Parker Outlaw

Mrs. Motsinger

Ap Language 2nd Period

Introduction

Loot boxes have become a common phenomenon within video games in the fast-few

years. They are in-game items that a player can earn or pay for that contain a random item for the

player to use in the game. There are usually rarer items that can be found in loot boxes and there

are common ones. This makes the rare items more desirable to the player. There are also two

types of items that are usually in loot boxes. There are the cosmetic items that a player can use to

make their character look cooler and there are the items that affect game play. These last items

are more concerning because they are the items that may give one player and advantage over

another player. This is bad for a few reasons. Firstly, it means that a player who spends a lot of

money in the game may have an advantage over a player who doesn’t. This is unfair because not

every player has the money to spend in a video game. Secondly, because these items are in loot

boxes then there is no guaranty that a player will acquire this item. This means that a player may

spend hundreds of dollars before they get the item that they want. Most of the time the game

developers make it harder for a player to earn loot boxes than it is to pay for them. This can

cause problems because it can lead to gambling addictions and gaming addictions. These games

are mostly targeted towards kids, so that means that kids may be vulnerable to gambling

addictions and spending too much money because of the loot boxes (pathos).

The loot box controversy came to a climax in 2017 when EA’s Battlefront 2 was about to

be released. For a time, people were excited about the game and couldn’t wait for it to come out.
Partly why it was so anticipated was because it was a spiritual remake of Pandemic Studio’s

2005 Battlefront 2. The original Battlefront series was beloved by almost all gamers. So, in 2017

when EA announced Battlefront 2, people were eager to learn about what the new game was

going to be like. The game finally came out and people realized how you were supposed to earn

rewards and gear. The game completely revolved around loot boxes. Every item in the game had

to be obtained from a loot box that players could pay for. Things only got worse. You could

receive duplicate items in the loot boxes, so if I got item x the first time I opened a loot box, I

could get item x the second time I opened a loot box. However, you could earn loot boxes in

game by earning xp and earning the in-game currency. However, a player would earn the in-

game currency too slowly. This meant that paying real money for the chance to get the item you

want was a lot easier. Gamers were very upset with this monetization and most gamers decided

to protest by not buying the game. Some even went as far as to say that gamers should boycott all

EA games. Eventually law makers caught on to what loot boxes are and decided that they are

essentially glorified slot machines. They were first banned in Belgium and then in some other

countries. Now some US senators are looking into it.

I think that loot boxes make a game less enjoyable and can be harmful to people with

gambling addictions. I do think I have a little bit of a biased because I am nostalgic for the older

games where a player could earn cosmetic gear by completing achievements (tactical flaw). I

loved using the coolest armors and other players would know that I completed a difficult

achievement. But games aren’t like that anymore no matter how much I want them to be. I

believe that loot boxes are a stain on games. When I hear that a game has loot boxes then I will

not buy the game. I used to enjoy the older Call of Duty games. I never fell in love with them,

but the were fun, mindless shooter games that I could lose myself in for a few hours. But then the
newer games started to include loot boxes and the loot boxes would include weapons and

upgrades. I was saddened by this. I thought that it was yet another good game that succumbed to

the loot box trope.

Literature Review

Loot Boxes have been a controversial topic in gaming for the past few years. Most

gamers believe that it is attempt from the developer of a game to try and glean as much money

from a player as possible. Loot boxes make games unfun and unfair. Loot boxes are virtual grab

bags that contain virtual items for a player to use in a game. These items can be cosmetics items

or items that affect gameplay and might give one player an advantage over others. A lot of

people see this as a form of gambling and that these virtual slot machines are targeted towards

kids. Gambling addictions can be very harmful to a person and everyone around them. One

gamer says that he is $15,800 dollars in debt because of loot boxes in a video game (Busby). He

says how his family doesn’t trust him anymore and how he feels ashamed of his addiction. The

developers of games with loot boxes would have the players believe that loot boxes provide a

level of fun to the game and allow players to feel accomplished.

The House of Commons has said that they believe that loot boxes are a form of gambling

and children should be barred from purchasing them. The Gambling Commission in 2018 found

that 31% of children in the age range of 11 – 16 have paid for loot boxes (APPEAL TO LOGOS)

(Hern and Davis). One gamer even spent 1,000 euros a year in the football game Fifa (Hern and

Davis). Belgium has already banned the use of loot boxes says Alex Hern and Rob Davis (Hern

and Davis). Belgium already has strict gambling laws, so it makes sense why they would see loot

boxes as a form of gambling so easily.

 The gambling commission has stated that 36,000 children are at risk of developing a

gambling problem because of loot boxes (Busby). Daniel Zeichner says that more needs to be

done to protect young people form loot boxes and malicious microtransactions (Busby). Adam

Bradford claims that loot boxes are priming kids for gambling problems when they are older

(Williams). He estimates that children could be spending 250 euros a year on gaming (Williams).

