Overwatch

Yep, he went on a mission with Winston and Tracer, so i guess at some point he was transferred to a regular activities.

So far I've got the Retribution skins for Lucio, Sombra and Hanzo, as well as Tracer's Uprising skin, and two non-event legendary skins (which I'm still salty about).

I have about a million gold set aside to get b.net balance, but I only really want Moira's Retribution skin now so I might save all of that for the Anniversary event instead.

My guess is that Genji was meant to be in Overwatch from the start but because it would take too long for his body to be ready, they gave him a prototype and had him work behind the scenes with Blackwatch while they finished the real one and once that was done he got transferred

I mean, Blackwatch Genji looks pretty freaky so I doubt the higher ups would want the media to know Genji was working for Overwatch in that state

Although some people like me actually wouldn't mind that look because how badass it looks.

So, some of you might've been in the Battlefront thread and some of you might just, you know, have been keeping an eye on the whole mess, but the Belgium Gaming Commision has officially declared that Overwatch's lootboxes are, in fact, gambling and in violation of Belgium law. Along with two of the other three games they investigated (CSGO and FIFA '18). Battlefront II was the only other game investigated, but funnily enough it actually got the clear in its current implementation.

I know Overwatch's lootboxes are all cosmetic and to a lot of people that's of key importance, but I do agree that they fit Belgium's definition of gambling, and probably the definition of gambling elsewhere. And I do think concerns over minors and lootboxes aren't entirely unwarranted.

edited 25th Apr '18 7:52:08 PM by Lavaeolus

Okay if this ends up changing the lootbox system into something where I'm able to get the shit I want even at least a little bit easier then I am all up for considering Overwatch gambling.

Honestly, partly I'm wondering if we should have a separate thread on lootboxes, though the mods might be concerned about it easily becoming a complaint thread. Still, there's enough developments about it, I think. Though the mods have also been coming down more on less series/game-specific threads, so I don't know if that still goes here.

My two questions are:

How are lootboxes different from TC Gs, which presumably aren't considered gambling?

How does Belgium's ruling affect the rest of the world?

TC Gs can be freely traded on your own terms.

Obviously Belgium do not, yet, rule the world as harsh tyrants, but in my understanding the ruling could have several effects. Firstly, as to how the games themselves will have to change in response:

• They could rework current systems to avoid fines and possible prison sentences.
• They could rework current systems... but only in Belgium. More lazily, companies could just remove the ability to buy lootboxes there.
• They could stop selling to Belgium.

The other important consideration is that this ruling doesn't exist in a vacuum. The Netherlands recently made a similar ruling, though I believe there's was limited to games that supported third-party marketplaces and the like (such as in TF2, where people can take hats and trade/sell them to other people), which would put Overwatch in the clear. I know the UK has declared lootboxes 'not gambling', with the admittance that lootboxes are blurring the line a bit, but other countries will be informed by the decisions other ones make.

As to Magic: The Gathering: it'd probably be best to ask someone with more familiarity with card games. I believe part of it was put down to how lootboxes and card packs are sold: lootboxes are immediate, they're designed to be euphoric when you get a 'win'. The way Overwatch lootboxes are visually designed is perhaps relevant: they open, you see one colour (is it something good), it bursts up building tension, then bam all four items revealed. Some cards have more value than others in MTG, but the act of buying and opening them is, I assume, different. I don't know how important all that is to the actual laws, however.

edited 26th Apr '18 7:30:33 AM by Lavaeolus

TCG booster packs aren't very different in terms of addiction (which is the core problem of the gamling practice here), it's really just that no one is making a scandal about it anytime soon so no one will examinate the question, but saying that something isn't very different from those is like admiting defeat.

But I guess at the very least they have the excuses that you can still trade what you gain from them, sell your gains for real life money, or just buy the cards you want manually with real life money. Except in Magic, apparently, and it's something that bothers some players, apparently.

Belgium's ruling has one immediate impact : companies will have to consider what to do about them when selling their games there. They have several options that listed : specifically rework the system in their country is something Overwatch already does in china/japan because their regulations would force them to spell out the exact chances of getting the good stuff and they're not too thrilled to reveal that.

The other effect is that it sets a precedent and could inspire other countries to follow, but that's not something we'll be able to mesure immediately.

edited 26th Apr '18 8:15:21 AM by Yumil

The whole "at least you can trade cards" argument makes no sense to me. You get physical money from actual gambling and freely "trade" that (for lack of a better term). There is no meaningful difference between loot boxes and TCGs.

There's a difference between actual gambling and lootboxes/tcg cards in that you are guaranteed SOME gain from a lootbox, small as it may be, unlike in gambling where you either win or get nothing.

That's the difference that the ESRB originally used to justify not categorizing lootboxes as gambling. And while using that reasoning to classify that as "not gambling" is stupid, it's a difference that exist nonetheless and makes the "sell your gains" point more valid for trading cards than for gambling.

the difference between tcg and lootboxes is that you can neither sell nor trade your gains.

edited 26th Apr '18 8:25:55 AM by Yumil

Yumil gets the prize for vocalising my thoughts better than I can.

Where is EU policy set? I always assumed it was Brussels, But I suppose there's no real reason for this to apply outside of Belgium.

I give up. I have gotten nothing but shitty duplicates gray, yellow, and pink duplicates ever since I got the Pajamei legendary. I don't have money to spend this event so looks like I got to get what I want next year......

I have been grinding constantly and it's so frustrating knowing that some people got Blackwatch Moira or Soldier 24 or Equalizer Lucio in their first free lootboxes while I have grinded for whom knows how many lootboxes at this point and keep getting jackshit.

Well atleast I got the cute stuff I guess. Orisa's puppy victory pose and Mei's skin.....

edited 27th Apr '18 2:34:24 AM by Wispy

I just got Soldier 24. I'll have everything I want if I get Lucio's skin.

I'm just missing four skins (Doomfist, Sombra, Winston, and Lucio) but I have too much homework and no money to spend on lootboxes. :(

I just don't got the money. College affairs kinda screwed me on that front. Even then I am still kinda wondering if their is any point to spending money on this game anymore.

Today was a fairly decent playtime.

I got two Pixel achievements, one for Moira and Junkrat. And honestly, I was NOT planning to get those, I just randomly threw stuff around.

Also, got Talon Doomfist skin. I doubt that I will actually use Doomfist, but at least it looks nice.

I finally managed to save enough coins to get Blackwatch Genji's skin.

I am now content, no way in Hell am I saving a 1,000 more credits or lucky enough to get Blackwatch Moira or Soldier 24 before the event end.

I should really play this game more often.

edited 27th Apr '18 7:05:25 AM by slimcoder

I got Blackwatch McCree, Soldier 24, Talon Sombra and the Winston skin, so I guess I did fairly well in this event

Will be buying Pajamei and Blackwatch Genji before the event ends. Have enough credits for another new skin, but I think I'll save it for the Anniversary.

Still have only gotten the Scion Hanzo skin.

The only other event skins I got was Blackwatch Mc Cree & Overwatch Tracer of which I'm gonna call Bracer cause she's a blue Tracer.

There's also a Brigite Legendary skin but shes not an event one.

i think i'm only missing Doomfist, Lucio and Mei.

At least Moira and Reaper are covered, that's about what i wanted.

Im missing one of the Torbs, Hanzo and Lucio.