A state representative of Hawaii has followed up on the Star Wars Battlefront 2 loot box controversy with a potential anti-loot box law.
Hawaii Representative Chris Lee has started exploring an anti-loot box law in the wake of the Star Wars Battlefront 2 loot box controversy. Similar to the purchase and usage of alcohol currently in the United States, Lee proposes that loot boxes should have restrictions that prohibit the sale of video games that have loot boxes to consumers under 21 years old.
In a personal video on YouTube entitled “Time To Step Up”, state representative Chris Lee goes into detail about what he thinks is the best approach moving forward regarding loot boxes in games. Together with a “legion of attorneys at the [Hawaii] state capital”, they draft a potential legislation regarding loot boxes.
Specifically, Lee’s proposal on “predatory gaming practices” is intended for games such as Star Wars Battlefront 2 in which you attempt to purchase an item – the example in the video being a sword – that has a percentage of actually obtaining it, and not for those in which the microtransaction is guaranteed to give it to you.
According to Lee, “legislators from other states have been reaching out over the last couple of days” and the attention that it is gaining is pushing him to create a foundation for where the country goes from here on this hot topic. He believes that prohibiting anyone under 21 from purchasing games like Star Wars Battlefront 2 will take enough of the market share out to cause publishers to change how they implement loot boxes.
In fact, he thinks that the conversation alone is enough to change the gaming industry as a whole. He requests that everyone takes five minutes of their day to write to their local and state legislators about their concern regarding loot boxes. Lee states that this can help stop publishers from exploiting those with gambling addictions and to “actually create better games.”
Hawaii representative Chris Lee made waves recently when he posted his original YouTube video on the issue that stated that Star Wars Battlefront 2 is a ” Star Wars -themed online casino.”
