News

EA Hilariously Calls Loot Boxes ‘Ethical Surprise Mechanics’

EA Calls Loot Boxes ‘Surprise Mechanics’

I think most would largely tend to agree that, like it or not, loot boxes are part and parcel of many AAA gaming releases these days. They are, after all, a very effective means of developers being able to squeeze out additional profits from a game by offering skins or upgrades. The whole question of the nature of loot boxes has, however, been under scrutiny for a couple of years now. Specifically, whether they are, essentially a form of gambling.

Speaking to a UK Parliamentary commission, however, EA may have just sunk to hilarious new depths as they attempted to rebrand loot boxes as “surprise mechanics”. Oh, don’t worry though, EA thinks that they are “very ethical”.

“Very Ethical”

Firstly, I feel the need to clarify. Yes, they are direct quotes from EA’s Kerry Hopkins, VP of legal and government affairs. EA considers loot boxes “surprise mechanics” and are convinced their approach is “very ethical”. They are (and again I quote) the gaming equivalent of a “Kinder Surprise”… I’ll just let that sink in for a moment.

It’s still the morning as I write this and I’m 100% convinced I’m not going to hear anything more ridiculous today or, indeed, probably for the rest of the month!

What Do We Think?

Honestly? If this is the official position that EA is taking, then you have to admire their confidence, but nothing else. While game publishers are clearly loathed to see loot boxes classed as gambling, a move that would turn any game with their inclusion to an automatic 18 in the UK, they’re waving a banana in the face of this commission calling it a female aardvark! (100 points if you get the reference).

It’s just a ridiculous position to take, however, that this is surely only going to backfire on them. While you might be sitting on the fence as to whether loot boxes are gambling here, such statements by EA only insult everyone’s intelligence.

Mike Sanders

Disqus Comments Loading...

Recent Posts

Geometric Future Launches Model 5, a Compact Yet Highly Compatible PC Case

Geometric Future, a rising name in PC components and peripherals, has just announced its latest…

19 hours ago

Intel Is Rumored to Be Launching Battlemage for Desktops Next Month

When we talk about the next generation of graphics cards, 2025 seems to be the…

19 hours ago

Crucial P3 PLUS 1TB M.2 2280 PCI-e 4.0 NVMe Solid State Drive

Upgrade your PC with the fast Gen4 performance it needs at a price you want.…

19 hours ago

ASUS ROG Falchion RX Low Profile 60% USB RGB Gaming Keyboard

ROG Falchion RX Low Profile 65% compact wireless gaming keyboard with ROG RX low-profile optical…

19 hours ago

Gigabyte 27″ GS27Q-EK 2560×1440 SS IPS 165Hz 1ms Widescreen Gaming Monitor

GIGABYTE GS27Q is designed to offer you the most pleasant gaming experience. GS27Q features a…

19 hours ago

Cooler Master 27″ GA2711 2560×1440 IPS 100Hz 1ms Widescreen Gaming Monitor

The GA271 is a WQHD monitor with up to 100Hz refresh rate with Adaptive Sync…

19 hours ago