The big three console makers all agreed to take action on the controversial gaming mechanic that has been criticized as a form of gambling.
On Wednesday morning, the Entertainment Software Association , which bills itself as the "voice and advocate for the video game industry," announced a new initiative at the Federal Trade Commission in Washington, D.C. addressing the mechanic of "loot boxes" in video games.
Nintendo, Sony and Microsoft — makers of the world's three major video game consoles — agreed to new policies that would require all publishers on their platforms to disclose the odds of receiving in-game content from loot boxes in games. "Sony Interactive Entertainment aims to ensure PlayStation users have access to information and tools, such as parental wallet controls, that will help them make informed decisions about in-game purchasing," Sony said in a statement obtained by. "We support industry efforts to disclose the probability of obtaining randomized virtual items, known as loot boxes, and are committed to providing consumers with this information for all games we produce and publish.
Microsoft shared a similar sentiment: “We believe in transparency with customers and providing them information for making their purchase decisions. This is why by 2020 all new apps or games offering 'loot boxes' or other mechanisms on Microsoft platforms that provide randomized virtual items for purchase must disclose to customers, prior to purchase, the odds of receiving each item.
A number of AAA publishers such as Bethesda, EA and Activision Blizzard already disclose the odds, or "drop rates," of loot boxes in their games. Loot boxes have been a hot-button issue in the gaming world for a few years, with countries such as Belgium outlawing the mechanic. In the U.S.
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