Tag: gaming news

Hawaii Plans to Regulate Lootboxes

If there is one good thing to come from Star Wars Battlefront 2, it is that people around the world being more aware of loot boxes. In regards to a past article, EA (Electronic Arts) faces heavy scrutiny from gamers and government officials regarding the loot box system in Star Wars. Buying loot boxes gave unfair advantages to players in competitive multiplayer and were the best option to unlocking all of the content in the game. Hawaii was very critical against EA and video game companies pushing loot boxes in their games as they viewed it as a form of gambling towards children. Now Hawaii lawmakers are trying to push new bills to regulate loot box purchases.

Chris Lee of Oahu

One pair of bills, House Bill 2686 and Senate Bill 3024, would prohibit people under the age of 21 purchasing any games with randomized rewards using real money. House Bill 2727 and Senate Bill 3025, would require video game companies to label games with randomized purchases and the probability of loot box rewards. State Rep. Chris Lee of Oahu, who spearheaded the bills, stated “I’ve watched firsthand the evolution of the industry from one that seeks to create new things to one that’s begun to exploit people, especially children, to maximize profit.”

While games like Overwatch make earning loot boxes plausible and only offer cosmetics, some are providing advantages in game which encourages people to buy in order to win. Lee stated because the games are only rated T, the games promote gambling at a young age on virtual goods. Despite the backlash, Star Wars Battlefront 2 sold well but not as good as EA had hoped. EA was hoping to make more based on micro-transaction but based on the backlash, had to remove them.

Micro-transaction and in-app purchases are common among video games, including games for younger audience such as Minecraft and smart phone games. GDC (Games Developer Conferences) stated that 1/10 upcoming games would have loot boxes in some manner. One anonymous GameStop employee is wary that the law could lower the cost of sales based on the labels.

Image result for loot boxesMicro-transactions are a huge profit for video game companies. Activision Blizzard made over $4 billion on loot boxes alone in 2017. Often, companies use micro-transactions to earn higher profit margins rather than relying on sales alone. Gamers throughout the world have complained about the system and “games as a service” that has become more prevalent. Whether the law passes will force the industry to change a huge part of sales and potentially shake up the practices.

Sources:

Hawaii Tribute

Rolling Stones – GDC

PC Gamer – Blizzard makes $4 billion

Do Let’s Plays ruin Video games?

Amy Hennig is a video game director and script writer. She is famous for her work at Naughty Dog and writing the story for Legacy of Kain and the Uncharted series. A veteran in the gaming industry, she spoke up about the price of creating video games and how video playthroughs of games ruin sales for the creators and justify microtransactions.

Image result for amy hennig

Video games need to contain enough content to warrant consumers to pay the $60 price tag. Now more than ever, micro payments such as loot boxes and DLC are customary with every game purchase. Consumers often complain that the inclusion of microtransactions are ruining the gaming industry and that video games have become more of a service. To experience the full content of a game or play online, you’re often forced to pay for additional content that many believe should already be included. Hennig states the reasons games as a service have become the standard is because the price of creating video games have risen. She defended the popularity of loot boxes because creation cost have increased but the price of games have not. The budget continues to grow to create bigger and better games but it comes with the price of trying to earn a profit via game sales. The demand for better games have increased as amazing and beautiful games such as Horizon Zero Dawn, Assassin’s Creed Origin, The Last of Us, and Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild have shown single player focused games can still be amazing. However, Single player games have an even difficult time because the replay value isn’t as strong to more audiences in comparison to games with multiplayer aspects. This has led to more video games to come with DLC, season passes, multiplayer, and micro-transactions.

Visceral Games Star Wars project - Imperial-occupied town from early in-game footage
The single player Star Wars game by Visceral – Studio was close by EA for linear based only games

Hennig also stated that the popularity of Let’s plays and video game playthroughs have ruined the sales of Single Player games. People can watch entire games stories or gameplay on YouTube or Twitch through other players. She believes the rising popularity of online media will continue to drop games sales and force companies to find alternative forms on sales such as loot boxes.

Let’s Plays have become a major form of media. Popular online personalities have started gaming channels and play through the entire series. This can introduce potential consumers to buy the game. Now, YouTube and Twitch link to stores where you can buy the games when watching online playthroughs. Videos are seen as indirect marketing and one of the biggest platform that can reach an audience without heavy cost. Some introduce a game that people would never have bought until they saw content creators make playthroughs.  However, there can be an argument on whether it is worth to pay $60 for a single player only game. Video games have become a luxury for some and lack of side content in a story or additional modes of gameplay leads to lower sales. This justifies the addition of microtransaction to make up for the profit lost when games eventually price drop. It really depends on the individual.

