Three Korean companies have been recently fined almost one million dollars over loot boxes practices.
Kotaku reported that Next Floor and Netmarble were ordered to pay small fines, but Nexon a much bigger one, amounting to $875,000, due to the company's handling of loot boxes in a special event for the game Sudden Attack.
According to reports, players were required to complete a puzzle during this event, with two of the required pieces offered in loot boxes. According to the Korean FTC, the odds of getting pieces weren't detailed properly.
The Korean FTC argued that consumers believed the odds of obtaining each piece were the same, when in fact some of the pieces would only be present in 0.5% of loot boxes. They highlighted the case of one player who spent $430 trying to get the pieces as an example of the effect that advertising was having on players.
The FTC’s actions have signaled alarm across the Korean game sector, as it could hurt the sales of in-game items — particularly randomized items, which users tend to continuously buy until they get a desired result — that contribute immensely to profits.
With more and more counties taking a stance against bad loot boxes practices, many developers have started abandoning them, for the time being at least. There's no doubt, however, that they will come up with something new, so the war against loot boxes and similar practices has only just begun. Who will win? Only time will tell.
About the author: Francesco De Meo has been covering video games and technology since 2012, starting his career at small outlets like Gamersyndrome and GeekSnack. After joining Wccftech gaming section in 2015, he quickly expanded his video gaming coverage with in-depth reporting, interviews with iconic industry figures such as Grasshopper Manufacture founder and No More Heroes creator Goichi "Suda51" Suda, Resident Evil series creator Shinji Mikami, Team NINJA's president and Nioh series director Fumihiko Yasuda, and Silent Hill creator Keiichiro Toyama, reviews and on-the-ground coverage of major industry events such as Gamescom and E3. When he's not reporting or reviewing, Francesco can be found playing the genres he loves most, spending time with his six cats, reading, writing music, playing guitar and drumming for his progressive rock band.
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