She’s not wrong about loot box mechanics, and Valve’s use of a real-money marketplace alongside them makes the association to real-money gambling much easier.
At the same time, other companies without the direct marketplace are also creating gambling loops. See: Any openable with random contents of varying rarity/impact/value. EA is huge on this now (Ultimate Team modes). Trading card games (Magic: The Gathering). Even the mystery boxes of kids toys available for $2 from a vending machine are all gambling adjacent. The real money step just happens outside of their system. Selling accounts, selling Magic Cards, selling physical collectibles…
As much as I love Valve, these should all be addressed if we value keeping children safe from addictive gambling behaviors.
OppositeofDeath on
Unfortunately, while this would still be good, we are MUCH further beyond the pale than this already. Microtransactions without concealment are at $100+ in many games, and many people/kids lack the capacity to not spend in these. Legislation is way too far behind and needs to catch up.
GetOutOfTheWhey on
ending microtransactions is something i can get behind on
nemesit on
not wrong eh
bahumat42 on
They are right, it absolutely is gambling.
And it absolutely a problem.
Impressive-Check5376 on
20 years later lol
Joeyjackhammer on
Pokémon cards are gambling, too. All trading cards are, in fact.
imJGott on
Sue valve but not EA and the many others?
Ok-Prompt-59 on
You could just make games with loot boxes M rated and absolve yourself of any wrong doing.
ArsonHoliday on
And yet we are completely fine with all of the major gambling sites like Draft Kings, Fan Duel, et all. There are too many to even list.
Got it, makes sense.
Toby101125 on
Sounds good but sue all of them, not just Valve.
PUMPEDnPLUMP on
Little late but yes
zebrasmack on
100% are. Go new york!
CrimsonHeretic on
Should have been EA, the ones who started this shit in the first place. Bad look.
Deer_Investigator881 on
Wait until they find out what 2k has been doing……
jonnys62 on
I appreciate the sentiment, but we JUST legalized sports gambling in every state and I haven’t heard a single thing about regulating prediction markets. Why are we pretending we care about gambling problems when clearly we, as a society, don’t give a flying fuck?
To be clear, I give a fuck, I think sports gambling should be illegal.
ocelot08 on
Lol. They absolutely are. Along side the prediction markets that are also literal gambling.
tmdblya on
Now do Wizards of the Coast.
Kingzfall on
Gonna go after collectible card games next? Just IRL loot boxes.
Relevant-Doctor187 on
Baseball cards, Pokémon, and stores full of blind boxes are the same effing thing.
nukez on
The damage Valve might be doing is a drop in the bucket compared to sports and event betting markets or mobile gaming.
TKDbeast on
I have complicated feelings about this. Other games have much more predatory gambling systems, but by allowing free trade between users of in-game items and an accessible first-party marketplace – an expensive and arguably pro-consumer choice by Valve – they’ve made the “payout” translate to real-world cash via third-party *and* in-house services. But if somebody goes crazy and drops $10,000 on CS:GO, they can still resell their drops – something the many, many people who have dropped similar amounts in games like Genshin Impact absolutely cannot.
Art_student_rt on
To be honest, valve popularized tons of mtx bullshit back in the day, and one of the biggest factor of driving physical media to dying breed it is now.
Powerful_Brief1724 on
Pft. Yeah, right. Sue Valve. What about the other companies? Why not sue those massive AAA games as well? Looks like Valve reserved their right to not bribe NY representatives & now they’re trying to “make an example” out of them…
Nervous-Yak-4642 on
Would be nice if they put that energy on going after companies like Kalshi and Polymarket…
Security_Wrong on
Why is Valve the first company you’re hitting with this?
ThisIsATestingCenter on
Not wrong but you should sue EA and Microsoft as well
Fingerprint_Vyke on
Why just valve?
Shouldn’t they also go after EA, Activision and every other major publisher?
