Imagine if EA kept the loot boxes as they are...but used them for good. For every 5 dollars spent on loot boxes, they donate 1 dollar of that to charity.
Anyone complaining of loot boxes at that pointwould be quickly shut down because most people would have no issue with money going to charity...it would in fact be a negative to be against it.
Easy work around that would make EA loved, keep their loot boxes, still make money but also donate a lot of the money to charity.
Could that work in other games and MMOs in general? Pay to win MMOs would then be accepted as amazing if the developers donated a percentage of the money to charity and no one could be against it without being called trolls. Its an easy problem to solve, and would make any game company loved by all. Like if Trion did this with ArcheAge, suddenly they'd have one of the most popular MMOs because so much money would be going to charity.
Blizzard does this sometimes with their cosmetic pets, donating a portion of the funds to charity. But its only very limited times...imagine if it was constant and they always donated that money to charity. People get amazing cash shop items AND supporting charities.
What do you guys think of this idea?
My Skyrim, Fallout 4, Starbound and WoW + other game mods at MODDB:
https://www.moddb.com/mods/skyrim-anime-overhaul
Comments
This would like I said in my post, give very good will for the company and a very positive view of that company. EA I use as an example because they are the most hated company...but they can quickly turn that around by donating each of their profits to charity. For every 10 dollars 50 cents could go to charity for example.
While 50 cents doesn't seem like much, that would be 3 dollars to charity for a 60 dollar game for example and add that to all the people who buy it and it adds up a lot. Company still makes a profit, but now they are doing something great with a portion of their money and anything they do can no longer be something negative.
I think doing this would make people like game companies a lot more than they do right now.
My Skyrim, Fallout 4, Starbound and WoW + other game mods at MODDB:
https://www.moddb.com/mods/skyrim-anime-overhaul
If it is good for state run lotteries, it is good for corporations, right?
That is how I see it anyway, that it would go from a cash shop gambling item (which is how they are now) to a donation item.
My Skyrim, Fallout 4, Starbound and WoW + other game mods at MODDB:
https://www.moddb.com/mods/skyrim-anime-overhaul
My Skyrim, Fallout 4, Starbound and WoW + other game mods at MODDB:
https://www.moddb.com/mods/skyrim-anime-overhaul
BTW, it is already happening. It is call "the corporate tax" .. although the new tax laws are reducing that from 35% to 20%.
The gamble is gamble, no donation to charity excuses the effect of cashing out on the potential addictive behavior of the practice. If they want to continue doing it, then keep kids away from it just like online casinos do and market it to adults.
Using charity for good PR, rather meh.
So they're tapping into player's gambling addiction nature in order to help a charity? You can cover manure with roses, but it's still going to smell like a pile of shit.
Unless 100% of the proceeds are going to charity, like WoW has done before with a few cosmetic cash shop items (not loot boxes iirc), then it doesn't count as charity. All it is is trying to cash in on people's good will. Even with 100% going to charity, it is a publicity stunt imo.
If someone really wants to help help a charity out of the goodness of their heart, donate anonymously.
You also get to choose what charity to give to instead of giving to a charity that someone else favors.
And lastly, this idea pays 'them' (EA for example) 3 times and a charity once. They get your money when you buy the game. They get your money for the loot boxes. And they get your money as a tax deduction when they give some of the money to charity. The charity gets paid once, and likely far less than had you paid them directly in the first place.
If you aren't going to give money unless you receive a gift in exchange, then it isn't charity. Plain and simple.
Imagine if they spent their OWN MONEY and gave a charitable contribution out of the goodness of their hearts instead? Why do they need YOU to PROMPT THEM to do it in the first place?
Also I don't think it's good PR anyway, because people'll always question why such tiny percent is used for charity.
"Good" is subjective. If i bet EA shareholders find loot boxes pretty "good". Heck, may be i should buy some EA stocks to get in on the action.
Free Bernie !
Has the MMO scene become a mental wasteland?
Once upon a time....
No, the only way lootboxes are ever 'accepted' is if they are cosmetic only and earnable at a reasonably rate in-game... and that's only if the game is F2P or has significant post launch support and content updates... which for the majority of games means that lootboxes are nothing but a bad idea, with reasonably priced DLC, free updates (to drive more box sales), and / or a subscription being far better options... at least from a paying consumers* point of view.
* So not including the 'I want everything for free' crowd.
This isn't a signature, you just think it is.
We should judge organisations according to the rules they play by, not by whether they give to charities or offset their carbon emissions. What is the organisation doing, what are their practices? And throw in a pinch of realism, we can not expect them to be non-profitmaking avatars of social justice. But we can expect them to treat their customers fairly, that has not happened here.
I self identify as a monkey.
https://www.google.com/search?q=electronic+arts+stock+history&oq=electronic+arts+stock+&aqs=chrome.2.69i57j0l5.7447j0j7&sourceid=chrome&ie=UTF-8
Wouldn't you say a great mid-term (4 years) investment?
Sure you can look at 3 month fluctuation but i think you are not dumb enough to think that stock investment should be judged by a quarter, do you?