scholarly journals Opening Pandora’s loot box: Novel links with gambling, and player opinions on probability disclosures and pity-timers in China

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Leon Y. Xiao ◽  
Tullia C. Fraser ◽  
Philip Warren Stirling Newall
Keyword(s):  
Video Games ◽  
Consumer Protection ◽  
Video Game ◽  
Protection Measures ◽  
Cultural Contexts ◽  
Republic Of China ◽  
Methodological Choices ◽  
Gambling Participation ◽  
Low Levels ◽  
Positive Correlations

Loot boxes are quasi-gambling virtual products in video games that provide randomised rewards of varying value. Previous studies in Western contexts have identified a positive correlation between loot box purchasing and problem gambling. A preregistered survey of People’s Republic of China (PRC) video game players (N=879) largely failed to replicate this correlation, possibly due to low levels of gambling participation (n=87). Statistically significant but modest positive correlations between loot box expenditure and past-year gambling participation, and between loot box expenditure and impulsiveness, were found. Most loot box purchasers (84.6%) reported seeing loot box probability disclosures which the PRC legally requires, but only 19.3% of this group reported consequently spending less money. Most loot box purchasers (86.9%) thought that pity-timers, which increase the winning probabilities of obtaining rarer rewards, are appropriate for implementation. Future loot box research should give greater consideration to cultural contexts, methodological choices, and novel consumer protection measures.

scholarly journals Probability disclosures are not enough: Reducing loot box reward complexity as a part of ethical video game design

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Leon Y. Xiao ◽  
Philip Warren Stirling Newall
Keyword(s):  
Video Games ◽  
Consumer Protection ◽  
Video Game ◽  
Game Design ◽  
Digital Goods ◽  
Protection Measures ◽  
Video Game Design

Loot boxes in video games provide randomised rewards that bear structural similarities to gambling. Current loot box consumer protection measures, such as requiring probability disclosures, have been inspired by similar approaches in gambling. However, current loot box rewards are too complex for consumers to be meaningfully protected by probability disclosures alone. But as digital goods, loot boxes can be redesigned in more ethical ways. Four reductions to loot box reward complexity are proposed: capping the maximum number of loot boxes per game and potential rewards per loot box, equalising ‘winning’ probabilities across rewards, and implementing ‘exhaustible’ loot boxes.

scholarly journals Drafting Video Game Loot Box Regulation for Dummies: A Chinese Lesson

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Leon Y. Xiao
Keyword(s):  
Video Games ◽  
Problem Gambling ◽  
Consumer Protection ◽  
Video Game ◽  
People’S Republic Of China ◽  
People's Republic Of China ◽  
Republic Of China ◽  
Western Countries ◽  
Vulnerable Consumers

Loot boxes are virtual items in video games that players purchase to obtain randomised rewards of varying value. Such randomised monetisation methods are prevalently implemented globally. Loot boxes are conceptually and structurally akin to gambling, and their purchase is positively correlated with problem gambling in Western countries. Given the potential harms loot boxes may cause, particularly to vulnerable consumers, e.g., children, regulators and policymakers are paying increasing attention. Some countries, e.g., Belgium, have actively enforced existing gambling laws to ban certain loot box implementations. However, less restrictive regulatory approaches, e.g., requiring probability disclosures, are also being considered. Amendments to existing law and new laws dedicated to regulating loot boxes are likely forthcoming in many countries. Companies’ discretionary and suboptimal compliance with loot box probability disclosure law in the People’s Republic of China reveals how future loot box laws and industry self-regulations should be better drafted to ensure maximum consumer protection.

scholarly journals Gaming the system: legally-required loot box probability disclosures in video games in China are implemented sub-optimally

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Leon Y. Xiao ◽  
Laura L. Henderson ◽  
Yuhan Yang ◽  
Philip Warren Stirling Newall
Keyword(s):  
Video Games ◽  
Video Game ◽  
Self Regulation ◽  
Legal Regulation ◽  
People’S Republic Of China ◽  
Disordered Gambling ◽  
People's Republic Of China ◽  
Disclosure Regulation ◽  
Republic Of China

Paid loot boxes provide randomised rewards in video games; their use is linked to disordered gambling and they are present in approximately half of UK video games. The relative novelty of loot boxes means that regulators and policymakers in various jurisdictions are still deciding how to regulate them. The People’s Republic of China (PRC) is the first and only jurisdiction to legally require video game companies to disclose the probabilities of obtaining randomised loot box rewards—an approach that is also favoured by the video games industry as self-regulation. This study is the first to assess loot box prevalence in the PRC and video game companies’ discretionary interpretations of the probability disclosure regulation. Loot boxes were found in 91 of the 100 most-popular PRC iPhone games, and 90.5% of games deemed suitable for children aged 12+ contained loot boxes. For games containing loot boxes, disclosure statements could not be found for 4.4% of games. Loot box probability disclosures were implemented through various means, but only five games used the most prominent disclosure format. Legal regulation and/or self-regulation of loot box probability disclosures should require uniform and prominent disclosures to best help inform consumers.

