Its also life-or-death for much of the game industry. The same way most restaurants and fast food chains wouldn't be able to exist without "cheap tricks" targeting primitive brain circuity (e.g. MSG, sweeteners, frying), most game studios would not be able to survive based on box sales alone. They need a skinner-box to extract more money out of people. Creating a game that is compelling enough to extract ever-increasing value out of people based on content, quality, and narrative alone is extremely difficult. Making a "random loot box" system is extremely easy and pays far more, even though its the "easy way out".
Of course, like fast food and cigarettes / drugs, the consumers also bear responsibility. Rather than supporting "clean" games with something noble to offer, the games that exploited these tricks virtually printed money, while the "old timey" approach of spending years making a quality title gave way to the more casino-like interactions we see today. The truth is fast food, drugs, and gambling are just more fun than home-cooked nutritious meals, healthy habits, and deep/challenging engagement.
Pretty much everything fits these patterns of reduction to the basic animalistic appeal: movies, music, clothing/attire, dating apps, even our politics. Its just easier and more effective to appeal to the limbic system than to figure out something new and profound.