'Star Wars Battlefront II' News: Hawaii Lawmaker Condemns Game's Microtransactions, Says It Is 'Predatory'
One of the latest criticisms on "Star Wars Battlefront II's" microtransactions scheme comes from a United States lawmaker who called the in-game purchases "predatory."
Rep. Chris Lee of Hawaii recently held a press conference to specifically address Electronic Arts' and other video game companies' "predatory behavior" and mentioned "Star Wars Battlefront II's" microtransactions as an example.
Lee likened the game to a casino "designed to lure kids into spending money" and also called it a "trap." The lawmaker insisted that the issue needed to be dealt with for the sake of underage kids playing video games who he said were "not psychologically and emotionally mature enough to gamble."
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In the same press conference, Lee announced his intention to introduce legislation by 2018 that "could prohibit sale of these games to folks who are underage." The lawmaker added he had already spoken with some of his colleagues in the House of Representatives and confirmed that some of the other states were "looking at the same thing."
Meanwhile, in a Reddit thread where Lee's office also uploaded the video of the same press conference, the lawmaker asked for people's support.
"Even so, elected officials can't do it alone. They need your support and you can compel action wherever you live by calling and emailing your own state legislators and asking them to act," Lee added.
Lawmakers and government agencies outside the United States have also expressed their concerns and shared the same insight that games like "Battlefront II" encouraged gambling.
In a letter to France's online gaming agency, ARJEL, French senator Jerome Durain recognized the contribution of video games and esports to the development of the country's culture and economy. However, he also expressed concern that the trend of in-game microtransactions posed damaging effects to the gaming industry.
Also, shortly after the release of "Battlefront II," the gambling commission of Belgium placed the said game and Blizzard Entertainment's "Overwatch" under investigation to determine if the titles could be categorized as gambling activities.
Most of the fans commenting on Lee's YouTube video and Reddit thread gave their support for the efforts to regulate video game microtransactions. Many of them even suggested that companies such as Blizzard should be subjected to proposed regulation as well.
However, the news did not sit well with some people from the private sector. Analyst Michael Pachter of Wedbush Securities took to Twitter to criticize lawmakers' efforts and went as far as calling them out and suggesting they should resign.
Pachter explained: "'Gambling' requires a wager to win something of tangible value. If the thing won can't be sold or monetized, it isn't gambling."
