Hacked Off: Having to Buy Loot Boxes After Paying Full Price for a Game

There has never really been a game that I have cared enough about to be truly peeved off by in game purchases. Sure, they’ve annoyed me, but only now they shall see my wrath. This is thanks to the wonderful idea Blizzard had with the Summer Games Loot boxes.

So, after paying full price for Overwatch, you’ll find that you get to spend even more money on loot boxes. These offer things that are completely cosmetic, such as skins, victory poses, and voice lines. They are also able to purchase using in-game money, which players can receive as rewards from the boxes. A free one is also given upon leveling up. This means purchasing the items are for those who don’t wish to wait. Bearing in mind, I bought this on the console, meaning I only had the option to buy the Origins edition. This is about £25 more than the standard edition, which is only available on the PC. What did I get for this extra money? A few skins for some of the characters. Now, I might be crazy, but when I spend that much extra, I want a little more than that.

Then these summer loot boxes are just plain cruel. Inside are special items only available during the Olympics. A great, fun addition, I hear you cry. Well sure, if you’re lucky or willing to spend hundreds of extra cash. In case you are unsure, I am neither of these. The summer items look cool, and if I was able to get anything other than sprays and voice lines, no doubt I would be praising them. You can’t pay for these with virtual currency. Even though Blizzard said everything would be buyable by coins. How could this possibly get any worse? Well, they’re only available for three weeks. I have played so much Overwatch in the last week that I’m in a constant state of deja-vu. All I want is the Tracer GBR athlete outfit. I’m British, so should I not be given this?

See, I could pay for some extra boxes, but what is the point? There’s no guarantee I would get what I want, even after £100 I’d still have the same chances. I’m just unlucky. Two boxes in a row got me the same summer Widowmaker skin. Another time I opened one, I got two blues, they were the exact same Zenyatta summer player icon. Obviously, strong words were said after this. The next time I buy a game, I might just send them a blank cheque so they can decide how much they think their game is worth. I’m clearly not spending enough on it already. Actually, it gives me an idea. I’ll write a book and sell the chapters individually. Joke’s on them, chapters 5, 6, and 12 are only available to buy for a week. Tough luck if they miss it, they clearly don’t like the book enough.

I can partially forgive Overwatch for this, as they are adding new characters and maps to the game for free. So, the loot boxes are a way to fund these, I just wish they’d do it out of the kindness of their hearts. However, Call of Duty has no arguments for doing this. Black Ops III had loot boxes. Well, if they didn’t they’d be pointless to talk about. For their online they had a similar principle, as most games that have loot boxes do. Though the DLC is still paid for. This means they are just getting more money without even trying. Most of the items were there from launch, meaning the content they already made has to be paid for. I remember when everything in the game was free, as if you had bought the game.

I couldn’t really talk about in game purchases without talking about FIFA. It’s the game where people’s ‘I won’t spend more money on a game I’ve paid for’ rule flies out the window. I have known so many people who have spent far too much money on it. I don’t get it. You can play it for free, and just to speed yourself along you pay extra. What makes this part where you play football more exciting than the rest of the game where you play football?

The loot boxes work to the same principle as in-app purchases of mobile phone games. Yet these games are often free to download and even play for free, so that’s fine. This means if I open an equivalent loot box in Kingdom Hearts: Unchained X and get bad medals, I don’t get annoyed as I’ve never spent any money on the game. If anything, I’m happy they let me play the game for free and get cool stuff.

I’m afraid because people are giving in to this micro-transaction way of life, so most games will have it. It’s like when paying for DLC began to be a thing. Halo, Destiny, and Mass Effect all have it now, and soon even games like Harvest Moon will have it. Want to get a super cool cow? Well, buy this box and have a 1 in 1,000 chance to get it.