Teams urge U.S. to probe ‘loot box’ on Electronic Arts online game

WASHINGTON, June 2 (Reuters) - Consumer advocates on Thursday urged U.S. regulators to analyze video game maker Electronic Arts Inc (EA.O) for what they say was the deceptive use of a digital "loot field" that "aggressively" urges gamers to spend extra money whereas enjoying a well-liked soccer game.

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

Within the sport, gamers construct a soccer group using avatars of real players and compete towards other groups. In a letter to the FTC, the teams stated the game normally costs $50 to $100 but that the company pushed push gamers to spend more.

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"It entices gamers to buy packs searching for special gamers," mentioned the letter sent by these groups together with the Consumer Federation of America and Massachusetts Council on Gaming and Health and others.

The packs, or loot containers, are packages of digital content material sometimes bought with real money that give the purchaser a possible benefit in a recreation. They are often purchased with digital foreign money, which might obscure how a lot is spent, they stated.

"The probabilities of opening a coveted card, equivalent to a Player of the Yr, are miniscule except a gamer spends hundreds of dollars on points or plays for 1000's of hours to earn coins," the teams said in the letter.

Electronic Arts mentioned in a statement on Thursday that of the game's millions of players, 78% have not made an in-game buy.

"Spending is at all times optionally available," a company spokesperson mentioned in an e-mail assertion. "We encourage the use of parental controls, together with spend controls, which can be accessible for each major gaming platform, together with EA's own platforms."

The spokesperson also mentioned the corporate created a dashboard so gamers would observe how much time they played, how many packs they opened and what purchases have been made.

The FTC, which fits after corporations engaged in misleading behavior, held a workshop on loot packing containers in 2019. In a "staff perspective" which followed, the agency noted that online game microtransactions have change into a multibillion-dollar market.

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Reporting by Diane Bartz in Washington Editing by David Gregorio and Matthew Lewis

Our Requirements: The Thomson Reuters Trust Rules.