A letter sent to ESRB president Patricia Vance by United States senator Maggie Hassan calls on the rating agency to take steps to analyze and curb the proliferation of loot boxes in videogames. In a separate Q&A session with FTC commissioner nominees, the senator also suggested that if the ESRB fails to take action, the government could become directly involved. 
In the letter, and in her preamble to the FTC nominees, Hassan praised the ESRB for its effectiveness and value as an age rating board. But she also noted that loot boxes are a relatively new phenomenon, and that the ESRB "must work to keep pace with new gaming trends." 
 
"Recently the World Health Organization classified 'gaming disorder' as a unique condition in its recent draft revision of the 11th International Classification of Diseases," Hassan wrote. "While there is robust debate over whether loot boxes should be considered gambling, the fact that they are both expensive habits and use similar psychological principles suggest loot boxes should be treated with extra scrutiny. At minimum, the rating system should denote when loot boxes are utilized in physical copies of electronic games."  
She called on the ESRB to review its rating practices, with a specific eye toward the ethics and transparency of loot boxes, to collect and publish data on the use and prevalence of loot boxes, and to come up with a system of  loot box-related "best practices" for developers to give parents more control over what their children are playing, and how.  
 

fearpoint
ESRB is a big industry extortion scam. It's existence doesn't benefit anyone except the agenda of the ESRB. For game developers this has resulted in needlessly obnoxious treatment of extorting game publishers for money and for consumers to force publishers to age gate content that doesn't need it. Like most industry self regulatory organizations it's just a mean to control the market. ESRB can go pound sand. ESRB ratings as far as consumers are concerned are completely irrelevant with no legitimate enforcement backed standard. It's real purpose is to lock out content from people that don't want to contribute to the charade that the ESRB provides a useful regulatory rating service. Just like the MPAA it's a big scam, everybody knows, and nobody can say with a straight face it does anything positive.
 
As you can probably tell I can't stand the ESRB and it's phony baloney shenanigans. I'd love to see game publishers get called into congress and explain to America how their loot box scheme in games isn't gambling and exactly how many under 21 people are buying them because they know and we know they are specifically targeting people unable to legally gamble.

Hoggle

fearpoint
ESRB is a big industry extortion scam. It's existence doesn't benefit anyone except the agenda of the ESRB. For game developers this has resulted in needlessly obnoxious treatment of extorting game publishers for money and for consumers to force publishers to age gate content that doesn't need it. Like most industry self regulatory organizations it's just a mean to control the market. ESRB can go pound sand. ESRB ratings as far as consumers are concerned are completely irrelevant with no legitimate enforcement backed standard. It's real purpose is to lock out content from people that don't want to contribute to the charade that the ESRB provides a useful regulatory rating service. Just like the MPAA it's a big scam, everybody knows, and nobody can say with a straight face it does anything positive.
 
As you can probably tell I can't stand the ESRB and it's phony baloney shenanigans. I'd love to see game publishers get called into congress and explain to America how their loot box scheme in games isn't gambling and exactly how many under 21 people are buying them because they know and we know they are specifically targeting people unable to legally gamble.

Really I would say the ESRB has done a great job for gaming and fully support them. When we have the supreme court playing Mortal Kombat to decide if it's protected as "Art" before the ESRB you can't say the ESRB isn't a great thing. Games like GTA would not be allowed if we didn't have the ESRB and games like Witcher 3 would probably be also toned down in ways you wouldn't like. Sniper games would also see backlash. With the ESRB they just have to put a M on the label and say that it has nudity or drug use as long as it works in the context of a story I don't mind as I am an adult.

MSim

norrisb
I don't think the government should get involved in gaming

Do you think it's right to leave it up to developers to be honest and not rig the loot crates, when real money is involved.

Brad_Hawthorne

MSim

norrisb
I don't think the government should get involved in gaming

Do you think it's right to leave it up to developers to be honest and not rig the loot crates, when real money is involved.

People dig their own graves and bury themselves in them. Not a fan of big brother knowing what is better for us than we do for ourselves. Personal responsibility is a life skill. Take that away from people and they have no need for critical thinking anymore.

Cool GTX

DanielLee5
Loot boxes can be considered gambling games for 100% 

had to release your Post from filter .. sorry for the delay