Last month, Belgium became one of the first countries to effectively outlaw the practice of selling “loot boxes”, as they were seen to be “in violation” of gambling laws. Now the ripple effects have coming knocking on Nintendo’s door, with both Animal Crossing: Pocket Camp and Fire Emblem Heroes set to be delisted on the region’s app stores.
In Nintendo Belgium’s official statement, it’s confirmed that the purchase of leaf tickets and orbs has ended, and the full games will be delisted on August 27, 2019. It’s also confirmed that any future games with similar microtransaction models won’t be available in the region.
Other developers have simply removed microtransactions from their games, like EA and Fifa, so Nintendo is taking a more extreme step here, likely due to the relatively small market that is Belgium. If other countries introduce similar legislature, however, things could change. We’ll be sure to keep you informed.
Written by Tom Brown
Whether it’s an exciting new entry in a series long established or a weird experiment meant only for the dedicated, Tom is eager to report on it. Rest assured, if Nintendo ever announces Elite Beat Agents 2, he’ll be there.