Frustration and Violence in Mobile Video Games

2020 ◽  
Vol 79 (2) ◽  
pp. 63-70
Author(s):  
Petr Květon ◽  
Martin Jelínek
Keyword(s):  
Video Games ◽  
Video Game ◽  
Implicit Association Test ◽  
Self Determination Theory ◽  
Psychological Needs ◽  
Basic Psychological Needs ◽  
Self Determination ◽  
Mobile Video ◽  
Violent Content ◽  
Before And After

Abstract. This study tests two competing hypotheses, one based on the general aggression model (GAM), the other on the self-determination theory (SDT). GAM suggests that the crucial factor in video games leading to increased aggressiveness is their violent content; SDT contends that gaming is associated with aggression because of the frustration of basic psychological needs. We used a 2×2 between-subject experimental design with a sample of 128 undergraduates. We assigned each participant randomly to one experimental condition defined by a particular video game, using four mobile video games differing in the degree of violence and in the level of their frustration-invoking gameplay. Aggressiveness was measured using the implicit association test (IAT), administered before and after the playing of a video game. We found no evidence of an association between implicit aggressiveness and violent content or frustrating gameplay.

Only problem gamblers spend less money when loot boxes are removed from a game: A before and after study of Heroes of the Storm

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
David Zendle
Keyword(s):  
Video Games ◽  
Problem Gambling ◽  
Video Game ◽  
Real World ◽  
Complex Pattern ◽  
Problem Gamblers ◽  
Before And After ◽  
Gambling Severity ◽  
Reliable Correlation ◽  
Before And After Study

Loot boxes are items in video games that may be paid for with real-world money, but which contain randomised contents. There is a reliable correlation between loot box spending and problem gambling severity: The more money gamers spend on loot boxes, the more severe their problem gambling tends to be. However, it is unclear whether this link represents a case in which loot box spending causes problem gambling; a case in which the gambling-like nature of loot boxes cause problem gamblers to spend more money; or whether it simply represents a case in which there is a general dysregulation in in-game spending amongst problem gamblers, nonspecific to loot boxes.The multiplayer video game Heroes of the Storm recently removed loot boxes. In order to better understand links between loot boxes and problem gambling, we conducted an analysis of players of Heroes of the Storm (n=112) both before and after the removal of loot boxes.There were a complex pattern of results. In general, when loot boxes were removed from Heroes of the Storm, problem gamblers appeared to spend significantly less money in-game in contrast to other groups. These results suggest that the presence of loot boxes in a game may lead to problem gamblers spending more money in-game. It therefore seems possible that links between loot box spending and problem gambling are not due to a general dysregulation in in-game spending amongst problem gamblers, but rather are to do with specific features of loot boxes themselves.

Gambling-like video game practices: A cross-sectional study of links with problem gambling and disordered gaming

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
David Zendle
Keyword(s):  
Video Games ◽  
Problem Gambling ◽  
Video Game ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Significant Degree ◽  
Cross Sectional Study ◽  
Video Gaming ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
Streaming Services ◽  
Clinically Significant

A variety of practices have recently emerged which are related to both video games and gambling. Most prominent of these are loot boxes. However, a broad range of other activities have recently emerged which are also related to both gambling and video games: esports betting, real-money video gaming, token wagering, social casino play, and watching videos of both loot box opening and gambling on game streaming services like Twitch.Whilst a nascent body of research has established the robust existence of a relationship between loot box spending and both problem gambling and disordered gaming, little research exists which examines whether similar links may exist for the diverse practices outlined above. Furthermore, no research has thus far attempted to estimate the prevalence of these activities.A large-scale survey of a representative sample of UK adults (n=1081) was therefore conducted in order to investigate these issues. Engagement in all measured forms of gambling-like video game practices were significantly associated with both problem gambling and disordered gaming. An aggregate measure of engagement was associated with both these outcomes to a clinically significant degree (r=0.23 and r=0.43). Engagement in gambling-like video game practices appeared widespread, with a 95% confidence interval estimating that 16.3% – 20.9% of the population engaged in these activities at least once in the last year. Engagement in these practices was highly inter-correlated: Individuals who engaged in one practice were likely to engage in several more.Overall, these results suggest that the potential effects of the blurring of lines between video games and gambling should not primarily be understood to be due to the presence of loot boxes in video games. They suggest the existence of a convergent ecosystem of gambling-like video game practices, whose causal relationships with problem gambling and disordered gaming are currently unclear but must urgently be investigated.

scholarly journals Gaming the system: suboptimal compliance with loot box probability disclosure regulations in China