J0rkank0 on
So are surprise bags from 7-11
TheDevilsAdvokaat on
Loot boxes ARE gambling.
SpiderDijonJr on
Bunch of dumbasses. I can’t go ten minutes without seeing an ad for gambling, but loot boxes take it a step too far lmao.
HuoLongHeavy on
Targeting one of the most wele liked gaming companies is not the way to gain support for legislation like this.
34 Comments
Yes, but why single them out?
She’s not wrong about loot box mechanics, and Valve’s use of a real-money marketplace alongside them makes the association to real-money gambling much easier.
At the same time, other companies without the direct marketplace are also creating gambling loops. See: Any openable with random contents of varying rarity/impact/value. EA is huge on this now (Ultimate Team modes). Trading card games (Magic: The Gathering). Even the mystery boxes of kids toys available for $2 from a vending machine are all gambling adjacent. The real money step just happens outside of their system. Selling accounts, selling Magic Cards, selling physical collectibles…
As much as I love Valve, these should all be addressed if we value keeping children safe from addictive gambling behaviors.
Unfortunately, while this would still be good, we are MUCH further beyond the pale than this already. Microtransactions without concealment are at $100+ in many games, and many people/kids lack the capacity to not spend in these. Legislation is way too far behind and needs to catch up.
ending microtransactions is something i can get behind on
not wrong eh
They are right, it absolutely is gambling.
And it absolutely a problem.
20 years later lol
Pokémon cards are gambling, too. All trading cards are, in fact.
Sue valve but not EA and the many others?
You could just make games with loot boxes M rated and absolve yourself of any wrong doing.
And yet we are completely fine with all of the major gambling sites like Draft Kings, Fan Duel, et all. There are too many to even list.
Got it, makes sense.
Sounds good but sue all of them, not just Valve.
Little late but yes
100% are. Go new york!
Should have been EA, the ones who started this shit in the first place. Bad look.
Wait until they find out what 2k has been doing……
I appreciate the sentiment, but we JUST legalized sports gambling in every state and I haven’t heard a single thing about regulating prediction markets. Why are we pretending we care about gambling problems when clearly we, as a society, don’t give a flying fuck?
To be clear, I give a fuck, I think sports gambling should be illegal.
Lol. They absolutely are. Along side the prediction markets that are also literal gambling.
Now do Wizards of the Coast.
Gonna go after collectible card games next? Just IRL loot boxes.
Baseball cards, Pokémon, and stores full of blind boxes are the same effing thing.
The damage Valve might be doing is a drop in the bucket compared to sports and event betting markets or mobile gaming.
I have complicated feelings about this. Other games have much more predatory gambling systems, but by allowing free trade between users of in-game items and an accessible first-party marketplace – an expensive and arguably pro-consumer choice by Valve – they’ve made the “payout” translate to real-world cash via third-party *and* in-house services. But if somebody goes crazy and drops $10,000 on CS:GO, they can still resell their drops – something the many, many people who have dropped similar amounts in games like Genshin Impact absolutely cannot.
To be honest, valve popularized tons of mtx bullshit back in the day, and one of the biggest factor of driving physical media to dying breed it is now.
Pft. Yeah, right. Sue Valve. What about the other companies? Why not sue those massive AAA games as well? Looks like Valve reserved their right to not bribe NY representatives & now they’re trying to “make an example” out of them…
Would be nice if they put that energy on going after companies like Kalshi and Polymarket…
Why is Valve the first company you’re hitting with this?
Not wrong but you should sue EA and Microsoft as well
Why just valve?
Shouldn’t they also go after EA, Activision and every other major publisher?
So are surprise bags from 7-11
Loot boxes ARE gambling.
Bunch of dumbasses. I can’t go ten minutes without seeing an ad for gambling, but loot boxes take it a step too far lmao.
Targeting one of the most wele liked gaming companies is not the way to gain support for legislation like this.
Also we want Half-Life 3!!!!