Gaming – MMO Fallout

If there’s a company at the forefront of predatory and unethical business conduct in the gaming industry, it has to be Electronic Arts. From the company that brought about the high profile disasters of Mass Effect: Andromeda and Anthem to the wholly panned monetization schemes originally present in Battlefront II, Electronic Arts has become the poster child for various governments looking to put an end to what they perceive as video game publishers coercing children into gambling habits.

But Electronic Arts doesn’t consider what they are selling to be loot boxes, as noted by the VP of legal and government affairs at EA Kerry Hopkins. Speaking to the UK Digital, Culture, Media, and Sports Committee, Hopkins referred to loot boxes as “surprise mechanics” and stated that they are indeed quite ethical. It’s hard not to see this as a company desperately defending its questionable and highly lucrative business practices in the face of increasing threat of government regulation around the world.

Then again, perhaps we don’t need to hear about ethics from the company who patented a method to make subtle adjustments to a game’s difficulty in order to encourage more microtransaction purchases.

Source: PCGamesN

Indiegogo: Gamers Raise $130,000 For Politics-Free Gaming Website

Are gamers sick of politics in gaming? If you look at the success of a recent Indiegogo campaign, the answer looks like a pretty confident yes. Exclusively Games is an upcoming website that promises to be “[a] place for fans of gaming who are sick of politics forcing [its] way inside. All games, no politics.” The campaign started with the goal of raising $5,000 and if you haven’t seen the photo above, has accrued well over two thousand times that amount.

Started by Youtuber Jeremy Hambly, host of the channel The Quartering, the goal of Exclusively Games will be to offer a website where gamers can talk about games with no political strings attached. Hambly does not plan to run ads on the website and will support Exclusively Games solely through merch, patrons, and fundraising drives.

“My only goal is to create a place for fans of escapism. This website will provide a forum, videos and articles covering topics related to just about everything gaming with just one rule, NO POLITICS! We’ll cover video games, coin-op, retro, card games, tabletop games & everything in between.”

The campaign ends approximately 30 minutes from when this article is published.

Source: Indiegogo

(Disclaimer: I contributed a small amount ($30) to this Indiegogo campaign)

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