2021 ◽  
pp. 1-27
Author(s):  
Leon Y. Xiao ◽  
Laura L. Henderson ◽  
Yuhan Yang ◽  
Philip W. S. Newall
Keyword(s):  
Video Games ◽  
Self Regulation ◽  
People’S Republic Of China ◽  
Disordered Gambling ◽  
People's Republic Of China ◽  
Republic Of China

Abstract Loot boxes provide randomized rewards in video games; their purchase is linked to disordered gambling and they are present in approximately half of UK video games. The relative novelty of loot boxes means that regulators and policymakers in various jurisdictions are still deciding how to regulate them. The People's Republic of China (PRC) is the first, and presently only, jurisdiction to legally require companies to disclose the probabilities of obtaining randomized loot box rewards – an approach that is also favored by the industry as self-regulation. This study is the first to assess paid loot box prevalence in the PRC and companies’ discretionary interpretations of probability disclosure regulations. Loot boxes were found in 91 of the 100 highest-grossing PRC iPhone games. Of games deemed suitable for children aged 12+, 90.5% contained loot boxes. Probability disclosures could not be found for 4.4% of games containing loot boxes. Disclosures were implemented through various methods both in-game and on the games’ official websites; however, consistent with the concept of ‘sludge,’ only 5.5% used the most prominent format of automatically displaying the probabilities on the in-game loot box purchase page. Loot box probability disclosures should be uniform and visually prominent to best help inform consumers.

“If anyone’s going to ruin your night, it should be you”: Responsibility and affective materiality in Undertale and Night in the Woods

2021 ◽  
pp. 135485652110144
Author(s):  
Kevin Veale
Keyword(s):  
Video Games ◽  
Video Game ◽  
Affective Experience ◽  
Modes Of Engagement

Affective materiality is a tool for exploring how engaging with textual structures shapes the affective experience of a story. The experience of video games is distinctive because their modes of engagement can lead to players feeling responsible for the decisions they make within the diegetic space of the game and its contextual storyworld. Night in the Woods and Undertale both use the perception of responsibility found in video game modes of engagement as an active storytelling tool, but apply it in different ways. Despite the differences in their contextual application, both games use affective materiality to encourage players to reflect on the consequences of their decisions in multiple arenas: within the context of the game, their engagement with other games and their engagement with the wider world. In doing so, both games apply storytelling techniques that distinguish playing video games from the experience of other media forms and encourage an empathetic engagement with fictional storyworlds.

scholarly journals The case for reviewing broadcasting co-regulation

2021 ◽  
pp. 1329878X2110055
Author(s):  
Karen Lee ◽  
Derek Wilding
Keyword(s):  
Consumer Protection ◽  
Commercial Television ◽  
Protection Measures ◽  
Digital Platforms ◽  
Communications Policy ◽  
Codes Of Practice ◽  
Holistic Review ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
Commercial Radio ◽  
Rule Making

This article applies principles from the Department of Communications’ policy review of telecommunications consumer protection to broadcasting co-regulation. The Consumer Safeguards Review establishes six principles for good regulation, including that rule-making processes should ‘enable a wide range of views to be considered’. It notes that processes for developing telecommunications codes of practice are likely to lead to ‘sub-optimal’ consumer protection measures. The article draws on original empirical research to assess development of commercial television and commercial radio codes of practice, with particular emphasis on public engagement in co-regulation. It finds the broadcasting codes of practice fail to meet the principles adopted by the Department for good co-regulation. It concludes by arguing there is a pressing need for a more holistic review of communications co-regulation, as broadcasting legislation is similar to the telecommunications legislation, and there is a risk that ‘sub-optimal’ practices could be applied in attempts to regulate digital platforms.

Tusslers, Beatdowns, and Brothers: A Sociohistorical Overview of Video Game Arcades and theStreet FighterCommunity

2017 ◽  
Vol 14 (7-8) ◽  
pp. 742-762
Author(s):  
Michael Ryan Skolnik ◽  
Steven Conway
Keyword(s):  
Video Games ◽  
Identity Formation ◽  
Video Game ◽  
Economic Conditions ◽  
Moral Panics ◽  
The Social ◽  
History Of ◽  
And Performance ◽  
Historical Movement

Alongside their material dimensions, video game arcades were simultaneously metaphysical spaces where participants negotiated social and cultural convention, thus contributing to identity formation and performance within game culture. While physical arcade spaces have receded in number, the metaphysical elements of the arcades persist. We examine the historical conditions around the establishment of so-called arcade culture, taking into account the history of public entertainment spaces, such as pool halls, coin-operated entertainment technologies, video games, and the demographic and economic conditions during the arcade’s peak popularity, which are historically connected to the advent of bachelor subculture. Drawing on these complementary histories, we examine the social and historical movement of arcades and arcade culture, focusing upon the Street Fighter series and the fighting game community (FGC). Through this case study, we argue that moral panics concerning arcades, processes of cultural norm selection, technological shifts, and the demographic peculiarities of arcade culture all contributed to its current decline and discuss how they affect the contemporary FGC.

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