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Federal Trade Commission Chairman Pledges to Investigate Video Game Loot Boxes
Federal Trade Commission chairman Joseph Simons on Tuesday said he would investigate video game loot boxes to ensure that children are being protected and parents are educated on the matter.
Simons testified Tuesday before the Senate Commerce Subcommittee on Consumer Protection, Product Safety, Insurance, and Data Security about the commission's work. Following his testimony, a number of senators asked Simons questions on an array of topics.
Senator Maggie Hassan (D-NH), who brought up the issue of loot boxes in video games earlier this year, asked the FTC to launch the investigation and Simons confirmed he would.
The request comes about nine months after Hassan sent a letter to the Entertainment Software Ratings Board asking for the group to review the ratings process as it relates to loot boxes, examine the marketing of loot boxes to children, and put together best practices for developers around the toxic form of microtransactions. The senator also asked the board to conduct a study that further delves into the reach and impact of loot boxes in games. At the time, she said if they didn't take sufficient action she would ask the FTC to get involved.
"In video games, a loot box (sometimes loot crate or prize crate, among other names) is a consumable virtual item which can be redeemed to receive a randomized selection of further virtual items, ranging from simple customization options for a player's avatar or character, to game-changing equipment such as weapons and armor. A loot box is typically a form of monetization, with players either buying the boxes directly or receiving the boxes during play and later buying "keys" with which to redeem them."
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(Score: 3, Insightful) by Phoenix666 on Friday November 30 2018, @02:56PM
Well then thank goodness for good ol' imagination. I have played a lot of video games in my time, and far prefer it to sitting passively in front of a TV screen watching a sitcom or somesuch. I have very fond memories of the Grand Theft Auto series, Mass Effect, Call of Duty, and others. But things have seemed to have hit a wall with the current generation of MBA-driven decisions at the big studios, so I have been dusting off my old AD&D books and modules and getting back into it with my kids.
There's no limit to pastimes that involve the imagination and creativity like those old RPGs did. Also, it really doesn't cost any money to play them--PDFs of all the rule books, character sheets, and such all exist online. Buy a set of dice (or dig the set you had as a kid out of storage) and away you go.
It would not be a bad thing for everyone to walk away from mass entertainment for a generation to shake out all the MBA types. Then the ones left would be those who truly love it, who live and breathe it, to rule again and bring on a second Renaissance.
Washington DC delenda est.