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When can Belgium players buy crown crates again?
bulcke10
✭✭✭
Hi
Since September 2020 Belgium players can't buy crown crates anymore because of a lootboxes ban in Belgium....
Any changes in the future for us?
Thanks 🇧🇪🙏❤️
Could I buy from someone with no ban crown crates with in-game gold? Or is this also against the terms of Zos?
Since September 2020 Belgium players can't buy crown crates anymore because of a lootboxes ban in Belgium....
Any changes in the future for us?
Thanks 🇧🇪🙏❤️
Could I buy from someone with no ban crown crates with in-game gold? Or is this also against the terms of Zos?
2
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VaranisArano✭✭✭✭✭
✭✭✭✭✭Wouldn't it make more sense to address the first question to the Belgian government responsible for the ban?28 -
redspecter23✭✭✭✭✭
✭✭✭✭✭Hi
Since September 2020 Belgium players can't buy crown crates anymore because of a lootboxes ban in Belgium....
Any changes in the future for us?
Thanks 🇧🇪🙏❤️
Could I buy from someone with no ban crown crates with in-game gold? Or is this also against the terms of Zos?
If ZOS could legally sell you crates, they would love to. You'll want to ask your government about this issue.11 -
Khajiitihaswares✭✭✭Hi
Since September 2020 Belgium players can't buy crown crates anymore because of a lootboxes ban in Belgium....
Any changes in the future for us?
Thanks 🇧🇪🙏❤️
Could I buy from someone with no ban crown crates with in-game gold? Or is this also against the terms of Zos?
Illegal in your country. Wish all others would follow suite already.
So basically petition your government to make them legal.14 -
etchedpixels✭✭✭✭✭
✭If only more countries would follow belgian example.
The Netherlands does in part - EA got hit with €10M fine for lootboxes end of October, and have appealed it to a higher court. The scope of the legislation relates to non-skill loot box item that have a monetary value out of game, so might not cover ESO crown crates, and wouldn't cover things like twitch drop crates if I understand the rules right.
China has tight restrictions and Slovakia at least also has some.
It's coming - the sentiment in the EU political sphere is quite clear, but it's slow moving.
Too many toons not enough time2 -
Starlock✭✭✭✭✭
✭✭✭✭✭If only more countries would follow belgian example.
No kidding. Hopefully, when the Microsoft acquisition is complete this unregulated gambling will be ripped out of the game permanently. There will still be a crapload of other problems with this game's predatory monetization, but at least the very worst method of exploiting certain customers will be dead and gone.9 -
idk✭✭✭✭✭
✭✭✭✭✭VaranisArano wrote: »Wouldn't it make more sense to address the first question to the Belgian government responsible for the ban?
This is it. It is the Belgian government that is preventing you from buying the crates. Zos would be happy to sell them to you if it was not a crime to do so.5 -
Mindcr0w✭✭✭✭✭
✭✭There will still be a crapload of other problems with this game's predatory monetization, but at least the very worst method of exploiting certain customers will be dead and gone.
So I'm fully on board with labeling loot boxes as such, but what outside of them do you consider "predatory"?3 -
Eedat✭✭✭✭✭This thread is kinda nuts tbh. To answer the OP, it's up to your government, not ZOS. To the rest, ESO's crown shop is decent and the most "pay2win" aspect of the lootboxes are the riding lessons which are a bottom tier prize lol. And I say that lightly because riding lessons are pay4convenience, not pay2win. All the real prizes people want are purely cosmetic.
People throw buzzwords like "predatory" around until they've lost all meaning. People act as though cosmetics and convenience in a video game are the same as a payday loan or ransomware or outright criminal extortion. I'm not even joking. In one thread I had a guy die on a hill that the crown shop is exactly as bad as smashing someone's actual property then charging them to fix it. This isn't a charity lol. No profits means no game. There aren't even any real pay2win items in the crown shop.14 -
Raideen✭✭✭✭✭
✭✭✭VaranisArano wrote: »Wouldn't it make more sense to address the first question to the Belgian government responsible for the ban?
This is it. It is the Belgian government that is preventing you from buying the crates. Zos would be happy to sell them to you if it was not a crime to do so.
Except ZOS has all the power in the world to sell the items individually. This not only addresses the "gambling" issue, it allows for players to have items they want and ZOS makes money on it.
WIN WIN WIN
The ball is in ZOS court.11 -
Pixiepumpkin✭✭✭✭✭
✭✭✭zos should just sell crown crate stuff for crowns instead"Class identity isn’t just about power or efficiency. It’s about symbolic clarity, mechanical cohesion, and a shared visual and tactical language between players." - sans-culottes4 -
Sgrug✭✭✭✭✭Pixiepumpkin wrote: »zos should just sell crown crate stuff for crowns instead
They do. You can buy enough to get the jewels then buy the item directly.
