https://nl.metrotime.be/2018/09/10/...zoek-naar-ea-voor-loot-boxes-in-spel-fifa-18/
Google translation below:
It was at the end of the last Jim Sterling video
Google translation below:
It was at the end of the last Jim Sterling video
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So apparently EA are refusing to stop selling lootboxes in Belgium, criminal investigation underway
- Thread starter oni-link
- Start date
Hell aren't most lotteries legally obligated to tell you the odds? Why would that work as an excuse?
I can't quite see EA having a leg to stand on here? If it's part of Belgian law then surely they have to comply?
I will laught until eternity if EA refusing to comply to this law somehow ends up making that more countries Ban lootboxes.
Well if they win or lose it could set an interesting precedent
You can understand why they're shitting themselves, FIFA is their golden goose
*sigh*
EA. They really think they are Gods, don't they?
If this really is what EA did, they're going to be in big trouble. In the Benelux the size of your company means very little.
The law is not open to interpretation.
EA. They really think they are Gods, don't they?
If this really is what EA did, they're going to be in big trouble. In the Benelux the size of your company means very little.
The law is not open to interpretation.
As long as people keep buying EA games, especially at launch, they'll keep being brazen. Star Wars Battlefront II wasn't as lesson so much as a line that they'll have to be more patient to cross.
I presume they could fine them and if EA doesn't pay the fine they couldn't do business in Belgium.
This is highly disingenuous. You're paying for the lootbox (with real money or in-game coins) and you're gambling on the chance of getting a top-rated player but you're more likely to receive players that are relatively worthless. It's absolutely gambling, and knowing the specific odds of getting a top-rated player wouldn't change the fact that it is.
They obviously consulted counsel before they made this decision. My consumer gamer heart is of course saying Eff EA, but my capitalist corporate shark side is impressed that they just said eff it and did it anyway. (They obviously made a cost benefit of the penalty of violating the law, versus the money they make on it, and made a decision accordingly).
Well they can punish them in the same way they would punish any company found breaking gambling laws, which I would imagine to be fines
Treasure boxes?
It's Google translate, so clearly it's not going to be 1 to 1 in terms of accurately
I'd be happy if a native speaker could confirm the translation is accurate though
It's not gambling in U.K. law because you are buying a known thing for a known amount of money. As in the same as buying sticker packs. You might not get the stickers you want. But you know that in advance. And you do get something for your money. It's been tested and doesn't meet the legal definition of gambling here.
Well, It won't happen, but officially they can even go to prison.
Couldn't something like this spread to the EU as a whole if it gets big enough?
Well if they know it's pretty much gambling, and it is, then they either give up now or try their luck with fighting the law
If they lose, then they do as they were told and accept a fine they can easily pay, and if they win, the good days keep on coming
Belgian law has a justice system that looks a lot like the one in my country (The Netherlands) and that's not very likely.
They've tried so hard the last few years yet avoided another award. I guess we need another terrible Mass Effect ending to trigger this. Apparently a bad ending is worse than a bad game (Andromeda) .
Yup, the most important country is Germany. If Germany decides to go with Belgium (and in this case to a lesser extend The Netherlands) it's pretty much decided.
Yes I get that. But it's a distinction being rubbished that does hold some water in many places in the world.
According to the Belgian gambling commission, you can't compare these loot boxes with sticker packs because the same amount of each sticker exists. This is not true for items in loot boxes.
It mostly is, it even says 'little treasure chests' at the place where it got translated to 'treasure boxes'.
I think it is pretty surprising in that the law was made clear to them and they have just said "nah, we're just gonna keep on doing what we want"
Even Valve stopped and did as the law compelled them to do, only releasing a passive aggressive statement saying they disagreed with it
2k stopped and then asked fans to complain to legislators in Belgium, but EA have just ignored the law and kept on trucking