Nintendo, Sony, Microsoft to require loot box odds disclosure

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Nintendo, Sony, Microsoft to require loot box odds disclosure ESA says platform holders will roll out new policy that would apply to new games and updates that add loot box features

Brendan Sinclair North American Editor Wednesday 7th August 2019 Share this article Share

Companies in this article The ESA

The Entertainment Software Association has said that Nintendo, Sony, and Microsoft are working on new policies to require loot box odds disclosure on their systems.

Entertainment Software Association chief counsel of tech policy Michael Warnecke announced the news this morning at the Federal Trade Commission's Inside the Game workshop on the loot box issue. The comments came after Warnecke recapped the industry's previous attempts to address loot box concerns: an in-game purchases label on retail titles and platform-level spending controls on consoles and the EA Origin PC storefront.

"That said, we are doing more," Warnecke said. "I'm pleased to announce this morning that Microsoft, Nintendo, and Sony have indicated to ESA a commitment to new platform policies with respect to the use of paid loot boxes in games that are developed for their platform. Specifically, this would apply to new games and game updates that add loot box features. And it would require the disclosure of the relative rarity or probabilities of obtaining randomized virtual items in games that are available on their platforms.

"As well, many of the leading video game publishers of the Entertainment Software Association have decided that they are going to implement a similar approach at the publisher level to provide consumers this information and give them enhanced information to make purchase decisions."

Apple mandated lootbox odds disclosure for iOS games in 2017. Google followed suit with Google Play requirements earlier this year.

Update: The ESA has provided more details on the loot box disclosures, saying that platform holders are targeting to implement them in 2020. The trade group released a list of its member companies that have pledged to release loot box disclosure odds on all new games by the end of 2020. That list includes Activision Blizzard, Bandai Namco Entertainment, Bethesda, Bungie, Electronic Arts, Microsoft, Nintendo, Sony Interactive Entertainment, Take-Two Interactive, Ubisoft, Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment, and Wizards of the Coast.

Some notable ESA member publishers who haven't made such a commitment include 505 Games, Capcom, CI Games, Deep Silver, Disney Interactive Studios, Epic Games, Focus Home Interactive, Gearbox Publishing, GungHo, Intellivision Entertainment, Kalypso, Konami, Magic Leap, NCsoft, Natsume, Nexon, Rebellion, Riot Games, Sega, Square Enix, THQ Nordic, Tencent, and Marvelous.

MrGains on August 7th, 2019 at 17:05 UTC »

Awesome and I hope this makes mainstream media. If I knew my kid was asking for $5 to buy something that they had a .2% chance of actually getting, that'd be a day we went to the store and learned some stuff about what money can buy.

Dagrix on August 7th, 2019 at 16:15 UTC »

EA and 2K about to be fucked with their sports games, that would be a welcome sight.

Danzego on August 7th, 2019 at 16:04 UTC »

Odds are: loot boxes are a rip off.