agree, if people still believe in non-regulated markets, it is because they are doing fine and they think if anyone isnt doing fine as them is because they dont make enough effort.


Last edited by orochi_kyo on 1 October 2019 at 4:55 pm UTC

Quoting: orochi_kyoIf people doesnt like lootboxes, dont buy or play games that use loot boxes, this is not a sensitive sector like health, communications or education, this is gaming and people doesnt need to play these "loot boxes videogames" to have a dignified life.

Following your reasoning here, we should remove gambling laws all together, don't we? I mean, nobody is forced to go to the casino and gamble.

My only doubt with collective items (such as the FUT cards) is when I compare them with the physical trading card market. My question here is: Should we enforce stricter rules on this items or we must set the same as the physical ones?


Last edited by x_wing on 1 October 2019 at 6:31 pm UTC

Quoting: x_wing

Quoting: orochi_kyoIf people doesnt like lootboxes, dont buy or play games that use loot boxes, this is not a sensitive sector like health, communications or education, this is gaming and people doesnt need to play these "loot boxes videogames" to have a dignified life.

Following your reasoning here, we should remove gambling laws all together, don't we? I mean, nobody is forced to go to the casino and gamble.

My only doubt with collective items (such as the FUT cards) is when I compare them with the physical trading card market. My question here is: Should we enforce stricter rules on this items or we must set the same as the physical ones?

My view is that we may as well regulate physical collectible cards and such. I don't see a benefit in such things being sold as black boxes either. The thrill aspect of opening them is practically the same as with in-game lootboxes, the harmful effects are merely mitigated by the fact you need to go more out of your way to purchase them (going to a store versus clicking a button in a game you are already playing). So, IMO, better either sell them in packages that label the contents or as individual items.

Quoting: orochi_kyoIf people doesnt like lootboxes, dont buy or play games that use loot boxes, this is not a sensitive sector like health, communications or education, this is gaming and people doesnt need to play these "loot boxes videogames" to have a dignified life.

The same can be said about tobacco, gambling and drugs. Yet these are restricted when not straight forbidden. And the reason is that like lootboxes they prey on weak minds.

And the fact that I personally don't smoke, don't gamble and don't consume meth doesn't mean that I can just not care. Because eventually all that stuff would hurt me too if left unchecked. Even if it is said that we live in individualistic societies, we live in societies nonetheless. When the lives of the people around you get ruined it will affect you in multiple ways.

Quoting: SamsaiMy view is that we may as well regulate physical collectible cards and such.

Regarding physical cards, I believe that there is some regulation (at least in my country) in the sense of having the same probability of getting any card (i.e. there shouldn't exist any _difficult_ to get card... but we all know that the difficult ones do exist :P)

Quoting: SamsaiI don't see a benefit in such things being sold as black boxes either. The thrill aspect of opening them is practically the same as with in-game lootboxes, the harmful effects are merely mitigated by the fact you need to go more out of your way to purchase them (going to a store versus clicking a button in a game you are already playing). So, IMO, better either sell them in packages that label the contents or as individual items.

But, can we say the same for kinder surprise eggs or LOL surprise dolls? How do we set the limit? Does every loot mechanic based product requires this regulations?

Don't get me wrong, I understand that there is a huge difference between products and I really agree with you that a key difference probably regards in the simplicity of the purchasing/reselling of lootboxes items. Either case, as the mechanics of lootboxes are used in so many other products, it really makes me wonder how far we must go with the regulations... and that's what I think is difficult to answer.

It could be so simple.

Put the skins in the Community market and sell them for money to the gamers.
Why is that so difficult?

And Valve could also just regulate the prices by the amount of skins that are available.
They could also easily do auctions with limited weapon skins.

So you can see what you pay your money for and everything is fine.

OK, having read some of the comments, I'd like to do a reality check to some of our community's members. For one loot boxes are gambling in practice if not but legal definition (yet). There are people with actual gambling problems who cannot play games because opening the in-game store is for them like an alcoholic walking into a licker store. Second there actual children who gamble via loot boxes. So as a person who supports LEGAL gambling, I say - place a big fat "there are gambling mechanics" in this game and make it +18. People with problems will avoid it, kids will be prohibited from playing it, parents will know what their kids are playing. Is it a perfect solution - no. But guess what - there aren't perfect solutions and some regulation beats both zero regulation or complete prohibition.


Last edited by mao_dze_dun on 1 October 2019 at 9:14 pm UTC