By Darren Allan
You’ve doubtless noticed all the recent controversy over loot boxes in Star Wars Battlefront 2, and US politician Chris Lee (D) has launched another attack on loot crates and ‘pay-to-win’ games in a YouTube video (following a previous pop at them and Battlefront 2 at the end of last month).
In the video clip, Lee (a State representative for Hawaii) discusses how legislation should be crafted and aimed against what he describes as ‘predatory game mechanics.’
The central thrust of Lee’s measures is to ban the sale of video games that contain ‘gambling mechanisms’ to anyone who is under the age of 21.
The regulations being proposed here would mean that it would be fine to sell a sword in a game for $200 – an example used in the video. What wouldn’t be OK is to sell a percentage chance to win that sword.
The distinction is that if you’re buying something that you know what you’re getting, then it’s a transaction. If you’re buying a chance at potentially getting something, then it’s ‘gambling’, and therefore shouldn’t involve under-21s.
The rules would apply across all games and platforms, as Lee sees it, whether sold at retail or by online stores, such as Steam.
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Source:: techradar.com – Gaming