LOOT BOXES: Are Bad but We Need Them

After reading this article you’ll know the gist of lootboxes and how they are manipulated by companies. Their misuse, their advantages and working will also be explained. But before we dive in all the interesting details, let me introduce the world of Loot Boxes and explain to you what are Loot Boxes.

What Is A Loot Box

Gaming Loot Box, Loot Crates or commonly known as ‘Loot Boxes’ are basically boxes you get for free or you can buy them inside a game. After obtaining a loot box you can open it and get different rewards. Rewards such as power ups, skins, other cosmetic items, skills and other resources. Loot boxes gained mainstream popularity because of TF2 (Team Fortress 2). Sure loot boxes were present before it but the mainstream attention was due to TF2. It was done due to less sales overtime and they had to have an income supplement. Loot boxes were that supplement which helped generate revenue. This idea spread like wildfire in the gaming industry and helped the games in making tons of money but how did it influence the consumers? Let’s shed some light on this topic.

Advantages Of LOOT BOXES

• Loot boxes give players a new reason to put extra hours and grind for new skins and stuff, which made the game fun if the grind doesn’t take hefty amount of time.
• Loot boxes which give powerups (only SP) and cosmetic items (Multi Player & SP) made the game better e.g now we can kill people while using Godzilla skin in PUBG Mobile. Who wouldn’t want that ?
• Overtime game prices haven’t increased that much and for the same amount of money we get better games than we used to 8 years ago. Yes, the sales have increased but a bigger credit goes to ‘loot boxes’.
• Due to Loot boxes many of us get Free to play games (F2P) like PUBG Mobile and other games because they are more focused on loot boxes for their revenue and not on individual sales of the game.
• Loot boxes raise money and thus we get more content such as maps, skins, moves etc. Just take the example of Overwatch. People buy loot boxes and get skins etc. This helps the individual player look good but it also helps the whole Overwatch community because it generates income which leads to creation of more content.

Disadvantages Of LOOT BOXES

• Loot boxes can be used to skip the grind and reduce the longevity and fun of games. In Star Wars Battlefront II a player can unlock other playable characters by using money or by grinding which could take upto 40 hours! Call of Duty, allows you to receive unique weapons from loot boxes which can give you a clear advantage in the game.
• Loot boxes can be used in games as a pay to win feature. Players can buy power ups, skills and upgrades for which other people spend hours for and this can give those players a clear advantage. Won’t be wrong to call this “paid legal premium hack”.
• Loot boxes are similar to gambling which can lead to real time gambling tendencies. People have said that this helps a person to be more prone to gambling because loot boxes encourage the same mechanics as gambling.
• Premium or rare stuff only obtained by priced loot boxes and not by actual game-play or working hard for them is another example of pay to win and special treatment for paying players.

Do You Need to Buy Loot Boxes ?

Everyone will have a different perspective and it would be totally personal. Ask me and the amount of time I spend on gaming,while my learning curve is less therefore I pick-up quickly so I do not mind spending the keystrokes on W,A,S,D to earn myself a Loot Box. It would be very hard for the game to convince me to buy a Loot Box. On the other hand someone cherishes all the “damn your gear” comment in a game-play while lack the luxury of time or exceptional skills might simply go out and buy such Loot Boxes to get the edge as mentioned.

Loot Box of Conclusion

Everything aside the main thing is loot boxes are very good for both the developers and the players if used and made properly. Pay to win features should be removed. It is not compulsory to buy loot boxes, a person can also play hard for them so it is basically their own choice to do anything they wish. Gambling tendencies should be controlled because if a person doesn’t have control over themselves then is this really the game’s fault? Loot boxes now seem to play an important part in games especially multiplayer so now it’s time for you to decide if they are worth your cash or time.

How much have you spent on Loot Boxes ?