'Star Wars Battlefront 2' News: Legislation Proposed in Hawaii to Limit Sale Of Loot Boxes
The fallout from the "Star Wars Battlefront 2" microtransaction fiasco still isn't over as state lawmakers in Hawaii are now proposing a bill limiting the sale of loot boxes in video games. The proposed legislation will prohibit the sale of such these items to persons below 21 years old.
According to the Hawaii Tribune Herald, the bill aims to address potentially exploitative monetization methods in order to prevent players from harboring gambling addictions. These methods include loot boxes which it defines as a randomized in-game reward that can be bought for real money.
Two other bills were proposed in both chambers, one of which requires developers to disclose the rates of receiving each reward in their system. The other requires video game publishers to label their games with notices that they contain loot boxes.
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"I've watched firsthand the evolution of the industry from one that seeks to create new things to one that's begun to exploit people, especially children, to maximize profit," said Long time gamer and State Representative Chris Lee. "It's bigger than Hollywood. It's an industry that can reach into everyone's pockets and phones and consoles and PCs, but there's no authority to force them to disclose their practices."
Lee was among the legislators who revealed that they are looking into such legislation back in November. This was after the practice was brought to their attention by the fallout from EA's "Star Wars Battlefront 2" who primarily used loot boxes for monetization.
Hawaii is not the only one looking to regulate the practice of selling loot boxes in video games. A Washington State Senator is also pushing for a new bill while a number of countries in Europe are also expressing their intent to regulate or outright ban the practice on the grounds that it constitutes a form of gambling.
EA has announced that they will be reinstating microtransactions in "Star Wars Battlefront 2."
