@SwitchGlitch Of course they are going to continue to use them - as long as they continue to make money. There is no underhanded method that they can 'disguise' the fact that 'additional' purchases become 'compulsory' or even 'Necessary' without the gaming press being aware of that. Its also pushing the limits of 'Pay to Win' at the moment too in some games - take SW:BF2 with its 'star cards' and in game bonuses these can give in competitive MP.

Personally I would rather see these things completely disappear rather than just become regulated. Its bad enough that they 'could' sell 'cosmetic' items as 'DLC' but that is still preferable to selling the 'slim' chance that you may get the cosmetic item you actually want which then in turn encourages people to keep plowing money into RNG boxes to try and get those items. I don't buy a chance to play the 'game' I wanted but could also get some games I already own or games I have no desire to play - I pay the money to get the 'game' I want/expect.

I have NO issue with RNG as an 'in-game' reward - for things like leveling up etc but the only micro-transaction content should sell cosmetic only items and you get exactly the item you purchase - not a 'chance' to get it. Even that is perhaps pushing things too much for a AAA game to have 'micro-transaction cosmetic items' for sale but at least its giving gamers the chance to buy 'exactly' what they wanted. I still think 'EVERYTHING' should be available in-game and at most, with in-game currency and that 'currency' cannot be bought with real money either! If people want to look 'badass' - grind for it - not buy a shortcut to these.

To a degree, gamers are responsible for this practice and the fact its becoming much more prevalent. If they didn't spend the money, they would have died away. There also seems to be an acceptance in certain games - like Titanfall 2 and Star Wars BF2 because they are offering the 'season' of DLC free. If you look at Activisions Statements of finance, they are making billions every year and had their biggest profits ever - mostly because of the sales of 'loot boxes' in games like CoD and Overwatch. Other publishers see that and want a slice of that pie so implement these into their games too. Its not a surprise to see Ubisoft, EA etc all having their own 'RNG micro-transaction' options in their games too. Unless gamers make a stand and vote with their wallets, the likelihood that every AAA Game will have some form of RNG loot for sale with real money is only going to increase.

I have no doubt that devs/publishers will continue to find ways to exploit their customers to try and boost profit margins. We have seen things like Online Passes, obvious DLC that should be part of the game etc. If they fail with RNG loot, they will no doubt try another way to extract 'more' money from its customer base. That being said, the gaming community have forced Devs to drop other 'schemes'. Voting with wallets though can and does make a difference. The gaming press can also help when reviewing games and high-lighting these as 'negatives' and dropping their scores which in turn can affect sales, and hit the devs/publishers where it hurts most.