The maker of the video game Genshin Impact has agreed to pay $20 million and to block children under 16 from making in-game purchases without parental consent to settle Federal Trade Commission all
As much as I like putting limitations on lootboxes or banning them out right, I’ve seen what developers do when they can’t use lootboxes. $20 to $30 “micro” transactions with predatory menus and game mechanics that make you feel bad for not owning the latest hotness. They will do anything to make that microtransaction money regardless. They’ll just take advantage of a different part of your brain.
We shouldn’t allow children online or playing video games. If we’re going full jack Thompson, let’s go full jack Thompson. No one under 21 gets Internet or games.
You could just sell the game at a flat cost. You know, like they use to and still do. If you want a “Live Service” game, just sell a DLC/Expansion Pack every few months.
Most people consider lootbox/gacha predatory and regular advertising a necessary evil. Regular advertising is often manipulative too, but most people consider lootbox/gacha to be more so, especially because of the addictive gambling mechanics it uses that regular advertising doesn’t. Also, most people are used to advertising, and putting lootboxes/gacha in video games is something I am assuming most Lemmy posters can remember there being a controversy over before microtransactions became The New Normal.
No. That would be taking money from the parents when they purchase the game. The kids would only be playing the game and so long as there’s no store front in the game, there’s no problem.
Would you ban kids from riding bicycles because stores sell them?
As much as I like putting limitations on lootboxes or banning them out right, I’ve seen what developers do when they can’t use lootboxes. $20 to $30 “micro” transactions with predatory menus and game mechanics that make you feel bad for not owning the latest hotness. They will do anything to make that microtransaction money regardless. They’ll just take advantage of a different part of your brain.
Then ban that shit too
We shouldn’t allow corporations to psychology manipulate children.
We shouldn’t allow children online or playing video games. If we’re going full jack Thompson, let’s go full jack Thompson. No one under 21 gets Internet or games.
Playing games is different than manipulating money out of minors.
You know that too
So all games should be free?
You could just sell the game at a flat cost. You know, like they use to and still do. If you want a “Live Service” game, just sell a DLC/Expansion Pack every few months.
That would still be taking money from kids. One would assume marketing is involved so that’s tricking kids into making a purchase.
My solution is simply stop letting kids have video games. If we want to censor things, let’s censor them.
Most people consider lootbox/gacha predatory and regular advertising a necessary evil. Regular advertising is often manipulative too, but most people consider lootbox/gacha to be more so, especially because of the addictive gambling mechanics it uses that regular advertising doesn’t. Also, most people are used to advertising, and putting lootboxes/gacha in video games is something I am assuming most Lemmy posters can remember there being a controversy over before microtransactions became The New Normal.
No. That would be taking money from the parents when they purchase the game. The kids would only be playing the game and so long as there’s no store front in the game, there’s no problem.
Would you ban kids from riding bicycles because stores sell them?
So where, then, are kids getting money for gacha, if parents are buying games in your alternative world?
Don’t worry, Genshin has that already