Epic sued over Fortnite Save the World's 'predatory' loot Llamas
http://tinyurl.com/y2p66e75
The suit accuses Epic of hooking gamers with a low purchase price, then
bleeding them dry with microtransactions.
Epic Games is being sued yet again over Fortnite, but for once it's not
because of funky dance emotes. A lawsuit filed on behalf of an underage
Fortnite fan, available via The Verge, alleges that Fortnite Save the World's
"Llama" loot boxes are part of a "predatory scheme" in which Epic hooks
players by selling the game at a lower-than-normal price point, and then
squeezes them for microtransaction money.
"Because Fortnite Save the World’s game progression is inextricably linked
to loot progression, players are pushed to keep seeking better loot to
progress in the game. Accordingly, Epic designed Fortnite Save the World to
effectively limit a player’s ability to progress within the game without
spending money on loot boxes," the lawsuit claims.
"The scheme plays out perfectly to the benefit of Epic: once players are
sufficiently invested in the game, Epic induces players to purchase loot
boxes in order to get better loot, which results in massive revenue to Epic."
The lawsuit compares Llamas, and loot boxes in general, to slot machines,
saying that Epic "psychologically manipulates its young players into thinking
they will 'get lucky'," even though it knows—and its "young players" do not—
that the odds of receiving high-end rewards are incredibly low.
"Epic’s prominent display of the most valuable (and exceedingly rare) loot
in every Llama, coupled with its failure to disclose the odds of winning the
most valuable loot, constitute deceptive and misleading representations that
deceive consumers into purchasing Llamas based on their reasonable reliance
on Epic’s representations," the suit states. "Had Plaintiff known the odds
of receiving the desired loot in Llamas were virtually nil, he would not have
purchased them."
The lawsuit explains "Fortnite Fever," and it does actually differentiate—
very briefly—that Save the World, which the lawsuit is about, is different
and separate from the far more successful and popular Battle Royale mode.
There's also quite a dive into "the rise of loot boxes," which notes their
tremendous value to the industry before accusing them of being "plagued with
deception, misrepresentations, and exploitation."
From there, the suit gets into topics including "The Importance of
Schematics, Heroes, and Survivors," V-Bucks, the different types of Llamas in
Fortnite Save the World, and "The Psychology and Manipulation of Loot Boxes."
It also includes several quotes from players unhappy with the results of
their Llama purchases and their inability to progress in the game without
spending more money: One player claims to have spent $233 on Llamas without
receiving a single legendary/mythic item.
"The reality is while players expect to receive top-tier loot, they don't get
it," the suit states. "This causes players, especially minors, to continue to
spend money seeking that next gold Llama or mythic item when it reality the
odds are undisclosed and heavily weighed against them."
The lawsuit covers the loot box controversy of the past year pretty thoroughly
—it also points out that loot boxes have come under government scrutiny in
the US, the Netherlands, Belgium, and Australia—but one of its central
claims is actually out of date: Epic began disclosing Upgrade Llama odds in
February, with the 7.30 update.
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大概就是新活動 Save The World中的抽Llamas，被指誘導未成年玩家一直取抽，卻沒明
確指出拿到稀有獎勵的機率很低。
總之這又扯到了未成年人和轉蛋賭博爭議，看來有得吵了。