Which is why I never understood this faux issue. Everything can be bought directly.1 -
Raideen✭✭✭✭✭
✭✭✭Pixiepumpkin wrote: »zos should just sell crown crate stuff for crowns instead
They do. You can buy enough to get the jewels then buy the item directly.
Which is why I never understood this faux issue. Everything can be bought directly.
The legendary super duper apex mounts can not be had with gems.
But to their point, neither can folks living in Belgium.
if ZOS got rid of crown crates, they could sell the items individually in the store and appeal to everyone AND take the high road in the battle of consumer vs gamble crates.6 -
belial5221_ESO✭✭✭✭✭You cannot transfer an item you got in them for any type of currency to other players.That is why they can keep selling them in most places.It's more the wording in a law of the country that decides whether a certain type of lootbox is deemed legal or not.So if you cannot buy them in certain countries,ask the government to reevaluate the different types and rules of lootboxes,and see if they can revise the law.0
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Finedaible✭✭✭✭✭
✭✭The only problem here is gamble crates (call them what you will) still being legal in other places. They should not be a normal industry practice.3 -
llande✭✭✭If only more countries would follow belgian example.
It's amazing how some people are content with others making decisions for themselves. Wait until your government will ban beer, Coca-Cola, sweets and meat, to help you stay fit and healthy. I never spent a penny on a crown crate, but I don't mind others having the possibility to do so. My choice, not the "government" one.5 -
redspecter23✭✭✭✭✭
✭✭✭✭✭If only more countries would follow belgian example.
It's amazing how some people are content with others making decisions for themselves. Wait until your government will ban beer, Coca-Cola, sweets and meat, to help you stay fit and healthy. I never spent a penny on a crown crate, but I don't mind others having the possibility to do so. My choice, not the "government" one.
Beer isn't necessarily banned, but it is regulated, which is the main issue here. Until widespread regulation can come into effect, the government is stepping in for many countries and outright banning. The industry was given a chance to self regulate and it was decided that it has failed. There may come a point when we can find a middle ground where gamble crates are allowed, but not necessarily targetted toward children and others through predatory manipulation. The rules are not yet in place and until they are, the answer will likely be black or while (allowed or banned).6 -
Mindcr0w✭✭✭✭✭
✭✭It's amazing how some people are content with others making decisions for themselves. Wait until your government will ban beer, Coca-Cola, sweets and meat, to help you stay fit and healthy. I never spent a penny on a crown crate, but I don't mind others having the possibility to do so. My choice, not the "government" one.
Homie loot crates are 100% gambling and gambling is absolutely regulated everywhere in the first world.
And I typically hate hate hate "won't somebody think of the children" type arguments, but in this case...yeah it is gambling that kids can get pretty easy access to.Edited by Mindcr0w on December 23, 2020 9:28PM4 -
JinMori✭✭✭✭✭
✭✭There will still be a crapload of other problems with this game's predatory monetization, but at least the very worst method of exploiting certain customers will be dead and gone.
So I'm fully on board with labeling loot boxes as such, but what outside of them do you consider "predatory"?
Gacha is even worse than loot boxes.0 -
JinMori✭✭✭✭✭
✭✭If only more countries would follow belgian example.
It's amazing how some people are content with others making decisions for themselves. Wait until your government will ban beer, Coca-Cola, sweets and meat, to help you stay fit and healthy. I never spent a penny on a crown crate, but I don't mind others having the possibility to do so. My choice, not the "government" one.
I agree, but sadly you just can't trust people not to f it up for everyone sometimes it seems.
I really do not like government intervention for the most part, because it's usually a double edged sword.Edited by JinMori on December 23, 2020 9:58PM0 -
Juhasow✭✭✭✭✭
✭✭✭✭✭If only more countries would follow belgian example.
It's amazing how some people are content with others making decisions for themselves. Wait until your government will ban beer, Coca-Cola, sweets and meat, to help you stay fit and healthy. I never spent a penny on a crown crate, but I don't mind others having the possibility to do so. My choice, not the "government" one.
It's amazing how some people think that when it comes to problems with loot crates it's all about gambling issues of others. Wait until The Coca-Cola Company will start to sell bottles that will have a 10% chance to have an actuall Coca-Cola inside and 90% chance to have sparkling water with food coloring so You can feel rewarded and satisfied when You get that sweet Coca Cola You've wanted. It's not all about gambling issues of other people , it's also about getting an item that someone wants through a regular purchase not through a rng system that will in reality make this item multiple times more expensive if even obtainable.8 -
Dark_Lord_Kuro✭✭✭✭✭
✭✭I dont want them to ban them from my country, at least not until egnough country did so
That way im not entirely locked out of a crown crate exclusive if i ever want oneEdited by Dark_Lord_Kuro on December 24, 2020 2:11AM0 -
Glurin✭✭✭✭✭
✭✭✭If only more countries would follow belgian example.
