Enlarge / What’s in the box? (credit: Getty / Aurich Lawson)
It’s been a rough holiday season for video game loot boxes. The increasingly common in-game microtransactions (usually just a few dollars each) offer a small chance at ultra-rare upgrades, cosmetic tweaks, and a much larger chance at being packed with common junk. Games like Forza Motorsport 7, Need for Speed Payback, and, of course, Star Wars Battlefront 2 are receiving a slew of critical and user ire for the way they push randomized sets of in-game items on players.
While plenty of gamers are fed up with the practice, one gamer who happens to be a Hawaiian state legislator is trying to do something about it.
Last month, state representative Chris Lee publicly launched his effort to pass legislation regulating the sales of video games with loot boxes in Hawaii. In a press conference flanked by religious and business leaders, parents, and affected gamers, he called out “predatory practices in online gaming and the significant financial consequences they can have on families.” Battlefront 2 got specific condemnation as a “Star Wars-themed online casino” in Lee’s telling.
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