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Weeks ago, Senator Josh Hawley (R-Mo.) released an outline for the The Protecting Children from Abusive Games Act, aimed at stopping randomized loot boxes and pay-to-win mechanics in the game industry. Today, Hawley was joined by Ed Markey (D-Mass.) and Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.) in formally introducing that bill in the Senate, complete with an 18-page draft of its legislative text.
Perhaps the most interesting portion of the bill attempts to define so-called "pay-to-win" mechanics in games. Those are defined broadly here as purchasable content that "assists a user in accomplishing an achievement within the game that can otherwise be accomplished without the purchase of such transaction" or which "permits a user to continue to access content of the game that had previously been accessible to the user but has been made inaccessible after the expiration of a timer or a number of gameplay attempts."
For multiplayer games, this would also include any purchasable in-game content that "from the perspective of a reasonable user, provides a competitive advantage."
As far as loot boxes are concerned, the act targets games where purchasable in-game content is randomized or partially randomized. This includes games where you purchase one item for the chance to purchase unknown or random items in the future, closing one potential loophole before it even starts.
(Score: 2) by The Mighty Buzzard on Monday May 27 2019, @01:59AM (2 children)
Actually, no. They have a stronger legal argument for banning them entirely. They have authority to regulate interstate commerce but they don't have much ground to stand on when it comes to mandating age limits on anything except holding office or voting. That's why they've had to tie drinking, smoking, and driving age limits to federal funding and get the states to implement the laws.
My rights don't end where your fear begins.
(Score: 2) by Mykl on Monday May 27 2019, @05:26AM (1 child)
You're probably right (I don't know US law that well), but if game rating systems can federally restrict the amount of violence, sex, swearing etc in a game, why can't they restrict the amount of gambling (real or fake money) too?
(Score: 2) by The Mighty Buzzard on Monday May 27 2019, @10:35AM
Game rating systems aren't official. It's 100% legal for a five year old to go buy a game rated M. It's the stores themselves that won't allow it, just like theaters and movie ratings.
My rights don't end where your fear begins.