It's amazing how some people are content with others making decisions for themselves. Wait until your government will ban beer, Coca-Cola, sweets and meat, to help you stay fit and healthy. I never spent a penny on a crown crate, but I don't mind others having the possibility to do so. My choice, not the "government" one.
It's amazing how some people think that when it comes to problems with loot crates it's all about gambling issues of others. Wait until The Coca-Cola Company will start to sell bottles that will have a 10% chance to have an actuall Coca-Cola inside and 90% chance to have sparkling water with food coloring so You can feel rewarded and satisfied when You get that sweet Coca Cola You've wanted.
They tried that already. It was called "new coke". People stopped buying it so they stopped making it and went back to Coca-Cola Classic.
Ok, yeah, it wasn't actually "sparkling water with food coloring", but the point stands. If you don't like it, don't buy it. If people would do that rather than fork over tens of thousands of dollars to buy a friken virtual horse only to complain that they spent tens of thousands of dollars on a friken virtual horse, then the company is more likely to make changes to appeal to you.
Remember, you're the one who makes the final decision on spending your money. They have to come to you and ask you to give them some of your money. They have to convince you that their product or service is something good enough for you to give them money."He who fights with monsters should look to it that he himself does not become a monster...when you gaze long into the abyss the abyss also gazes into you..."2 -
Starlock✭✭✭✭✭
✭✭✭✭✭There will still be a crapload of other problems with this game's predatory monetization, but at least the very worst method of exploiting certain customers will be dead and gone.
So I'm fully on board with labeling loot boxes as such, but what outside of them do you consider "predatory"?
Honestly, pretty much the entire cash shop as it stands presently. It has way too many hallmarks of an anti-customer (or predatory, profiteering) business model. To list just one example?
Solution selling. A classic tactic used to coax customers into spending money is to design game mechanics that inconvenience them. All forms of time gating are an example of this, and ESO has two notable time gates that the company sells solutions to in the cash shop: riding lessons and crafting research. There's no gameplay value added by either of these timers, so they basically only exist to nudge customers into the cash shop. Worse than that, these timers are for each individual character, not account-wide, which creates an even larger hole for customers to throw their money in to bypass a pointless game mechanic that doesn't need to exist. Create problem, sell solution. Pro-customer developers fix the problems instead of leaving it there to sell you a solution.
There are many other things in the cash shop that have elements of solution selling. Things that could have simply been implemented as base game features - things that are basic, quality of life improvements that any proper game would simply put into a patch as a feature everyone could use - are often charged for. And not just charged for, charged for at such exorbitant rates I don't know how anyone can look at it and go "this is fine." The cash shop is the reason why something as simple as barbers don't exist in Tamriel. Barbers! Something as basic as styling your hair or changing its color! They charge for that! That's a basic game feature that any proper developer just... includes in the bloody game!3 -
RaddlemanNumber7✭✭✭✭✭
✭✭✭✭Threatened government bans and vetoes are very often no more than negotiating positions, especially in Belgium. The government probably wanted to negotiate a code of conduct and a paid-for licencing system, or something similar. They wanted to be persuaded. But, it looks like the game companies didn't feel motivated to negotiate with little Belgium (it would have been a bad precedent to set). So, I expect the Belgian ban on Crown Crates will stay in place indefinitely.
PC EU0 -
Nyladreas✭✭✭✭✭
✭✭✭✭Be careful what y'all wish for.... Ban on loot boxes might spark some developers to turn their games into pay to win...
It's just a theory but still. I'm a bit worried of the outcome, since loot boxes make up the majority of their income.
I just have this doubt that they would just sell cosmetics alone.Edited by Nyladreas on December 24, 2020 10:03AM2 -
hafgood✭✭✭✭✭
✭Personally I will be glad when they are banned worldwide. Too many people have addiction problems and crown crates result in them spending thousands of pounds they don't have on order to have all the top collectibles. I don't do crown crates for the very simple reason that if I started I'd probably end up buying crown crate after crown crate just for the buzz of opening them. The actual reward would be irrelevant.
They are the crack cocaine of the gaming world. Gaming companies know this, they know there are a lot of players that will buy loot boxes to get that fix, and will keep buying them even though they cannot afford them.
And to those saying its the players money, it isn't always the case, its money that could be clothing and feeding their children, its money they've stolen from loved ones and employers.
Put a gamble element into a game and those with gambling addictions will spend on it. Should that stop them being available to all? Yes, the items in the boxes should just be sold in the crown store, whilst sales may drop initially over time I suspect those of us who don't buy crates would make up for some of this as if there was an amazing mount that I wanted I'd be tempted to buy, without the gambling element and knowing I'm actually purchasing the mount it becomes a far more attractive proposition5
This discussion has been closed.