The last resort

Age of the Geek Column: If you ever needed an example to prove that corporate greed has gotten way out of control, just look at the video game industry where gamers are applauding efforts by Congress to regulate it.
Recently the "Protecting Children From Abusive Games Act" was announced in the senate and, unlike the moral panic of the 1990's, this time the idea of government intervention in the gaming industry is somewhat welcomed.
I've written about loot boxes and microtransactions many times over so I won't go into the full history this time around, but the long and short of it is that game developers have increasingly used manipulative design elements to encourage players to spend extra money on games.
If you've ever played a mobile game you've probably experienced it. Oh sure, everything progresses smoothly for the first few hours, but then you hit a wall that can only be overcome through either excessive grinding or by opening up that digital wallet and paying a little extra to skip ahead.
Or maybe you play a game where progression can only be done by unlocking some element of the game that is locked behind a randomly generated treasure chest. Oh sure, the game probably drips out enough in-game currency to get enough loot to keep you going, but unlocking everything will all but certainly require dropping some real money.
This monetization system is bad enough in free-to-play mobile games, but lately developers have been working them into full priced titles.
Of course one remembers last year's debacle with EA's "Star Wars: Battlefront II," a game that twined microtransactions and game progression together so tightly that it caused an industry revolt that gained national attention. EA not only walked back their microtransactions in that game, but the announcement of their next big Star Wars game, "Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order," was annotated with promises that the new game would also be free of microtransactions.
And while EA seems to have withdrawn from the practice, at least when it comes to Star Wars, others continue to fall into the same trap. Most recently, "Mortal Kombat 11" launched with high praise for its production value and gameplay, but was ultimately hobbled by the same game-breaking grind for progression items that can only be alleviated by buying your way through.
No matter how you dress it up, it's gambling. Sure, some games are less predatory than others, but it's always gambling. Game developers have been borrowing the tactics used by casinos. It should come as no shock if they end up being regulated like casinos.
On the other hand, congress still consists largely of old men that wouldn't know an analogue stick from a D-pad. Even though the congressmen pushing forward this legislation, Sen. Josh Hawley (R-MO), is on the younger side of the spectrum, it's not clear that anybody knows exactly how to effectively ban loot boxes.
Hawley's bill, for instance, seems to cover games targeted at children. Certainly keeping game developers from manipulating children is a noble aspiration, but how do you really define an age group that a game is targeted? The ESRB rates the lowest demographic that a game can be suitable for, but that's not really the same thing. A game can be rated E for Everybody and still be targeted toward adults.
There's also the issue of crafting the legislation in a way that less-scrupulous developers can't weasel around it through technicalities. For instance, making loot boxes available for free, but selling "keys" to open them. This will be the really tricky part as trying to legislate around an industry that creates rules and finds exploits to them as part of their regular business is like trying to lock a locksmith inside his own shop.
There are certainly plenty of games in the industry that are easy enough to look at and say "Whoa. No. That is clearly wrong. Stop that." but there are just as many where the distinction is blurrier.
It's unclear that Hawley's bill will go anywhere. Microtransactions have generated billions upon billions of dollars for the gaming industry, a portion of which will doubtlessly be dedicated to fighting any legislative attempts to turn off the money faucet.
In the meantime, the best way to keep microtransactions from plaguing the industry is to not contribute to them. Don't waste your time on a game that artificially stifles your progress until you pay a small ransom. There are plenty of games out there that don't do that. Give them your money instead.
Travis Fischer is a news writer for Mid-America Publishing and is fine paying for games so long as he can get what he paid for.