He encountered one 16-year-old who spent 2,000 euros over three months on loot boxes

(Williams). Josh Hawley, an American Senator, believes that game companies should be upfront

about what their games are doing and that they need to stop practices that intentionally exploit

children (Johnson).

EA, a game company notorious for the loot boxes in their games, made a statement two

years ago when a reddit user asked why he had to spend up to $80 on loot boxes just to unlock a

character, or “hero”, in the game Battlefront 2. A spokesperson from EA replied saying, “the

intent is to provide players with a sense of pride and accomplishment for unlocking different

heroes” (Diaz). This reply is the most downvoted comment in reddit history. Gamers made it

known that they did not like the loot boxes in games. EA had to defend their use of loot boxes in

front of the United Kingdom’s Parliament because they felt that EA’s loot boxes could be

harmful to kids and other people. An EA senior executive said that their loot boxes are “surprise

mechanics” and they are “quite ethical and quite fun [and] enjoyable to people” (Diaz). The

executive went on to say, “They aren’t gambling, and we disagree that there’s evidence that

shows they lead to gambling” (Diaz). EA’s statements make no sense. Gamers have already

expressed how they don’t find loot boxes to be fun and loot boxes are almost identical to casino

games. EA’s loot boxes contain random items that have different levels of value to a player, that

is gambling (DEMONSTRATIVE RHETORIC).

Argument

There many controversies in the gaming community that get brought up from time to

time in the gaming forums. These include: are pay-to-win games enjoyable, how much authority

should game publishers exert over game developers, and if a game had false advertising or not.

But one controversy takes the cake. Should loot boxes be included in video games. Most people,

myself included, believe that loot boxes are a form of gambling and can be harmful to people

who struggle with gambling addictions. This is also concerning because a lot of kids play video

games, so they will be exposed to these gambling mechanics that are made to be addictive. The

developers of games with loot boxes would have you believe that loot boxes make a game more

enjoyable and are not, in fact, gambling.

 In June of 2019, a senior executive from the video game company Electronic Arts (EA)

stood before the United Kingdom’s Parliament to defend their use of loot boxes in their game

Star Wars Battlefront 2. The spokesperson said that their loot boxes where “surprise mechanics”

just like a surprise toy at the bottom of a cereal box (Diaz). These loot boxes do have surprise

features, but their “surprise” is made to keep you wanting. EA had specifically designed the

game so that it is nearly impossible to complete the game without paying for the loot boxes in the

game. The game was built around the idea that players would have to pay for loot boxes in order

to progress in the game an earn rewards. The

base version of Battlefront 2 costs $60. One

player did the math a determined that a player

could put in 4500 hours of work into the game

to unlock all the items in the game or a player

could spend around $2100 on loot boxes. But

there is no guarantee for that number because Overwatch is another popular game that includes loot
boxes. It uses bright colors to make the experience of
you can get duplicate items in loot boxes. opening one as addictive as possible.

Duplicate items are in game items that you have previously obtained from one of the loot boxes

(Garreffa). The EA executive also said, “We do think the way we’ve implemented these kinds of

mechanics is quite ethical and quite fun, they aren’t gambling and we disagree that there’s

evidence that shows they lead to gambling” (Diaz). The definition of gambling is to “take risky

action in the hope of a desired result” (Oxford). EA’s loot boxes are gambling; you pay money

for the chance to get a desired result. Also, most gamers have been very clear that they do not

think loot boxes make a game more fun. These are the people EA is trying to sell to, so if their

prime audience doesn’t think they are fun, then why does EA think they are “quite fun”. One
player complained on the popular internet forum, Reddit, that he didn’t like that he had to pay

$80 just to unlock a playable character in the game Battlefront 2. A representative from EA

replied and said that the loot boxes are meant to give players a sense of “pride and

accomplishment”. That reply is the most down voted comment on Reddit. So that means EA

knows that people don’t like loot boxes.

It is important to talk about EA and Battlefront 2 when talking about loot boxes because

that was the game that brought the loot box controversy to the attention of the media. Battlefront

2’s loot boxes were so extreme and anti-consumer that it started the investigation into loot boxes

by some countries. EA is also one of the only game

companies that was ever asked to step before the United

Kingdom’s Parliament and defend themselves. Because of

this, EA is one of the only companies to come out and say that

they think loot boxes aren’t gambling. The game developers

2K's NBA 20 doesn't even try to hide the fact
of any game with loot boxes would never call it gambling. that loot boxes are gambling by making the
loot boxes in the game look like a slot
They are making too much money, and if they did call it machine

gambling, it may lead to a PR nightmare for them.

There are these types of people that these companies call whales. These are the kinds of

people who are very rich and will spend a lot of money on a video game, buying things like loot

boxes. These people are very rare, but they make the game companies a lot of money. This is

why loot boxes will never go away unless there is legal action. Gamers can complain all they

want, but these whales won’t care, and they will continue to drop tons of money on one game

and the game company will continue to make lots of money. This means that a game could be a
commercial flop, but all they have to do is grab the attention of some of these “whales” and they

will make a profit.

