Fire Emblem Heroes/Animal Crossing: Pocket Camp to end services in Belgium

[Xonax]

Nintendo announced today that it will end services for Fire Emblem Heroes and Animal Crossing: Pocket Camp in Belgium on August 27 this year. This is due to a recent change to certain gambling laws in Belgium, making in-game loot boxes that can be purchased with real money illegal. The law is not 100% clear, but it seems like Nintendo decided to err on the side of caution and remove these games entirely from the Belgian market. Until August 27, both Fire Emblem Heroes and Animal Crossing: Pocket Camp can still be played normally and players can still use Orbs and Leaf Tickets, respectively. After August 27, both games can no longer be played or downloaded.
Additionally, future Nintendo games with similar business models won’t be released in Belgium.

Small article so posted it all.
Fire Emblem Heroes and Animal Crossing

[Steel]

I would think at this point cutting the bullshit worldwide would just be easier, but there I go, thinking gameplay not interrupted by gacha mechanics makes for a good experience again.

[Bokito]

Sucks if you've invested a lot of money in these games only to have them shut down in your country, although that could happen at any point if Nintendo feels like it. Not that I mind, Gacha is terrible and I'd honestly think the gaming industry would be better if it'd dissapear entirely.

[Silence]

So, if I'm reading and understanding this right, they aren't going to stop using these mechanics, they are just not going to release them in Belgium, correct?

[Trekintash]

Now imagine if a big game market did this like the US. It would be incredible.

[Shugo]

From what I've heard, Nintendo's take on gacha is somewhat subdued, and a lot of people play those two games totally free without any loss of enjoyment. I've seen a lot of comments on other sites wishing Nintendo would just cut out the pay options and leave the games playable for free. At least you can still side load them on Android.

I am glad that some countries are finally standing up to this garbage, though. Gacha and loot boxes are straight cancer in the games industry, and undeniable proof that major game companies are greedy and morally bankrupt to the point where they don't mind exploiting people for profit. As someone who found out in the TF2 days how susceptible I am to gambling mechanics, I feel so sorry for anyone taken in by this gacha garbage.