this post was submitted on 10 Feb 2025
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Valve ban advertising-based business models on Steam, no forced adverts like in mobile games (www.gamingonlinux.com)
submitted 4 months ago by simple@lemm.ee to c/games@lemmy.world
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[–] JasonDJ@lemmy.zip 12 points 4 months ago (4 children)

I get the hate for lootboxes, but as a casual who hasn't played PC games in forever...what makes the lootbox mechanic any worse than CCGs?

Couldn't it be said that MtG and other CCGs have been guilty of the exact same thing since their inception?

[–] ryathal@sh.itjust.works 4 points 4 months ago (1 children)

There two big differences to me are scale and value. A ccg has rare cards, but they aren't actually that rare compared to loot boxes. Loot boxes tend to have both lower drop rates and pollute their drops with lots of garbage, even for rare drops. Secondly, physical cards have value, you can sell or trade them, you can buy singles of cards you want. You can use them for things other than the game as well.

[–] AngryMob@lemmy.one 3 points 4 months ago

Aside from drop rates everything you said applies to Valve too. Counter Strike skins can be traded or sold for real cash (tied to steam wallet, but still), and you can purchase singles of what you want.

I know other games loot boxes dont follow this, but its interesting for the sake of comparison.

[–] Buddahriffic@lemmy.world 2 points 4 months ago

From my POV, there isn't a difference, other than a CCG gives you physical objects so wotc can't just up and decide that they don't want to run magic anymore and make all of that loot disappear.

But from the gambling perspective, it's exactly the same. Oh, actually one other difference, electronic gambling can fuck with the odds in real time while physical cards need to be determined when the pack is assembled. But it's still based on false scarcity.

[–] ysjet@lemmy.world 1 points 4 months ago

CCGs hasn't had a massive, massive Epic Games-paid astroturfing campaign against valve/steam like 'lootboxes' has. That's the difference.

[–] echodot@feddit.uk 1 points 4 months ago (1 children)

Well apart from anything else rare cards actually are worth real money. But there's no legitimate way to sell loop boxes if you decide you want to get out of it.

[–] JasonDJ@lemmy.zip 1 points 4 months ago (1 children)

Rare cards are only worth real money because there is a secondary market for them.

As I understand it, the same is true for lootbox drops. The only difference is in how rare an item actually is, but that is also reflected in price, since the resale is entirely market driven.

You could say that Valve rigs the drop rate, but you could say the same thing for Magic. It's all manufactured shortage.

You could say that Magic items are tangible...but honestly I don't see how that's an argument in the modern digital-first era.

I'm not trying to defend lootboxes...not directly, at least. Just trying to understand the hypocrisy in the gaming community comparing these two.

[–] echodot@feddit.uk 1 points 4 months ago* (last edited 4 months ago)

But trading cards are real physical things that you can sell loot boxes and virtual goods that will disappear if the game developers ever decide that they'll go and you also can't sell them.

The problem with the CS go gambling site was that that was an extra thing on top of the skins. The gambling was added by a third party.

No one's gambling with Pokémon cards. Any attempt to do so and the Pokémon company would come down on you like a ton of bricks they're about as ligacious as Nintendo.