Apple obliges "gacha's probabilistic disclosure" with measures against root box

byDmitry Mashkin

If Apple adopts a "loot box" or similar type of mechanism that Apple does not know what is in the "App Store Review Guidelines" revised and opened, which items are available at what probability The rule to clarify what is added was added. In a game for smartphones, "Gacha" system which can draw desired cards and items randomly is quite orthodox, but there are many things that probability is not clearly indicated, so each company is likely to be pressed for correspondence.

Updated Guidelines Now Available - News - Apple Developer
https://developer.apple.com/news/?id=12202017a


Apple Says Apps Must Now Disclose Odds For Loot Boxes
https://kotaku.com/apple-says-itunes-apps-must-now-disclose-odds-for-loot-1821497923

Apple Now Requires App Store Games To Disclose Loot Box Odds - GameSpot
https://www.gamespot.com/articles/apple-now-requires-app-store-games-to-disclose-loo/1100-6455782/

"Route Box" is a "box" in which items useful for playing games and rare characters are randomly discharged, and in Japan it is more comfortable to call "Gacha". Purchasing may also be possible in game currency, but many will purchase with real money. Although it is a mechanism that is often seen in games for smartphones, similar mechanisms have been introduced even for large titles such as "Star Wars Battlefront II", which is a hot topic.

The shadow of "Gacha" which began to cover overseas games. Billing box "Route Box" starts to be incorporated into large titles | AUTOMATON
http://jp.automaton.am/articles/newsjp/20171018-56245/

Users are also accepting things that are unrelated to the essence of the game, and the user can get additional decorations for avatars and skins, but the problem is that even items that affect game characteristics are sometimes influenced In some cases, there is a case that the probability of what is discharged at what rate is not clearly indicated. However, in the user's eyes, some countries have laws stipulating to specify probabilities even if they are dissatisfied with "I do not know whether they really get out!", So many were left "as it is not illegal" as it is.

Since the United States was a country without laws that stipulate the probability to be specified, the amendment of Apple's "App Store Review Guidelines" this time is received with surprise.

App Store Review Guidelines - Apple Developer
https://developer.apple.com/app-store/review/guidelines/

The item that changed was the item "3.1.1 In-App Billing" in "3.1 Payment". As of 12 o'clockJapanese versionHas not been updated yet, but in the English version, to show the probability of how much each type of item is discharged for "loot boxes" and items similar to those in which items are randomly obtained Item has been added.


By the way, "Animal Crossing Pocket Camp"In fishing that incorporates a" gacha "-like mechanism, the probability of what can be caught is clearly stated.


On the screen asking which "tomo" to use, tap "details" at the bottom right.


Then, "Proportion of use" by "tomi" to use is detailedly written in probability. By the way, this "Tohya (sea)" is not charged.


"Oriya and Ami" "Ogata and Ami" are specifications you get with tickets that you can also purchase for a fee. The percentage of random materials that can be caught, such as "0.2640%" for "tuna" and 0.3960% for "pufferfish" is the same for "Tohomi (ocean)" and "Ohata and Ami".



Instructions are also written at the end of the explanation page.


Will future probability notation for iOS, such probability notation become natural in every game?