Panini stickers/Pokémon cards are very different from loot boxes. Unlike loot boxes you buy something physical that, unlike loot boxes, doesn't expire and just dissappear.
Take FIFA Ultimate Team for example, you can buy player packs (loot boxes) for either real life money or in-game currency which is extremely grindy to get. After one year or less there will be a new FIFA version, essentialy making your players in the previous version worthless. Even if you'd decide to continue playing the old FIFA version, you'd still lose your players after a few years when the servers are shut down with no compensation whatsoever.
You can still trade and play with Pokémon cards for the rest of your life if you want to. You can even, again unlike with loot boxes, sell your card collection for real money when you're done with it.
I was going to say that too. However I have 2 things to add.
One - The cards have dollar values, some of them very high. Thus, when you buy them, you actually are "Gambling", I haven't touched Pokemon since I was a kid (first set, maybe second) but I still play magic.
When I buy a pack, I can either, be lucky to get my money back, Lose money, or make money, sometimes Hundreds of dollars. That is gambling.
Two - Now you specify that the cards are physical, but guess what MTGO is a digital version of magic, the cards still come in booster packs, and still sell for tons of money.
MTGO, also allows and ENCOURAGES the sale of Digital MTG Cards. Furhtering the fact it's straight up gambling.
While you can sell, game accounts/items it's frowned upon. Not that it's not done all the time.
--------------------- MERGED ---------------------------
Unfortunately that's not the way this works.
These companies prey on 3 particular groups of individuals:
1) People that are rich and don't give a fuck.
2) Mentally ill/socially awkward people in MMOs that are forced to buy stuff in order to be able to keep up with their (usually) virtual friends.
3) Timmy using dad's creditcard.
All the while making sure that said items you get are either unavailable or simply not worth it to grind for to get them without paying.
There are tons of psychological tricks embedded into these games that make sure that you'll always feel like you're missing out.
The 1% of the playerbase is ruining it for us all, and we can't even blame them.
As long as our government isn't doing anything about this and not protecting the people that don't have the brain capacity to understand that these are scummy business practices nothing will ever change.
As a "Whale" Myself, I beg to differ.
These are only true for people that haven't been around the Loot box world long enough.
I have yet to lose money, by playing an MMO, I spend thousands on everyone I play. And when I am ready to move on, I sell my gold(or whatever that game calls it) and anything else I can that isn't bound, then I sell the entire account, (sometimes I keep it).
That gets me the money I spent back, and sometimes more. During my time playing the game, I sell runs/protection/help ECT, with my friends.
Everyone I play MMOs with, not only spends a ton of money, we make it all back and then some before leaving. It's an investment not an expense.
I think they need to stop worrying about loot boxes, and start adding in protection for people like me. If you payed for the game it's yours, if you bought the box it's yours, you should be able to sell anything you want, including the account itself.
And then when they try to ban you for selling runs, well that's even more ridiculous, you can't stop me from selling my time. Thank gosh for Cash Shop Armor!
(To those not Privy to "Cash Shop Armor", it doesn't mean gear bought from the cash shop. Rather, when you spend thousands on a game as I do, a ban will be lifted immediately, by threatening a charge back, just FYI, and if it isn't, and the permanent ban sticks, the charge back will work in your favor, TOS is not a binding contract, in the fashion game company would have you believe.)
Now you have all been blessed with the secrets of the Whales
.
