On Wed, 09 Apr 2025 10:54:32 -0400, Spalls Hurgenson
<
spallshurgenson@gmail.com> wrote:
Certainly I dislike
the idea of paying $80 for a game and THEN having to pay more for MTX
and expansions that used to be included in base games.
Speaking of which, it looks like this is going to be harder for
publishers to do in the EU. The Consumer Protection Commission is
considering new rulings* that make a lot of some the slimier aspects
of MTX illegal. These include making it a requirement to have a
one-to-one relationship between virtual currencies and real money,
with the ability to buy virtual currencies in specific and discrete
amounts. This means:
a) no more bundling virtual currencies with other items
to disguise the value of the virtual currency
b) you can buy EXACT amounts of virtual currencies (so
no more being forced to buy 2000 GameBux when the
virtual hat only costs 1800; now you can buy only the
1800 GameBux)
c) a clear relationship between the value of 1 GameBux
and real money (e.g., 1 GameBux = .10 Euros)
As importantly, because there will now be a real relationship between
Euros and virtual currencies, these virtual currencies will face a lot
of the same scrutiny put upon REAL money.
Furthermore, the commission is also suggesting that, like real money,
virtual currencies --and the items purchased with them-- get the same
protections and refund policies of real purchases.
Because a lot of these changes are following up to charges against
publishers of abusing their relationships with children, there are
also suggestions of much more stringent advertising with regards to
MTX. This includes restrictions on timed-sale tactics to push people
to buy now for fear of missing out, or using dark web tactics to push
people to buy more than they initially intended.
Now, of course, the EU Consumer Protection Commission's
recommendations don't have force of law; this still needs to be voted
on by the EU first. But the EU has been very pro-active in consumer
protections and privacy and it isn't that unlikely that the EU will
push these suggestions forward. And unlike the piecemeal
anti-lootbox/MTX laws that have already been passed individually by a
few member states (most notably Belgium), if the whole EU stands by
these recommendations, it won't be something that can be ignored.
More, the EU doesn't give slap-on-the-wrist fines to violators either.
This won't be something that publishers can just disregard, short of
abandoning the EU market (and 1/3 of their revenue) entirely
The publishers are, of course, against this. They get a lot of extra
cash pushing GameBux, and the idea of refunds and extra consumer
protections on virtual goods scares them shitless. Which only makes me
thing all the better of the suggestions. If EA, Activision and Ubisoft
are against it, it's probably a great idea.
* read the statement here (2MB PDF)
https://commission.europa.eu/document/download/8af13e88-6540-436c-b137-9853e7fe866a_en?filename=Key%20principles%20on%20in-game%20virtual%20currencies.pdf
Switching to a higher price
Re: Switching to a higher price