Letter: Video games stripped of content a money grab – Revelstoke Review

Since holidays are coming soon I would advise people to research what video games you purchase for yourself or anyone else.

Content in video games is often being stripped from the playable portion of the game and then sold to consumer through additional purchases, in-game gambling, or subscription services.

Video games are portrayed as an art form alongside movies, music and books. But unlike any other art form, game designers can strip away parts of their creation and sell them to you in pieces. Imagine if a book offered you the first three chapters of the title for the cover price, and then you had to pay five more dollars for each additional chapter.

Gambling is present in some video games, through virtual items you can buy with real money for a random chance to receive in-game rewards called loot boxes. There is no upper limit on how much players can spend on loot boxes such as when an Ontario teenager spent $7,625 on in-game purchases in FIFA 2016.

It would be best to research what anti-consumer practices are in the video game you are looking to buy, as most video game companies are happy to sell you a product that has parts of it stripped away.

-Kyle Tracz

@SalmonArm
newsroom@saobserver.net
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