One youth states that he spent over $10,000 on loot boxes. He says that he had to work

two jobs and considered dropping out of high school (Busby). Another person says that because

of loot boxes he is $15,800 dollars in debt and his family no longer trusts him (Busby) (APPEAL

TO PATHOS). The North American Foundation for Gambling Addiction Help says that about

2.6% of Americans have a gambling problem. Loot boxes are not helping this problem. “Young

gamers are being primed for gambling” a former addict says (Williams). This should be

concerning because loot boxes are not an uncommon feature in video games and are exposed to a

lot of young people. If kids are being primed for gambling, what does that mean for their future?

They are in most of the recent AAA games. AAA games being games that are made by

companies that put a lot of money into making them. One researcher found that of the

adolescents they interviewed, they had, in total, spent 543 euros on loot boxes (Williams). One

16-year-old they encountered spent 2,000 euros over three months (Williams). Another says that

46% of gamers have bought loot boxes, and among those players they were much more likely to

have a gambling addiction (Nower).

Conclusion

Loot boxes should not be in video games. They make games less fun and, in some cases,

unfair. They are a form of gambling and are made to be addictive. The game companies won’t

take responsibility for their actions and they won’t admit that their virtual slot machines can be

harmful to people, especially people with gambling addictions. Lots of video games are targeted

towards kids, so these loot boxes will be exposed to kids. That means that a child could develop

a gambling addiction at an early age (APPEAL TO PATHOS). Many people think that loot
boxes should be regulated in some way. Many governments have started to investigate the

effects of loot boxes on people to see if they need to be regulated. If there were to be a

government ban on loot boxes, then that would mean that all games with loot boxes would have

to get rid of them. This would be very good for video games because it would make them more

pro-consumer and more enjoyable.

These video game companies are worth millions of dollars, so what can you do to

convince these companies to not include loot boxes anymore? Well there are a few ways to make

your opinion heard. These companies rely on pre order sales for games to predict how well a

game will do and how much money it will make them, so if you hear that an up coming game

has loot boxes in it, don’t buy. Also, if there is a game that is currently out don’t buy it.

Essentially, boy-cot all games with loot boxes. A lot of gamers have been doing this and it is

working. When Battlefront 2 came out and a lot of people got upset, a lot of gamers stopped

buying EA games because of it. They thought they couldn’t trust EA to try to glean as much

money from them as possible. Because of this EA stock dropped $3 million! EA reacted to this,

and on March 21 they took out all items that effect gameplay from the loot boxes in Battlefront

2. The loot boxes are still in the game, but a player who spends all their money on loot boxes will

not have an advantage over someone who doesn’t.

Citations

Hern, Alex, and Rob Davies. “Video Game Loot Boxes Should Be Classed as Gambling, Says
Commons.” The Guardian, Guardian News and Media, 12 Sept. 2019,
www.theguardian.com/games/2019/sep/12/video-game-loot-boxes-should-be-classed-as-
gambling-says-commons.

Williams, Rachel. “Young Gamers Are Being Primed for Gambling, Warns Former Addict.” The
Guardian, Guardian News and Media, 3 Sept. 2019,
www.theguardian.com/society/2019/sep/03/young-gamers-primed-gambling-warns-
former-addict.

Johnson, Ben. “Loot Boxes Are A Lucrative Game Of Chance, But Are They Gambling?” NPR,
NPR, 10 Oct. 2019, www.npr.org/2019/10/10/769044790/loot-boxes-are-a-lucrative-game-
of-chance-but-are-they-gambling.

Busby, Mattha. “'Easy Trap to Fall into': Why Video-Game Loot Boxes Need Regulation.” The
Guardian, Guardian News and Media, 29 May 2018,
www.theguardian.com/games/2018/may/29/gamers-politicians-regulation-video-game-
loot-boxes.
Diaz, Ana. “EA Calls Its Loot Boxes 'Surprise Mechanics,' Says They're Used Ethically.”
Polygon, Polygon, 21 June 2019, www.polygon.com/2019/6/21/18691760/ea-vp-loot-
boxes-surprise-mechanics-ethical-enjoyable.

Garreffa, Anthony. “Star Wars: Battlefront II Costs $2100 to Unlock Everything.” TweakTown,
TweakTown, 17 Nov. 2017, www.tweaktown.com/news/59856/star-wars-battlefront-ii-
costs-2100-unlock-everything/index.html.

“Gamble: Definition of Gamble by Lexico.” Lexico Dictionaries English, Lexico Dictionaries,

www.lexico.com/en/definition/gamble.

“Statistics of Gambling Addiction 2016.” Nafgah, nafgah.org/statistics-gambling-addiction-

2016/.