I begin by saying that I'm not going to be dogmatic about this because I am somewhat ignorant about this subject. Based on the limited exposure I have with loot boxes and stuff like that, I would say that it's not gambling. You are not necessarily purchasing something that has no substance; rather, you are purchasing something that has substance (i.e. the gear or in-game credits that you buy.) It's not like a lottery ticket where you are almost certainly going to be left empty handed. Instead, a loot box is where you are paying for stuff that's in the box (even though what you get may not be all that compelling.) You aren't left empty handed with a loot box, hence, it's not gambling.
Not to be dogmatic, but after some prayer and reflection, I have a conviction that we should avoid loot boxes and other micro-transactions. The reason that these micro-transactions are coming up all over the place is because the developers know that they can make a quick buck off of us. If we want change, it starts with you and me. We need to show the devs that this practice won't fly.
I see gambling as a waste of time. I watch hockey on TV, and there are gambling commercials on, constantly. The reason they have so many commercials is because they are making a lot of money. They can afford to buy tons of air-time. I also don't participate in lotteries. It's not much different than gambling, in my view. If I did buy a lottery ticket and I won, I would give most of it away anyhow. There are people who need money more than I do.
It won't make much of a difference. The Gameboy Micro flopped, the Virtual Boy flopped and the Wii U flopped. Despite all of that, Nintendo rose from the ashes and starting making money again. If the Switch 2 flops, they'll still be fine. They have been in this console race for a long time, so we don't have to worry about what they'll do.
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