The Future of Equipment Cases

(aminuseternal) #1

Due to what could only be described as the unmitigated disaster of lootboxes in Battlefront 2, authorities are now looking into determining if lootboxes are gambling. Some countries have already decided that they, and there have been many official callouts against Battlefront 2.

Now I know that Battlefront 2 is paid title, whereas Dirty Bomb is free to play, but I feel like it begs the question of what the future of monetization could be in Dirty Bomb if loot Boxes are considered to be gambling in the US and EU.

(FalC_16) #2

BF2 was super p2w whilst DB is not. DB cases are about vanity. Crafting bronzes was never easier than today.

(aminuseternal) #3

Right, but the problem is that it is becoming a legal issue, I dont think it will matter what is in it.

(Your worst knifemare.) #4

I don’t think DB would be considered gambling since you aren’t using real currency.

(aminuseternal) #5

Well I should have just specified cases in general because there are the elite cases for purchase in the store.

(Nail) #6

I don’t think it’s comparable

(Sorotia) #7

SWBF 2 had such a horribly skewed system that basically required you to buy those cases if you wanted to advance…everything in DB is cosmetic.

(aminuseternal) #8

yeah SWBF2 had a terrible system, and it is not really purely cosmetic since you get different weapons/augments through different loadout cards, and yes you can just get them in the store, so I don’t really know how much of a debate is there. Also it is true that the elite cases are more cosmetic based.

The point I am trying to get at though is that real world agencies are looking at lootboxes in games to consider whether they are considered gambling or not, regardless of the contents. Because if they are considered to be gambling then that could bring a whole new set of rules into the system.

(GatoCommodore) #9

@aminuseternal said:
yeah SWBF2 had a terrible system, and it is not really purely cosmetic since you get different weapons/augments through different loadout cards, and yes you can just get them in the store, so I don’t really know how much of a debate is there. Also it is true that the elite cases are more cosmetic based.

The point I am trying to get at though is that real world agencies are looking at lootboxes in games to consider whether they are considered gambling or not, regardless of the contents. Because if they are considered to be gambling then that could bring a whole new set of rules into the system.

especially people who dont even play games are the ones making the law, they will just ban everything and generalizing every lootbox

but i guess their argument is about how the EA lootbox system is predator in behaviour and they are afraid of kids getting addicted to these stuff at such young age. That would make DB in a grey area…

(Nail) #10

afaik, it’s more about buying boxes for x when some can resell for 10x

(Press E) #11

While there’s a massive difference between DB’s cosmetics and BF2’s P2W aspects, it’s still technically gambling. You are paying real money for a chance to get something. And well, if games with gambling like that were banned, DB would be too.

Personally I think DB’s cases would be a lot better if RNG was removed anyways, but it’s not a matter of P2W vs cosmetic only arguments, it’s about not normalizing the idea of gambling to children. That’s what these people are trying to stop, not greedy developers making their games P2W.
So yes, if laws are passed to stop gambling in games, I can’t see a reason why DB wouldn’t be included unless it changed.

(Nail) #12

gambling is taking a chance to win cash or equivalent, hoping for a certain loadout is just a purchase, no value can be gained

(Runeforce) #13

It is also about the psychological aspects that it triggers, and DB cases checks all those boxes to qualify as gambling. You could even argue that it is worse than gambling, because you put cash into the system, and you get manipulated by all the theory behind gambling, but unlike ‘real’ gambling you never get a cash payout.

(TheStrangerous) #14

If they get rid of them in every game, no matter F2P or P2P then GOOD RIDDANCE!

Don’t need this tumor to grow further! This is why I haven’t bought any AAA title released since 2014. Too stubborn to throw away my money, no thanks.

(Meerkats) #15

Dirty Bomb equipment cases are lootboxes and do constitute gambling.

The question isn’t whether the rewards have value; that is irrelevant. The question is whether the intentions and practices are predatory.

Having participants feel compelled to continue pulling the lever via psychological compulsion, even while incurring losses is a textbook effect of gambling. That is the goal of all successful gambling setups. To create addiction.

If you’ve ever been opening cases, and upon getting only leads and irons, declared, “I will keep buying and opening cases until I at least get a bronze,” well, that’s gambling addiction.

You can argue that addiction is the problem of the gambler and therefore the enabler shouldn’t be penalized, but guess what? About every functioning government disagrees with you. If every single person who ever played at a slot machine never experienced compulsion to continue ( probably because they found the rewards satisfactory, indicating the gambling setup was ineffective ), the whole thing would be a non-issue. There would be no restrictions cause why would there be? But there are because, again, the rewards are irrelevant. The only important metric is whether harmful behavioural addiction is the result.

Fuck lootboxes and fuck people who put lootboxes into games. May they choke on cock and die, and when they die, may their funeral be selected via lootbox.

(ThunderZsolt) #16

I assume you are talking about the expert/elite cases, which you can buy for real money, and it contains “good” and “bad” items as well.
A counter example is the “special edition” case which you can buy in bundle with the merc. The outcome is still random, but the value is (more or less) the same.

I consider elite cases a rip off, and never bought a single one of them. Nobody would miss them if they got removed.

DB has other means to generate income, like:
crafting kits (yes, I do buy a lot of them in crafting weeks)
mercs
obsidian skins
trinkets

(Mc1412013) #17

@Lord_Coctus said:
I don’t think DB would be considered gambling since you aren’t using real currency.

Enless u purchase elite cases

(Nail) #18

it’s not gambling if there’s nothing to WIN
in CS:GO and SWBF2 there’s the ability to buy and SELL items,and item you obtain for x dollars can be resold for 10x dollars, that’s where the “gambling” part is. DB doesn’t have that, not gambling

(binderr) #19

@Mc1412013 said:

@Lord_Coctus said:
I don’t think DB would be considered gambling since you aren’t using real currency.

Enless u purchase elite cases

yes and those elite cases are pretty much loot boxes you open for a random card, pretty mach gambling to me.

We can’t deny DB is pretty much build on rng/loot system, no matter how much fans bitch about rng, the devs them self admit removing rng would be a detriment to the core game!

I for one hope EA get fucked in the ars with law suits, so not just Battlefront2 but all other games can’t use rng/loot to force gamers into spending more money than they should.

(Terminal_6) #20

I don’t even know how to play blackjack but isn’t gambling about the chance to get more out than what you put in initially? What you put in is time and/or money. What you get out is a loadout. DB’s loadouts can’t even be traded, let alone sold, (yet) so I don’t see how it’s gambling.

But maybe the rules are changing. These lootbox-centric games like CSGO and SWBF2 are muddying the waters.