Teams urge U.S. to probe ‘loot field’ on Digital Arts video game

WASHINGTON, June 2 (Reuters) - Consumer advocates on Thursday urged U.S. regulators to research online game maker Electronic Arts Inc (EA.O) for what they say was the deceptive use of a digital "loot field" that "aggressively" urges players to spend more money whereas playing a preferred soccer game.

The groups Fairplay, Middle for Digital Democracy and 13 other organizations urged the Federal Commerce Fee to probe the EA game "FIFA: Ultimate Crew".

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

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

The packs, or loot packing containers, are packages of digital content material typically bought with actual money that give the purchaser a potential benefit in a sport. They can be bought with digital forex, which can obscure how a lot is spent, they mentioned.

"The probabilities of opening a coveted card, reminiscent of a Player of the 12 months, are miniscule unless a gamer spends thousands of dollars on factors or performs for hundreds of hours to earn coins," the groups said within the letter.

Electronic Arts mentioned in a statement on Thursday that of the game's thousands and thousands of players, 78% haven't made an in-game purchase.

"Spending is at all times optional," an organization spokesperson said in an email statement. "We encourage the use of parental controls, together with spend controls, which can be accessible for each major gaming platform, including EA's personal platforms."

The spokesperson additionally stated the company created a dashboard so players would track how much time they performed, how many packs they opened and what purchases had been made.

The FTC, which fits after companies engaged in deceptive behavior, held a workshop on loot containers in 2019. In a "staff perspective" which adopted, the agency famous that video game microtransactions have turn out to be a multibillion-dollar market.

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

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