The Entertainment Software Ratings Board in North America may be working from home, but as noted yesterday, it's still business as usual. With this in mind, the organization recently revealed that it will now attach a warning to all its ratings if the video game contains in-game purchases – including random items.
This builds on the organization's milestones in 2018 when it began distributing Elements interactive video games – with in-game purchases and user interaction notifications. Here's the full breakdown of the new label:
This new feature is Active, In-game purchases (Including Random Items), will be given to any game that contains in-game offers to purchase digital assets or premiums in real world currency (or in coins or other game currency alternatives that can be purchased in real world currency) where the player does not & # 39; I know before buying certain goods or premiums that will be received (eg loot boxes, item packs, mystery prizes).
In-game purchases (Including Random Items) it will be distributed to all games including purchases and any random items, including loot boxes, gacha games, item or gift cards, prize wheels, treasure chests and more. The games you have In-game purchases (Including Random Items) the notice may include other illegal transactions.
The same ESRB blog post It goes on to explain how the first in-game purchase announcement will be shared in games that offer any kind of purchase ", including additional levels, lubricants, and DLC extensions. where the game offers to buy random items.
The reason behind this decision is tied to a study of parents who cared more about their child's ability to spend real money on games, rather than on-game purchases.
This data helped inform the introduction of In-game purchases Functional Features That being said, since the addition of In-game purchases note the ratings given to the physical games that most game buyers and lovers (not parents) have come to us asking the ESRB to include additional information to identify games that include random purchases. The In-game purchases (Including Random Items) The Interactive component was developed to respond to those requests. By adding more insights into the nature of in-game purchases, consumers can make more informed decisions when buying or downloading a game, instead of finding out the truth.
What do you think of the new label? Share your thoughts in the comments.
