Originally posted by Superman Falls
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The problem could be that this may set up an arms race, where the publishers keep modifying the boxes just enough to get around legislation. For instance, Apple, a while back, were apparently considering banning random boxes on the AppStore; publishers changed the boxes so you can't buy them with real money, you had to buy virtual currency and buy the boxes with that currency instead. It got around the change.
In China, I believe they once had a point where they were going to ban the practice of receiving random items in boxes, but the publishers changed it so that the users were buying in-game currency, and they would receive a "free gift" with said currency... Which was just a loot box. But because the user wasn't buying the lootbox per se, it got around the change, and I think the rule never came in anyway.
Not that these outliers are a reason not to try; far from it. Just it probably won't be something which happens overnight. The biggest change may come if the US consumer is swayed to think these are gambling, as the US is... Weird... About gambling. They have quite complex rules about it, and people have strong opinions about it too.
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