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Video game "loot boxes" may become federally illegal??......
SilverSolder:
--- Quote from: MrMobodies on July 02, 2020, 08:20:37 am ---Buying virtual items and it reminds of this:
https://www.telegraph.co.uk/technology/apple/9928381/Boy-runs-up-1000-bill-buying-virtual-doughnuts-on-iPad.html
--- Quote ---Boy runs-up £1,000 bill buying virtual doughnuts on iPad
An eight-year-old boy has run up a bill of almost £1,000 buying virtual doughnuts in an iPad game.
6:34PM GMT 13 Mar 2013
Theo Rowland-Fry, from Bristol, spent £980 playing Tapped Out, an iPad game based on The Simpsons television series, on the family iPad.
Theo's dad, Nick, said he and his wife, Lisa, only realised there was a problem when they discovered their bank account was empty.
Mr Rowland-Fry told the Daily Mail: "There were more than 100 purchases on iTunes for between £1.50 and £75, from the middle of January and the beginning of this month. "We received no emails alerting us to what was happening."
He added: "Theo is only just eight and has no real concept of the monetary value attached."
The family have since had the money refunded by Apple, which says it considers such incidents on a case-by-case basis.
The case is one of several that have been highlighted recently. Earlier this month it was reported that a five-year-old boy had bought £1,700 worth of virtual goods in just 10 minutes.
Danny Kitchen asked for the passcode for the device so that he could download a game, Zombie v Ninja, from the Apple store. But after downloading the free app Danny found his way into the game's online store and innocently ordered dozens of costly add-ons - totalling £1,710.43.
Apple recently agreed to settle a US lawsuit after five sets of parents said their children had spent money on virtual goods.
--- End quote ---
https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/newstopics/howaboutthat/9901637/Five-year-old-runs-up-1700-iPad-bill-in-ten-minutes.html
Except it appears that they didn't know they were gambling.
I would want to own it outright without paying for virtual things.
For example I'd think I'd rather do buy the whole gambling machine, disable the coins slot and that's the gambling element gone with money.
When I play games I woudn't want to link it to my wallet thank you very much.
--- End quote ---
People are trusting... they expect "serious" companies like Apple to not allow their five year old to empty Grandma's pension account.
cdev:
Why not have people who are obsessed with games be able to earn virtual goods by doing volunteer work in their communities for free?
But I think it makes sense to ban the use of real money, because people are stupid, and these games are often played by kids.
MrMobodies:
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/newsbeat-48701962
--- Quote ---EA games: Loot boxes aren't gambling, they're just like a Kinder Egg
20 June 2019
A vice president of EA games has defended the company's use of loot boxes, saying they're just the same as Kinder Eggs. Kerry Hopkins was speaking in front of UK MPs this week about video game addiction. In 2018, computer scientists from York found a strong link between loot boxes and gambling. But Kerry told MPs that EA believed the boxes are "quite ethical and fun.
If you're not a gamer, loot boxes are virtual crates that contain goodies like weapons, costumes and other perks.
--- End quote ---
So are many other free/ouright purchased games for gamers and non/occasional gamers.
--- Quote ---"We do think the way that we have implemented these kinds of mechanics - and Fifa of course is our big one, our Fifa Ultimate Team and our packs - is actually quite ethical and quite fun, quite enjoyable to people," Kerry said.
Loot boxes are much more than throwaway toys'
But Ryan Brown, a games journalist and PR believes people who play games with loot boxes would disagree with EA.
--- End quote ---
Ethics? Where the throwaway toys can be derived to the money that is thrown away.
So for the throw away toys, you have to pay for them and when the toys are thrown away the money is also thrown away but that never belong to you in the first place but to them. I am I right to think it kinds of borders over subscription based services where you have some rights to certain thingds over a given time?
I question for those who are gambling: Are you playing it or is it playing you?
Mr. Scram:
--- Quote from: james_s on June 22, 2020, 12:40:41 am ---I don't *like* those stupid games, or social media for that matter, both are engineered to be addictive, the latter is arguably much more damaging to society. I'm just skeptical whenever it comes to creating yet more laws, there are so many laws already that nobody could ever be expected to know all of them.
--- End quote ---
I'm all for simplifying the law but I don't think the protection of a very vulnerable group against carefully constructed exploitation is the place to start.
james_s:
--- Quote from: Mr. Scram on July 04, 2020, 03:45:44 pm ---I'm all for simplifying the law but I don't think the protection of a very vulnerable group against carefully constructed exploitation is the place to start.
--- End quote ---
Where is the place to start? For any proposed law out there I can assure you there is a group of people who feel passionately that questioning their proposed law is not the place to start.
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