Loot boxes are a hot topic right now. More and more governments are looking into the issue trying to figure out is this type of practice in video games can be considered as gambling and should be regulated. Yesterday, EA’s VP of legal and government affairs, Kerry Hopkins, testified in front of the United Kingdom’s Digital, Culture, Media and Sport Committee and found a new way to name loot boxes. He called it ‘surprise mechanics’…
The new term was used when Hopkins tried to answer the question from a committee member whether loot boxes can be considered an ethical feature. Hopkins began her answer stating that EA doesn’t call the feature ‘loot box’:
“Well first, we don’t call them loot boxes <…> we look at them as surprise mechanics.”
Later, Kerry Hopkins explained what she meant by that and compared loot boxes with other ‘surprise toys’ such as Kinder Eggs, Hatchimals or LOL Surprise. Here’s her answer captured on video:
EA representatives weren’t the only ones answering the questions. Epic Games representative was also present and he wasn’t so firm on his stance. While the company removed the random element from loot boxes in Fortnite’s non-battle-royale mode called Save The World, he admitted that “there’s more that the industry can do” regarding loot box business. However, EA’s Kerry Hopkins wasn’t on the same page.
EA – Electronic Arts? More like Evil Axis…
