One of the things that many gamers are wary about today are microtransactions: in-game purchases with real money, for in-game content. To help address these concerns, the Entertainment Software Rating Board has announced plans to begin applying a new label to games, warning of these in-game purchases.
The new label — which will be separate from the usual ESRB ratings box (similar to the “Online Interactions Not Rated by the ESRB” warning) — is ostensibly meant to address issues with games using randomized loot boxes. However, the label itself actually covers all in-game purchases, including cosmetic items and season passes.
Now, with how most fighting games eventually include DLC, it’s likely we’ll be seeing this label on many upcoming releases. While loot boxes haven’t really become a thing in the genre (with Injustice 2 being the only game to have them — a very tame implementation at that — and Dragon Ball FighterZ and Dissidia Final Fantasy NT using even lighter takes on the concept), most fighting games these days do tend to come with season passes, DLC characters, and paid cosmetic items. Two of this summer’s biggest upcoming releases, BlazBlue: Cross Tag Battle and Fighting EX Layer, will utilize season passes and downloadable content, even if not “true” loot boxes.
Regarding why the label isn’t specific to loot boxes, the ESRB’s Patricia Vance has stated that: “What we learned is that a large majority of parents don’t know what a loot box is, and even those who claim they do don’t really understand what a loot box is.” It’s because of this that they’ve decided to go for a more general descriptor that covers all in-game purchases. “It’s very important for us to not harp on loot boxes per se, but to make sure we’re capturing loot boxes but also other in-game transactions,” Vance concludes.
Whether or not upcoming fighting game releases end up getting lumped together with games with abusive loot box practices — and whether their sales are affected as a result — is something we can only speculate on, for now.
Source: GamesIndustry.biz