210°

Belgium's gambling commission is officially investigating Star Wars: Battlefront II

According to the Gaming Commission forms thus a game especially a danger to minors, those under social pressure spend a lot of money. Therefore they start an investigation into the game. "If there is a game of chance, you can't do that without authorization of the Gaming Commission," says N.
The investigation of the Gambling Commission can at worst lead to EA to hundreds of thousands of dollars to pay fine or that the game is taken from the shelves. Electronic Arts, the maker of ' Battle front 2 "itself did not respond.

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Mikelarry2371d ago (Edited 2371d ago )

fina FUCKING LY this is a great day it was only a matter of time guess we can thank EA for atleast getting the ball rolling if anything else, I really hope the rest of the world catches up

Nu2370d ago

B just like Michael Jackson Dominic Santiago is not dead either I'm amazed to see that he is under a different alias what's up Dom!'";!

Mikelarry2370d ago

You know same ol same ol, just out here trying to leave my life on the d low since Marcus and the rest of the gang think Im dead

Relientk772370d ago

I officially love Belgium lol

Nu2370d ago

And I thought you were Vaganian, for realzies

Nu2370d ago

Analyzed That death scene footage and did not see Dom actually die

UltraNova2370d ago

Launching an investigation is one thing and finding the party being investigated guilty is an entirely different one.

Lets wait and see.

That said if EA doesn't back up after this then the 60 dollar gaming scene will be nothing like we know it today.

Ittoittosai2370d ago

Sometime the fact someone begins digging is enough to derail a trend or at least get something to change. Why do you think all these loot box games have in game currency you buy instead of just using money? They are trying to have some technical BS to fall back on like " its not gambling because its not real money players use in game credits that can be earned" well its still gambling. Can I buy in game credits with real money? Yes then its gambling because I can then use it in game on a random chance machine=thats gambling. Casinos use token too.

UltraNova2370d ago

Actually game credits bought with real money are the same in concept but moraly worse than casino tokens because when you are at the casino you know you are there to gamble and that they are 'regulated' to a degree.

bigmalky2370d ago

The ESRB and PEGI will fucking back EA though. Corrupt as the publishers themselves.

phoenixwing2370d ago

Kinda sad. But, this is without a doubt, in my mind at least, a game with gambling in it.

Ittoittosai2370d ago

You mean the rating boards that where put in place by the industry and made up of industry people will back the industry players? No way!!!

meka26112370d ago

Wasn't made by the industry, ESRB was made by politicians, same thing with lyrics warnings on CD's. Because parents can't be parents.

Ittoittosai2370d ago (Edited 2370d ago )

No it wasnt I was gaming before the ESRB the ESRB was developed and put in place by the industry to cut off governement over sight.

Darkstryder3602370d ago

What about the umpteen mobile games that are free 2 play, with random loot in them?

Don't understand why this makes a difference now to the gambling commissions.

justsomeoffdude2370d ago

You just answered your own question, those games are FREE TO PLAY!!! they don't charge you $60 up front

RabbitFly2370d ago

And how is that relevant to the issue of pressuring minors to spend money on loot boxes?

If anything Free 2 Play games are more damaging there, simply for the fact that everyone has access to them.

Either you are morally against loot boxes as a concept or you are not. You can't pick and choose.

Aenea2370d ago

So if I start a casino in my home and don't charge an entrance fee the gambling commission is okay with it?

Darkstryder3602369d ago

Gambling is gambling, barrier to entry isn't the problem here.

Grap2370d ago (Edited 2370d ago )

there's no difference any game with loot boxes is a gamble paid game or free 2 play.
Microtransaction is cancer in this industry

Imalwaysright2370d ago

True but we need to start somewhere and what better place than a game of one of the biggest media franchises in the world from one of the biggest gaming publishers in the world mixed with a decent backlash? Hopefully this will set a precedent.

Ittoittosai2370d ago

The short answer its not but when is the last time you seen or read about the major player backlash on candy crush?

Darkstryder3602369d ago (Edited 2369d ago )

Not sure regarding back lash, but Fallout Shelter is free to play, with random lunchbox/loot box items. That's no different to what we have in SWBF2 is it.

Just find it fascinating that this is the catalyst when it's been in kids and adults faces for several years on more accessible platforms.

Darkstryder3602368d ago

Fallout shelter loot boxes aren't cosmetic they change the game. You get rare characters.

I'm not saying it's more relevant at all, or there needs to be a backlash but the fact it's happened now, when mobile gaming has a much larger install base than a £40 console game.

Ittoittosai2369d ago (Edited 2369d ago )

Again when was the last time you saw any backlash against Fallout shelter? The reason this got so much attention and is gaining more is the amount of backlash the MT, lootboxes, Dice and EA are getting from the stories, online and the refunds. The story has legs because of the backlash, if no one is making any noise about it nothing changes. Eventually the investigation would turn toward mobile as well with its loot boxes too.

Loot boxes in mobile games are for cosmetic BS only, SwBf 2's loot boxes actually effect player progression by allowing you to leap frog over everyone. Thats another thing everyone is focused on the wrong aspect here, its not that the game had Microtransactions and loot boxes honestly, just look at a lot of comments where people where saying "make it like overwatch" where it has loot boxes but only for cosmetic stuff. SwBf 2 has loot boxes for player advantage, no matter what they say if you can get more cards and cards are the only way to level and those cards can only be gotten from loot boxes and those loot boxes can be purchased with real money either dirextly or indirectly then its pay to win and obviously people arent going to stand for that.

I personally dont like this MT nonsense period, cosmetic or other wise, and I dont support it or games that have them.

+ Show (2) more repliesLast reply 2368d ago
Artemidorus2370d ago

This is the right thing to do.

