Time to disclose official odds on Crown Crate drops?

Arizona_Steve

Would the odds be fixed anyway? Knowing our greedy corporations, I would not be surprised if there's code in there to reduce the odds if a player is identified as a whale, simply to get more money out of them.

danno8

Peebuzzle wrote: »

Why do people even care about the odds? Valve released CS:GO case drops a few months ago and absolutely nothing changed.

Because information is important.

If you think it isn't then you can remain blissfully unaware.

Hoho! Look where they buried this thread! Good as dead in the Crown Store section.

redspecter23

Hiding the odds means to me means that they are intentionally being shady about how the system works. For most in game systems, this is fine as no money is being used to participate in that system. As soon as real money is involved the right thing to do is post drop rates. It doesn't matter if it affects whether or not people buy them. Without drop rates, it's as if they are trying to hide something. I know I don't throw money at a person when I know right up front that they are withholding information from me.

ZOS sholdn't need a higher power to tell them to do this. They should choose to do it because it's the right thing to do and makes them look less like an uncaring, money hungry corporation and more like a trustworthy, reliable, triple A game developer.

Radiance

It matters because people should be capable of making an informed purchase. It may in fact sway people not to buy something when they realized their odds of pulling a desired item is next to nil...

notimetocare

Phage wrote: »

So this happened.

http://www.bbc.com/news/technology-42441608

Apple is now requiring Apps on its platform to disclose odds on lootboxes and lootbox-like systems that give random digital goods.

This is HUGE news. Apple is a massive company and has a large degree of influence. It's likely that they will use that influence to convince and pressure other companies to follow suit on this rule of disclosing odds (such as Google, Valve, etc). This is already going to impact Bethesda and their parent company Zenimax Media. The Elder Scrolls: Legends is a card game that uses lootbox-like systems to sell card packs, and it is on the App Store. It will have to comply with disclosing odds if it is going to remain on the App Store. This may also affect Fallout Shelter if it has any system that sells random digital items.

With that, I have to ask: ZOS, do you really need to be told by Valve or someone else to disclose odds on your Crown Crates?

Would it not look better and also buy goodwill with your customers if you did this of your own volition and choice?

Either the government or the companies that own the platforms (or both) will make and enforce rules that treat lootboxes as gambling and institute similar consumer protections. 2018 is going to see a lot of changes in this regard. It's going to happen. It's already happening.

So again I'll ask: ZOS, isn't it time for you to disclose odds on your Crown Crates?



@ZOS_MattFiror @ZOS_RichLambert @ZOS_GinaBruno @ZOS_JessicaFolsom

Apple has no influence on anything important to the vast majority of game companies

Nerouyn

While I think all purveyors of gambling should publish these statistics, ZO are a business presently acting within the law.

The fault here is with government for not legislating against this. Long ago.

Peebuzzle wrote: »

Why do people even care about the odds?

Because the success of gambling as a business relies in no small part on the gamblers having a false impression of their likelihood of success.

Publishing those statistics wouldn't deter every gambler. Some would gamble just as much as regardless. But knowing the truth some might choose to gamble less or not at all.

Palidon

Official disclosure is as follows....................Odds 0 to 10,000,000,000,000 chance but maybe those odds will get nerfed in an upcoming patch.

NordSwordnBoard

We all have to consider that ESO and other games may get "grandfathered" in - meaning they existed before the legislation, and (in the interest of compromise & campaign contributions) the watered down result will probably only control future content made after the legislation is signed into law.

Loot box purveyors will lose money, and some may cry that it causes their entire business to fail. In order to protect these "entrepreneurs" small businesses, they will be prevented from creating more exploitative services in the future - and may get an expiration date on the current setup to allow them time to evolve and survive as a business.

ESO will dodge this bullet imo. This company and many others are already planning on countermeasures, and what to do next. If ZOS eliminated crates, I'd expect the cost/loss of revenue to be handed down to us, in the form of price increases.

TLDR: I don't predict an immediate victory for the consumer on this one.

WhiteCoatSyndrome

Nerouyn wrote: »

While I think all purveyors of gambling should publish these statistics, ZO are a business presently acting within the law.

The fault here is with government for not legislating against this. Long ago.

The gaming industry COULD also have chosen to self-regulate from the start but they've had plenty of time to do that and we ended up getting stuck with crates, so...

NordSwordnBoard wrote: »

We all have to consider that ESO and other games may get "grandfathered" in - meaning they existed before the legislation, and (in the interest of compromise & campaign contributions) the watered down result will probably only control future content made after the legislation is signed into law.

Loot box purveyors will lose money, and some may cry that it causes their entire business to fail. In order to protect these "entrepreneurs" small businesses, they will be prevented from creating more exploitative services in the future - and may get an expiration date on the current setup to allow them time to evolve and survive as a business.

ESO will dodge this bullet imo. This company and many others are already planning on countermeasures, and what to do next. If ZOS eliminated crates, I'd expect the cost/loss of revenue to be handed down to us, in the form of price increases.

TLDR: I don't predict an immediate victory for the consumer on this one.

@NordSwordnBoard Inclined to agee with you. That said I think it's a fight worth fighting. It may be too late to save ESO but it might not be for future Elder Scrolls titles, or other future games in general.

SisterGoat

The reason it's not a law yet is because most legislators know very little about video games in the first place, and most people prefer not have laws in place if it doesn't immediately benefit them.

Stewart1874

Won't happen. They're content to sit quiet and soak up the cash till the governments force change.

Agree with the sentiment of the OP but ultimately its an immoral business practices fundamentally so you cannot expect them to want to go about something which is wrong ethically.

If players boycott the crown crates en mass and attempts to by ZM to make them more palatable are met with sub cancellations then crates will go away. Sadly it requires mass participation and won't happen. Personally i've bought crown crates occasionally up to the reapers one. Won't be buying any more and questioning my sub tbh.

LadyAstrum

At least by publishing odds, people can make an informed decision. At the moment, buying crates (imo) is like throwing money into a dark well. I think people convince themselves they'll definitely get that ugly orange-glow mount, when they are likely not to because the odds are against them.

That said, I'm convinced there is algorithmic stuff going on, and the more you buy, the greater the odds become. Just a theory of course.