Support NeoGAF

[IbizaPocholo]

European Parliament votes to take action against loot boxes, gaming addiction, gold farming and more

The European Parliament voted today to adopt a report calling for the European Commission to address several issues in …

www.gamesindustry.biz

The European Parliament voted today to adopt a report calling for the European Commission to address several issues in the games industry that it believes will better protect consumers, especially young people.

The report was led by MEP Adriana Maldonado López, and secured 577 votes in favour, with 56 against and 15 abstentions.

López made more than a dozen recommendations in her report, including a call for harmonised rules across the European Union's single market when providing clear information about games content, as well as systems that help parents understand and control how much time and money their children spend on games.

The Pan European Game Information (PEGI) age rating system was highlighted as an example of something that could deliver more transparent information about the content, target age group and in-game purchase options to consumers.

MEPs also voted to have the Commission analyse the impact of loot boxes and prompts to make in-game purchases, taking action if necessary, as well as investigating whether gold-farming can be linked to financial crimes and human rights abuses.

They also call for developers to "avoid designing games that feed addiction," with López citing the WHO's recognition of gaming disorder as an example of the state of addiction among some players.

Other actions recommended include proritising data protection, improving the gender imbalance on the industry's workforce, and making it as easy for consumers to cancel a subscription as it is to sign up.

The European Parliament also recognised the value of the video games sector, as well as its potential to help with education, mental health and other aspects of life.

MEPs have asked the European Commission to devise a European Video Game Strategy that would boost the industry and "help unlock it's full potential."

They also proposed the creation of a new annual European online video game award.

“Our report highlights the positives of this pioneering industry, but also social risks we need to bear in mind, like the impact of gaming on mental health," said López when introducing her report to the plenary today.

"This is something that can particularly affect younger gamers. We need to harmonise EU rules, ensuring strengthened consumer protection and with a specific focus on minors."

 

[Fart Knight]

Ubisoft am cry

 

[feynoob]

I am sick of these predatory tactics.

 

[Skyfox]

Horse has already bolted from the stable and then all I see is "gaming addiction".

Seems like they'll fix nothing and introduce new problems.

 

[Ronin_7]

Good. Fuck lootboxes.

 

[winjer]

Good. Finally the EU is cracking down on these scams disguised as gaming features.

 

[justiceiro]

Sounds good on paper, but i fear Europe meddling in gaming development as much as Chinese does.

 

[anthony2690]

No more gaf gold? :O

 

[Fake]

No more gaf gold? :O

If you pay to win, yes.

 

[ParaSeoul]

Chins is way ahead of them on this

 

[Reizo Ryuu]

This isn't really "taking action against [headline]", but more to make sure developers properly inform players of the impact the thing they want to spend money on; which of course is good to protect minors, but also feels like a bit that should just be the parent's job.

 

[AJUMP23]

They will just make it worse probably. I have no faith in government involvement. They do not understand games or media. George Bush senior did not know what a grocery scanner was at the checkout line when he was president in the 80s.

 

[Filben]

but also feels like a bit that should just be the parent's job.

Yes but more support is welcomed especially for those parents who struggle with the tech.

If that "parent layer" fails in that regard you don't just say "tough luck, kiddo, better get better parents". To say easy it's a parents job and is technically true, but they can't be trusted alone with this to 100%. Also, laws protecting minors are often what takes parents into responsibility they otherwise would maybe avoid. They can't just wave it of anymore and have to deal with it.

 

[ANDS]

. . .it's when you start saying stuff like: "They also call for developers to "avoid designing games that feed addiction - " that I sit back and say, you're taking this far. As mentioned in the article, you can't tell me there aren't already tools within the EU to handle companies using egregious or deceptive tactics to gin up engagement with their product. PEGI has always felt more toothful than the ESRB, so why not get them involved with making more robust content warnings for games? There's nothing stopping regulatory bodies from getting aggressive. . .except I guess lobbyists.

 

[Evil Calvin]

So stupid.

Baseball card packs....and trading cards in general are all 'loot boxes' then. Magic cards....Pokemon cards......

All a gamble on what you get......card packs have been a thing for probably over a century. It's fun.

 

[Regginator]

So stupid.

Baseball card packs....and trading cards in general are all 'loot boxes' then. Magic cards....Pokemon cards......

All a gamble on what you get......card packs have been a thing for probably over a century. It's fun.

Yes. In essence they are. It's actually pretty simple: do you know what you're getting out of it? Yes, then it's not gambling. And if you do, then it is. Especially when there's a value element to it. The chance of there being something rare is what makes this a literal gamble.

The fact that it's been done for a long time doesn't mean it's any less bad, lol. I can name hundreds of examples of things that were considered "normal" then and shouldn't be today.

 

[NickFire]

So stupid.

Baseball card packs....and trading cards in general are all 'loot boxes' then. Magic cards....Pokemon cards......

All a gamble on what you get......card packs have been a thing for probably over a century. It's fun.

I'm partially with you. I recognize the big differences though. Traditional card packs don't benefit from a single company licensing the ability to make cards, who then employs all sorts of psychological tricks and algorithms to keep you spending money on a fruitless chase that all become worthless when the next season comes out.

 

[Philfrag]

They will just make it worse probably. I have no faith in government involvement. They do not understand games or media. George Bush senior did not know what a grocery scanner was at the checkout line when he was president in the 80s.

I think its good to have no faith in government, but its an even bigger mistake to then put that faith in private corporations. If its a game of two evils, I'm going to go with the team that has a democratic component to it. Even if that democratic component is sometimes in ideal and not in practice. Watching these corporations justify these practises to government has really exposed just how much they do not give a shit about the well being of their consumers, its pretty sickening watching them justify it constantly. I think societal progress comes from a push and pull between government and private enterprise. When it comes to this topic it seems the only ones willing to change the status quo is the government, even if consumer rights are sometimes down stream from the government profiting from it in some way. The industry has had its chance to change and all its done is double down. Government regulation is literally our only option right now and its the industries own fault. There are better ways to monetize live services, yet the industry continued to do it in the least imaginative ways possible. Well now they're going to have to use their imagination. Considering the state of AAA games these days, that's going to to be tough for them. Its fun to watch

 

[AJUMP23]

Philfrag no faith in corporations either.

 

[Fuz]

This isn't really "taking action against [headline]", but more to make sure developers properly inform players of the impact the thing they want to spend money on; which of course is good to protect minors, but also feels like a bit that should just be the parent's job.

Translation: they're doing nothing.

 

[Ghost of Caelid]

Seems about 3 years too late...most companies moved on from loot boxes to battle passes.

 

[64bitmodels]

they should take action against the current BS state of digital ownership too. Get rid of those stupid license agreements and just let people own the games they downloaded.

if i pay 60 dollars for the files i should own the files. None of that 'you own a license' retardation.