Back in September 2018, Trials Rising’s Steam page sparked a discussion on loot boxes after the user, MY TEAM SUCKS spoke angrily about the loot box system planned for the title.
The thread —which you can read here— features users with varying opinions. Some claiming they’re removing the title from their wishlist, others saying that people aren’t being made to purchase the loot crates. The crates in the game are known as Gear Crates and this is how they’re described on the official blog post from September 7:
“Gear Crates contain customization items that are purely cosmetic and help players expand their inventory of customization options. Items that you receive from Gear Crates can also be purchased individually, so if there’s a particular piece of flair you’re after, you can seek it out specifically. In addition to earning Gear Crates for hitting Fame milestones, you can also purchase them using Trials Coins or Acorns.”
On October 4, a Ubisoft developer for Trials Rising known as “UbiKeeba” commented on the thread saying:
“I’ve let the team know about the concern surrounding the Gear Crates.”
The conversation between users continued after that, and then Ubi_Warlock left a comment yesterday:
“Hey,
As has been pointed out, these loot crates are purely cosmetic. I do appreciate why players feel the way they do about them (not a huge fan myself), however, as it was also pointed out, you can always just not buy them.
Ultimately, they’re intended for players who want something to help them stand out from the crowd when playing online, or even just those who are big fans of the game and want to support us further.
Yes, it means that some players end up spending more on our games than others and that does result in increased profits for us. It also helps us to put more money into new titles and to understand what players look for in their games. If players simply didn’t buy these crates, they would not be added into games in future.
All in all, loot crates / cosmetic items in general have been a huge boon for the Gaming Industry, being a driving factor in the increased popularity of Gaming over the past decade or so.
They aren’t a bad thing if done right.
Your feedback on the topic is still very much appreciated as this is a hotly debated topic. I do hope you consider the impact it would actually have on your enjoyment of the game though.
– Ubisoft Support”
It’s safe to say that the comments following were less than impressed with the remark that “If players simply didn’t buy these crates, they would not be added into games in future.” Here are some example of the comments:
“Take note from CDPR you greedy A-holes”
“just when you think Trials series is the only Ubisoft IP free from their own evil hands, this happens….”
“i remember when getting cool item/armour actually meant playing game and achieving something.”
“Why would you ever say this?”
“This post just cemented my belief that you do not care about what the community wants.”
Loot boxes have been under fire for a while now, we’ve seen politicians in Belgium and Hawaii seek to regulate them, which led to a legal battle with EA and Belgium regarding FIFA’s loot boxes. We’ve also seen Overwatch and Heroes of the Storm remove loot boxes in Belgium.
EA has been rather vocal about loot boxes, saying the company “doesn’t believe loot boxes or similar mechanics are a form of gambling, and there are plenty of governments around the world that agree with that“. The UK’s local Gambling Commission said that loot boxes are not considered as gambling.
However, the above comment from Ubi_Warlock has been uttered before when Chief Financial Officer Alain Martinez said this about loot boxes during Ubisoft’s quarterly investor conference call in February this year:
“customers “need to feel that they are really free not to buy it,” and that they have an actual choice.”
Trials Rising is being developed by RedLynx and published by Ubisoft and is set to launch on February 12 for PC, PS4, Nintendo Switch, and Xbox One.