Battlefront 2's Loot Boxes And Gambling: Exploring The Secret Psychology Behind It All
https://www.gamespot.com/articles/battlefront-2s-loot-boxes-and-gambling-exploring-t/1100-6455184/
Despite the influx of great games hitting recently, most of the conversation has been dominated by Star Wars Battlefront II's microtransactions and the debate on whether Loot Boxes should fall into the same category as gambling. And it's reached further than just internet chatter: the Belgium Gaming Commission is currently in the middle of an investigation into the systems used by games like Battlefront II and Overwatch, and Hawaii state representative Chris Lee has announced that he's working towards the prohibition of manipulative mechanisms in games.
In the latest episode of The Dive, we talked to psychology professor Ronald Riggio and psychologist Jamie Madigan about the affects gambling has on our minds and the concepts that make us feel better about spending money. We also talked about how these might apply to loot boxes and ask them both whether they feel Battlefront 2 and Overwatch's systems could constitute gambling. You can watch it for yourself in the video above.