At the end of this year, the growth in video game titles and sales is dizzying, and yet publishers are worried. The World Health Organization’s decision to introduce a Gaming Disorder category into the next international classification of mental disorders (in other words, the possible existence of an addiction to video games) makes them fear a reversal of opinion. Several industry associations have therefore published statements hostile to this position. They argued that playing always has personal benefits, that the evidence for addiction is disputed and inconclusive, and that this Gaming Disorder category risked creating a “moral panic” among parents and an “over-diagnosis” among psychiatrists.
The worrying marriage of video games and gambling
Of course, there is no question of demonising video games. Only EXCESSIVE gaming is a public health problem, but at present we are in a situation where the gaming industries have carte blanche, and they are doing their utmost to keep it that way. Even worse, several publishers have introduced “loot boxes”. These are boxes bought in the game by the player, whose contents are only discovered after purchase. They may or may not contain prized items such as highly coveted outfits or exceptional weapons. The player buys them with real money, but they do not give access to money, only to items regarded as precious in the game. However, a trading system has been set up that now allows these digital items to be cashed in, so that the rule that seems to be applied in the game, namely that loot boxes only give access to virtual items and never to real money, can easily be circumvented. Loot boxes, which offer the prospect of a monetisable gain in return for a minimal financial sacrifice, could therefore allow very young players to play games that resemble gambling, in the absence of any identity check.
Child protection authorities take up the matter
This system, which has existed for several years, came to the forefront of the news a few months ago when players who had bought Star Wars Battlefront II discovered that the chance of getting the highly coveted Darth Vader costume depended on their occasionally finding a loot box containing it… or on buying a loot box with no guarantee that it contained it, which obviously had the effect of encouraging everyone to buy lots of them! The controversy then prompted the organisations responsible for protecting minors against the risks of gambling to take up the problem.
In Belgium, the legislator considered that this game logic was similar to that of gambling. It therefore asked publishers to remove this mechanism from their games, or to restrict them to those over 18. This legislation was adopted in April 2018 and specifically concerned four games: Star Wars Battlefront II (the mechanism was subsequently changed by the publisher to avoid being penalised), Overwatch, FIFA 18 and Counter Strike: Global Offensive.
In France, the online gaming regulatory authority (ARJEL), responsible for regulating online gambling, considered that since the aim was not to obtain a financial gain, nothing justified a ban for minors. However, it publicly expressed its concern and took the initiative of bringing together, in a joint declaration, eighteen gambling regulators who call for a dialogue with the video game industry to find concrete and rapid solutions that effectively protect the youngest.
The video game industry called upon to take responsibility
The industry should stop putting on rose-tinted glasses as soon as it talks about its products. It should acknowledge that its activities have ethical and social implications and that its commercial success, particularly among younger people, gives it responsibilities. It should reflect on its strong capacity to protect vulnerable consumers and on its share of responsibility in reducing gaming-related harm. Yet the gaming industry’s strategy today involves only one thing: the pursuit of economic profit at any price. This strategy relies on promoting the idea in public opinion that all games, without exception, improve quality of life.
Yes, games can enrich people’s lives, but they can also have negative impacts and cause harm to vulnerable people and their families.
The introduction of a “video game addiction” category does indeed risk creating a lot of misunderstandings. But if game publishers began by acknowledging the harm linked to gaming, and if they cared about promoting ethical commercial practices and ways of playing, we would not be where we are.
Serge Tisseron is a psychiatrist, doctor of psychology accredited to supervise research, member of the Académie des technologies, and associate researcher at Université Paris VII Denis Diderot (CRPMS).
