There's definitely a tasteful way to do this model. Dota 2, Fortnite, and Brawlhalla are examples of good ways to do this. To me, it comes down to two things:
1. Should not be able to purchase a competitive advantage
2. Should be able to purchase the item you want.
Re the second point, if you want the rare items and that involves gambling random item opaque loot boxes, that's an abusive relationship. If it involves purchasing the item directly, or buying a box where you can see all the items inside of it, that's a respectful relationship. Purchasing the item directly is the most preferred.
Games that do this entire model badly involve Hearthstone and any number of mobile games made by Supercell.
Some people might balk at the idea of purchasing any further items, but personally, I don't see anything particularly wrong with allowing cosmetics to be purchased and applied as a model that enables people to have a great free experience.
Fortnite's a good example about how your two rules aren't enough, actually. Because of the way the game's designed, it pressures its audience (of primarily children) into purchasing microtransactions, to the point where there's been widespread bulling of kids who don't pay for premium Fortnite skins [1].
For a more detailed exploration of the dark side of Fortnite's monetization model, check out "Manufactured Discontent and Fortnite" [2].
Children are going through the entire evolution of a society in the course of a few short years, when they're young and don't have a lot of perspective yet. They've always been jerks to each other. Fortnite didn't start that, and it's extremely unlikely that it has had any effect on it at all.
If not that, they'd bully each other about something else. When I was growing up, us kids who played Battletech and had a Nintendo were cool, and the Robotech kids with their Segas were the jerks (of course they'd say the opposite). Kids who weren't into games would pick on each other over other stuff, like having a generic notebook instead of a Trapper Keeper with a cool design.
The idea that Fortnite is pressuring kids to be mean to each other is just as overblown as all the other "think of the children!" claims. From "Rock n Roll is the devil's music!" to the Satanic Panic over Dungeons and Dragons and beyond. People will always claim that something is making the kids bad, but no, that's just how kids are. Old people have just forgotten what kids are like.
You can also find plenty of anecdotes of kids helping each other out in team mode, or building creative mode areas in games where they can cooperate and have fun, giving an escape and some camaraderie to other kids who don't normally have that in their lives.
Mm, no. Fortnite makes money by selling good to children. They make more money if they create an environment which stigmatizes not spending money, which is a tactic to which children are especially vulnerable and which necessarily leads to a group of children being stigmatized against by their peers. It's hardly "think of the children" to take issue with a business model which is demonstrably harmful.
Also, "children will bully each other no matter what" is not a rational response to something which exacerbates bullying. That's like saying "accidents happen no matter what, this is no worse than normal" with respect to a defective car with broken airbags.
1. Should not be able to purchase a competitive advantage
2. Should be able to purchase the item you want.
Re the second point, if you want the rare items and that involves gambling random item opaque loot boxes, that's an abusive relationship. If it involves purchasing the item directly, or buying a box where you can see all the items inside of it, that's a respectful relationship. Purchasing the item directly is the most preferred.
Games that do this entire model badly involve Hearthstone and any number of mobile games made by Supercell.
Some people might balk at the idea of purchasing any further items, but personally, I don't see anything particularly wrong with allowing cosmetics to be purchased and applied as a model that enables people to have a great free experience.