What do you think about what Amy Hennig said? Do you agree or do you disagree?

Polygon

WccfTech

Reset Era

Mad Catz is Back

Resurrection! Mad Catz, the video game peripheral company, went out of business in 2017 after poor investments into Rock Band 4 and other poor and expensive controller design choices. The company was well known for their controllers and their arcade sticks. According to sources from CNET from Alex Verrey, Mad Catz is back. After a teaser trailer showcasing on of their mouses, it was revealed today that the company is back. After most of their assets were acquired from a Chinese holding company, they are building new products and are showcasing them at CES 2017 in Las Vegas. They will be showcasing the Strike 4 mechanical keyboard with RGB lighting, the Freq 4 gaming headset, a new gaming mouse known as the Rat Air which can operate completely wirelessly — thanks to a wireless power system built into its included mousepad.

On their website, they are also showcasing keypads, mouses, headsets, and mousepads. Mad Catz may be under new management but the new owners have experience in the peripheral industry. The owners are individuals who worked in the companies’ Chinese factory. They have an understanding in manufacturing since they were the ones who made the products. They are planning to bring back the products that Mad Catz abruptly stopped manufacturing because of the shutdown. The company’s main focus will be on quality instead of quantity. They also only be producing products under the Mad Catz name and will look to expand in the future.

A big question from fighting game fans is Mad Catz going to continue to create fighting game sticks. While there has not been an official announcement, Selena Chang announced on the website that “we’re already working on delivering products which we believe will enhance gamers’ abilities and do justice to the Mad Catz name.” Mark Julio, aka MarkMan, was one of the biggest faces for Mad Catz. He helped change the perception of Mad Catz FightSticks from garbage to legitimate options.

Unfortunately, he announced during an interview with CNET he would not be returning after being let go during the huge lay offs from Mad Catz.

I believe in the brand focusing on its strengths. I felt Mad Catz had a few good products and key communities that backed them. It’ll be interesting to see how fans, communities and individuals will feel about them making a comeback. Just having a product is one thing, having the vision and competency to make the products live longer than just their marketing/shelf life…. that’s another thing.

Many people (myself included) have moved on with life after Mad Catz. Can ghosts from our past still find a place in today’s gaming world? I think so… they’re gonna have their work cut out for them though. Timing is everything.

Are you excited for the return of Mad Catz? Do you consider the return to be good or do you know them as the second controller makers?

Sources:

CNET

MadCatz

Polygon

WHO considers Video Game Addiction a Mental Disorder. What happens next?

WHO (World Health Organization) is considering to add Video Game addiction to the list of mental disorders in 2018. It would be known as a mental disorder. As stated by WHO, excessive gaming addiction can determined by:

  • impaired control in playing  or quitting games
  • Prioritizing video games over anything else
  • Continuing to play games despite the negative effects affecting you

Like all mental disorder affects, it would considered to have an affect on your personal, family, social, educational, occupational or other important areas of functioning. It would take about 12 months to diagnose game addiction as a mental disorder. ICD-WHO

Image result for WHO

What does that mean?

Medical:

The first effect for gaming addiction would be medical based. Gaming addiction falls under the substance abuse/addictive behavior category. This would include drugs and gambling. More funding and research towards creating drugs/medicine to “reduce” the effects of playing video games similarly to anxiety or bi-polar disorder. Although Gaming addiction falls within the category for substance abuse, the body doesn’t need to detox from gaming sessions. Treatment would be similar to gambling addictions such as therapy groups.

Business:

If the change passes then there may be more warnings in games to suggest to players to stop playing after certain hours. The message comes often in MMOs (Massive Multiplayer Online) such as World of Warcraft or Final Fantasy XIV. While parents and adults can find information regarding game addiction online, they have never been shown in game. Gaming stores may face new regulations. Selling a object that falls under substance abuse would have stores need licenses to sell similar to cannabis. There could also be a age restriction for buying video games similar to alcohol.

bird break
Legend of Zelda: Link Between Worlds (3DS)

Opinion:

Everything is negative when done in excess. Video games are no different. While I agree that playing video games too much can be negative, considering it a mental disorder sounds a bit extreme. There are obvious pros and cons to video games. The effect it could have on introducing video games to all people is negative. If games are considered a cause for mental illness, it would make it difficult to grow the medium and introduce it to new people.

Sources:

WHO

Mental Disorder Definition – WHO

Gambling Addiction Treatment