Loot boxes in video games

Re:Loot boxes in video games by Aachen on Monday May 30, 2022 @01:37PM (#31561451)

It's not clear to me whether this is a "someone somewhere once defined it as such (and we'll use this working definition to not make things unnecessarily complicated and will reserve a proper definition for after we've looked at the problem broadly)", or an actual "this is how we are defining this for legislation purposes".

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Re:Loot boxes in video games by caylus on Monday May 30, 2022 @01:45PM (#31561539)

This goes far beyond a "working definition" in that it encompasses literally every game that unlocks content in any way. /Some/ distinction is needed to differentiate a "loot box" from every other game mechanic.

It would be like using "a metal object that can harm people" as a working definition of an assault weapon. If the definition also includes ladders, cars, and push-pins, it's far too broad to be useful in any discussion.

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Re:Loot boxes in video games by eterm on Monday May 30, 2022 @02:13PM (#31561860)

Firstly, this is a white paper way before formulation of actual law.

Secondly, that's kind of how UK law works, read up on the knife crime regulation:

https://www.cps.gov.uk/legal-guidance/offensive-weapons-kniv...

It's formulated as, "Carrying an article with a blade or point or an offensive weapon in a public place".

Which of course covers everything from legitimate things to non-legitimate. Which is why the law also allows for a "reasonable excuse" to be carrying such an article.

By the time any regulation is made into legislation it'll iron out the difference or define things in such a way that a reasonable person can tell the difference between an actual game mechanic and a problematic "loot box".

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