Groups Urge US to Probe EA’s FIFA: Ultimate Team for Using ‘Loot Box’

Consumer advocates on Thursday urged US regulators to analyze online game maker Electronic Arts Inc for the deceptive use of a digital “loot box” that “aggressively” urges gamers to spend extra money whereas taking part in a well-liked soccer recreation.

The teams Fairplay, Center for Digital Democracy and 13 different organizations urged the Federal Trade Commission to probe the EA recreation FIFA: Ultimate Team.

In the sport, gamers construct a soccer group utilizing avatars of actual gamers, and compete in opposition to different groups. In a letter to the FTC, the teams stated the sport often prices $50 to $100 however that the corporate would push gamers to spend extra whereas they performed.

“It entices players to buy packs in search of special players,” stated the letter despatched by these teams together with the Consumer Federation of America and Massachusetts Council on Gaming and Health and others.

The packs, or loot packing containers, are packages of digital content material generally bought with actual cash that give the purchaser a possible benefit in a recreation. They will be bought with digital forex, which may obscure how a lot is spent, they stated

“The chances of opening a coveted card, such as a Player of the Year, are miniscule unless a gamer spends thousands of dollars on points or plays for thousands of hours to earn coins,” the teams stated within the letter.

The letter additionally linked the loot packing containers to playing.

“In some cases, young people who have already developed problem gambling behaviors seek out games with loot boxes; for others, loot boxes are a gateway to problem gambling,” they wrote.

The FTC, which fits after corporations that have interaction in misleading habits, held a workshop on loot packing containers in 2019. In a “staff perspective” which adopted, the company famous that online game microtransactions have develop into a multi-billion-dollar market.

© Thomson Reuters 2022