Epic versus The World
Humblebrag: I have the most amazing kids. We have real conversations and they aren’t afraid to tell me when I am wrong.
Last night I read about the Class Action Lawsuit against Epic Games for the misleading business practices in Save The World. I read a few articles by,….. And then the Complaint, the Preliminary Approval Order, and the Settlement Agreement. I came away from my research feeling like I had a good handle on the situation. It seemed that a handful of people were salty about not getting good gear in Loot Boxes and wanted their money back. A handful of parents who can’t manage their money or figure out the technology added to the noise and were included to pull on the heartstrings of the judge. I remembered explaining the gambling nature of Loot Boxes to him when he purchased them. I remembered his disappointment when he got “lame loot”. I set aside my reading to get my preteen’s perspective. I expected he would have no sympathies for the plaintiffs. I was wrong.
He showed me the purchase screens and the enticing loot descriptions. He described receiving duplicates and low-level skins. I asked what various symbols meant and how he knew what the various colors indicated. We discussed the differences between Save The World and Battle Royale and here’s my understanding.
Battle Royale is a free-to-play game that does a good job of keeping the playing field level. He usually plays this version because the more he plays, the better gear he gets, and the better his gameplay develops.
Save The World requires a $40 purchase to play. Once inside this version, the more money you spend, the better chance of getting items that elevate you over people without money. Llama Loot Boxes are opportunities to gamble and waste IRL currency.
When I asked my son what the difference was between Call of Duty and Save The World, he admitted they were similar with one difference. He knew going into playing COD that he would gain an advantage if he spent his allowance on guns or gear. After playing Battle Royale, he expected a similar dynamic. Epic continues to allude that it would be possible to farm enough V-bucks to stay competitive. Many other games use this very successful business model. Although they follow the rules and principles of Capitalism, it’s not good for our society. Exploiting people for profit is an “approved” business tactic.
Have people been harmed and lost money? Yes
Is Epic to blame? Yes — they created a platform that encourages gambling and throwing money away for an increasingly less possible chance to win.
However, they are not alone. There is a market for these games. Should Epic be penalized for succeeding within the current rules? Maybe….
In my opinion, our laws should start protecting consumers instead of corporations and judges wouldn’t have to try and assign blame.
