Following the huge controversy with Star Wars Battlefront II loot boxes, which eventually forced EA to remove them temporarily, there's been a lot of talk whether loot boxes can be considered as gambling. According to Take-Two president Karl Slatoff, they shouldn't, depending on the game and its content.
Speaking at Credit Suisse's 21st Annual Technology, Media and Telecom Conference, Karl Slatoff stated that Take-Two doesn't see loot boxes as gambling. Slatoff further clarified that it's all about content and overdelivering it, as it's not possible to force the consumer to do anything.
In terms of the consumer noise you hear in the market right now, for me it's really all about content. It's about over-delivering on content. You can't force the consumer to do anything.
Despite the controversy, it's becoming more and more clear how publishers are not going to abandon microtransactions and other monetization schemes anytime soon. Just yesterday, EA's Blake Jorgensen confirmed that the publisher will not change its strategy anytime soon.
We’re not giving up on the notion of MTX. We’re learning and listening to the community in terms of how best to roll that out in the future, and there’s more to come as we learn more. But I would say we’re certainly not changing our strategy.
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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