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

Wut?!? Scanner sounded like a nice, valvish way to do this, but you have to buy the scanner - and then have to take the crate in any case?!?

I guess it's because at least you know what you are forced to buy, instead of being forced to blindly buy...

The situation is only going to grow stupid...

I really don't care about the loot boxes on cs go, it's only skins, nothing game changer. Now, a battle pass can be a problem if they limit access to maps and game modes

I really don't care about the loot boxes on cs go, it's only skins, nothing game changer. Now, a battle pass can be a problem if they limit access to maps and game modes

A Battle Pass would not be for maps and game modes, it would be to unlock skins and stuff like that. Have you not seen how they're done in other games? It's a pretty simple system and works well.

Hmm, isn't that the exact same things as a normal loot box, only that you're now forced to buy another item on top of that?

Game developers/publishers might not be the most honest people, but giving power to politicians to rule over the gaming market is the worst possible thing to do.

We're giving politicians their power, that's why I prefer to have more power in the hand of politicians than companies.

Farewell badges...
I used to farm crates that I was selling to afford to buy cards and craft the badges I don't have yet...

Probably a whole 3€ market economy since I started...

Game developers/publishers might not be the most honest people, but giving power to politicians to rule over the gaming market is the worst possible thing to do. Just give time for the market to go where users want. More regulation causes less competition, which slows or even prevents that process.

I 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.

Honestly, people need to start reading a few beginner's economics textbooks. Even the god of free-market believers, Adam Smith, stated back then that free markets only work if no market participant has any power to influence EITHER the supply or demand side of the market. Which is CLEARLY not the case in pretty much any real-life market, which is why our only hope to get halfway fair results is regulating them. Humans are by nature greedy, egoistic and selfish, which is why every sufficiently large (read: powerful) business is evil. That's the entire reason why our society needs laws to begin with. If we'd all be nice and altruistic, we wouldn't need a criminal code, no? I fail super hard to understand why people think we wouldn't need regulations for the economy, when we CLEARLY need them for anything else.

Valve is the sheer embodiment of a company having waaaaaay too much power and influence. And while I otherwise will credit them for supporting our platform, this lootbox thing is an absolute jerk move to circumvent the spiirt of an attempt to curb disgusting, nasty and evil business practices that are designed to screw over customers for fun and profit.

Seriously, do people like you cry foul that we came up with regulation for real-life gambling, too?

/rant

Game developers/publishers might not be the most honest people, but giving power to politicians to rule over the gaming market is the worst possible thing to do. Just give time for the market to go where users want. More regulation causes less competition, which slows or even prevents that process.

I sure love having led in my water supply.
The market care only for one thing is profit, "micro"transaction are profitable therefore any sensible company will implement it.
The only thing that competition bring is monopoly.
Business will always struggle until the eat the competition or merge.
The market is church, it's blasphemy to intervene into it divine matter.


Last edited by elisto on 1 Oct 2019 at 3:18 pm UTC

Well... this way of thinking is typically american. Europeans have less issues with regulations. Personally it's a matter of finding the sweet spot. Regulations can kill or greatly hurt new, small, immature markets. That's one of the reasons America always come first with new economies. Land of opportunity indeed. But there is a clear point when companies are not small or frail anymore, they become giants in mature markets. And accumulate to much power compared to consumers and citizens in general, making exploitation possible. Once one turns to the dark side, the others have to follow for survival, since free market by design does not forgive companies that spit on easy revenues. That's when regulations is needed, to protect the weak by increasing the costs of actions that hurts the community. And imho Europe usually gets this last part better. Quality of life for everyone.

It might be that I'm European but imho gaming industry is mature enough to deserve some good regulation. Whaling is abusive practice. It's immoral and exploitative. It leverages natural weaknesses in people minds and as such it should be, if not forbidden outright, at least confined in protected spaces away from the reach of the weak. Valve, Epic, Microsoft, Nintendo, 2K, Activision and whatever else cursed gaming giant in mobile will perfectly survive and thrive in profits without that dirty money ripped off the hands of clueless childrens and gambit addicts. And if some small f2p indie has to disappear in the process, good riddance. Their space will be filled by non f2p indies.

If 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.

Don'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.

I 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 Oct 2019 at 4:55 pm UTC

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.

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 Oct 2019 at 6:31 pm UTC

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.

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.

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.

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.

My 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)

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.

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 Oct 2019 at 9:14 pm UTC