Where once spending additional money on a game you’ve already paid for was something that the industry at large balked at, we’ve now come to a point where microtransactions and monetization in premium games has almost become an industry-wide standard. Though there’s certainly sufficient pushback against the same, some monetization methods in particular, such as loot boxes and gacha mechanics, have especially come under fire owing to how close they come to gambling (though not everyone agrees with that notion).
Thankfully, not every major publisher in the industry right now monetizes its games as aggressively as some others do, and one that is likely going to stick with that philosophy is Capcom. In a statement issued in their recently published integrated report for 2020, the Japanese publisher denounced the implementation of loot boxes and gacha mechanics in games, saying that games should be enjoyed for the entertainment value for their gameplay.
“In the Japanese game market, discussions have been taking place for several years on the problem of gacha, or lottery-style game mechanics, primarily in mobile games,” the company wrote. “Overseas, gacha-like ‘loot boxes’ have been banned in some countries. As a creator of entertainment culture, Capcom believes that games should be enjoyed for the entertainment value they provide with gameplay, not for thrills associated with winning a lottery. We do not want to see games that are supposed to make people happy having the opposite effect as a result of excessive charges.”
The company went on to write that it’s working to ensure that players can enjoy its games “fairly and safely”, and that aggressive monetization methods will be minimized in its releases.
“For that reason, we are working to ensure that all users can enjoy our games fairly and safely,” Capcom wrote. “In principle, we minimize gacha elements in the mobile games we develop; in our home video games, we provide any content required to enjoy the full game free of charge, while offering some additional content at low cost.”
Given how widespread loot boxes and gacha mechanics have become in games in a surprisingly short amount of time, it’s good to see a major publisher in the industry taking a strong stance against the same. Here’s hoping more follow in their footsteps.
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