UltraNova2370d ago

But will it amount to anything in the end?

Ittoittosai2370d ago

The fact someone is at least looking is sometime enough to spoke them into change sometimes thats good sometimes its bad but its better than no one doing anything.

Artemidorus2370d ago

It just highlights a problem and EA cannot ignore it for future games.

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70°

The Best Multiplayer Xbox Game Pass Games to Play With Friends

Xbox Game Pass has some great single-player experiences, but nowadays, it's all about getting together with friends and family. Thankfully, there's a surprisingly extensive library of multiplayer titles on Game Pass to bring everyone together.

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50°

Star Wars Battlefront 3: Is There Still Hope For A New Game?

Is Star Wars Battlefront 3 coming? Well, the correct answer is yes, no and maybe. It’s been six years since the second instalment, and fans are still waiting for confirmation of another sequel.

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anast151d ago

Game companies are not mature enough to handle this concept without turning it into a casino.

shadowknight203151d ago

The remakes of battlefront should have been more simular to the originals. CoD/battlefield reskinned as Star Wars was not the anwser.

260°

Is Gaming Really Worse Than It Used To Be?

From Xfire: "Stop if you've heard this one before - with all the unplayable buggy launches, rampant monetization, season passes, chunks of games being locked behind DLC paywalls, day one updates, always-online single player games, early access, lootboxes, massive patches, etc, games were so much better back in the eighties, or the nineties, or the oughties (pick whichever applies to your age bracket) right?"

marioJP871084d ago

Most definitely. Without a doubt.
The prices. DLC prices. Short stories. Less split screen gaming. Lesser amount of games are made these days because of the advancement of technology.
Everything is about graphics and resolution.

1084d ago Replies(4)
FlakyGoose1083d ago

The prices: With subscriptions and sales I feel like games are cheaper than ever.

DLC: I agree 100% DLC and MTX sucks.

split screen: Well... yes but now we have online multiplayer you can game with people on the other side of the world.

Lesser amount of games: This is unequivocally false. More games are made than ever before by far.

Everything is about graphics and resolution: I agree there is too much emphasis on that, but at the same time you can find thousands of pixel art games as well. Modern recreations of retro style games have never been more popular.

CYALTR1083d ago (Edited 1083d ago )

"split screen: Well... yes but now we have online multiplayer you can game with people on the other side of the world."

Yeah, but that really isn't the same thing. Couch co-op encouraged actual human interaction, that is missing on multiplayer. I guess I don't really understand why both aren't able to be included on some games. I miss the old days of being able to sit down next to an actual person and play a game. I can still do it, as long as I have two different systems in the house I guess.

I'm old!! LOL

All that said, I think gaming today is a much more robust landscape. There is a game for just about anyone. As a male, who has seen games progress from Pong to what we have today, I suppose I could hate on the fact that not every game is designed for me. Back in the day, games were for boys, adolescents boys generally, and that's what everything was directed. Being an adolescent boy at the time, I thought that was pretty great! Now there are so many games out there that there is something for everyone, and I think that that is a good thing.

Tacoboto1083d ago (Edited 1083d ago )

The MSRP are stable and consistent compared to the SNES and N64 days ( https://retrovolve.com/n64-... $80 for Star Fox 64 and $60 for Ocarina of Time. That was over 20 years of inflation ago.

"Short stories" - *lists Sony's PS4 output as counterpoint*

"Everything is about graphics and resolution" and yet almost every single new-gen title has a 60fps mode except for Watch Dogs (for a few more days) and The Medium, and most adopt resolution scaling to keep stable framerate.

Lesser games are made, and yet everyone seems to have a massive backlog when the topic comes up.

I think some people like to yearn for the old days because they weren't actually alive during these old days. I'll give you the point about DLC prices (though, in the 360/PS3 era, if you didn't spend the money, you were fractured from the online userbase. Now maps are generally free but cosmetics are worse. Which one is worse for you? I'd say being forced to pay to keep playing with your buds)

Iltapalanyymi1083d ago

Yes, i still play a lot of old games for the first time and they are miles better than some new stuff is.

gold_drake1083d ago

same, some ps2 games even.

i remember a time when i just bought a game on a whim but now .. ill think twice about it.

Rimeskeem1083d ago

I feel like the market is changing a lot these days. Before it was about getting as much into the game as you could without blowing the console/computer up. Now that we have all this power and capability games take longer to make and there are way more steps. Prices go up because games get more expensive, the same thing with movies. But the experiences can be truly astonishing. No one who played Pong would have thought within 50 years they could play something like God of War. Of course, greed causes practices that are not liked by communities of gamers. Some companies have veered into such practices but some companies are maintaining a balance between profit and creativity.

There are pro's and con's but I don't think you can objectively say that gaming is better or worse than before.

MadLad1083d ago (Edited 1083d ago )

Better and worse.

Most AAA releases are trying to figure out how best to nickel and dime you in the background. Even developing the entire game around that practice.

On the other hand, digital storefronts are now a big thing, allowing more smaller budget releases to be had, being they don't have to foot the cost of handling physical releases.

There's definitely more content to be had then ever.

Essentially the AAA space has become cancer in a lot of ways. I'm not talking every release, or even every company, but with all of the season passes, the dlc that boosts player progression in competitive titles, and now the retail price hikes being pushed on people .... it's obvious these companies are getting more greedy, year after year.

Fist4achin1083d ago

Yes and no. Yes in that it's annoying to have all this DLC/microtransactions in games and forced multiplayer that's hot for about a minute before something new and shiny comes out.

No in that, there are a lot of good games coming out and I have a comfortable backlog that should keep me entertained for quite some time. I never have an issue of what to play next.

I think it's a great time to be a gamer and if you don't have anything to play, you're not looking hard enough.

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