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Two Hawaii state representatives recently held a press conference where they spoke of their intention to investigate EA’s practices when it comes to loot boxes in Star Wars Battlefront 2.
Hawaiian democrat Chris Lee said ‘This game is a Star Wars-themed online casino designed to lure kids into spending money,’ when speaking about the recently released Battlefront 2. ‘It’s a trap.’
Lee added that the state is looking to ban sales of ‘these games to folks who are under age in order to protect families,’ and potentially prohibited ‘different kinds of mechanisms in those games.’ He revealed that talks have begun with ‘several other states’ and was clear in his mission to address the gambling-like nature that comes with loot boxes ‘before this becomes the new norm for every game.’
Fellow state representative Sean Quinlan hammered home the point by stating ‘We didn’t allow Joe Camel to encourage our kids to smoke cigarettes, and we shouldn’t allow Star Wars to encourage our kids to gamble.’
This, of course, is just a signal of intent at this stage and not set in stone. It’s also important to remember that EA removed microtransactions (temporarily) from the game prior to launch because of the backlash. However, if a number of US states are indeed looking into possible legislation, which may gain momentum after the Belgian Gaming Commission’s ruling, the story of Star Wars Battlefront II’s loot crates backlash could rage on for a while yet.
