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US Senator Josh Hawley (R-MO) announced the introduction of a bill potentially banning the sale of surprise boxes in some video games. If adopted, Hawley's Bill, entitled The Protection of Children from Abusive Gaming Act, would prohibit loot boxes and microtransactions "pay to win" in titles intended for minors or popular with minors, comparing thus the business model to dependence.
"Social media and video games are prey to user addiction, distracting the real world attention from our kids and generating profits through the adoption of compulsive habits," he said. Senator Hawley in a statement. "Whatever the benefits of this business model for the technology sector, one thing is clear: there is no excuse for exploiting children through such practices." When a game is designed for kids, Game developers should not be allowed to monetize their addiction Game developers who knowingly exploit children should face legal consequences. "
Hawley cites the example of the famous mobile title Candy Crush Saga, which allows players to buy a "luscious package" of $ 150 to make the game easier, although it's certainly far from # 39; be the only title to offer this type of expenses. A large number of mobile games are designed to encourage microtransactions, and many of the most popular PC and console games, including PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds, Rocket League and Overwatch, offer players the opportunity to purchase chests. containing a random assortment of cosmetic items.
Hawley 's bill will first have to be passed by the Senate, then by the House of Representatives before potentially becoming law, but it is not the first time that US lawmakers have come to power. attack this practice. Last February, Chris Lee, a representative of the state of Hawaii, had introduced a bill to limit the sale of video games with "gaming mechanisms" to under-21s. Other countries have also conducted investigations to determine whether gambling vaults are a game or not.
After Hawley's announcement, the Entertainment Software Association issued a statement in response to the bill. "Many countries, including Ireland, Germany, Sweden, Denmark, Australia, New Zealand and the United Kingdom, have determined that the surprise boxes do not constitute a game We are looking forward to sharing with the Senator the tools and information already provided the control of spending in the game in the hands of the parents.Parents already have the opportunity to limit or prohibit purchases in the game through to a simple parental control to use. "
The surprise boxes have been a subject of controversy in the industry for many years. The 2017 Star Wars Battlefront II, for example, has garnered much criticism and negative feedback about how it initially integrated microtransactions, effectively linking them to your progression. In response, the EA publisher has removed all the loot boxes from the game just before its launch, but this has not prevented the establishment of anti-box booty legislation.
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