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

WASHINGTON, June 2 (Reuters) - Shopper advocates on Thursday urged U.S. regulators to analyze video game maker Electronic Arts Inc (EA.O) for what they say was the misleading use of a digital "loot field" that "aggressively" urges players to spend more cash while playing a well-liked soccer recreation.

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

Within the sport, players construct a soccer team utilizing avatars of actual players and compete towards other teams. In a letter to the FTC, the teams said the game usually prices $50 to $100 however that the corporate pushed push gamers to spend extra.

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"It entices gamers to purchase packs looking for particular gamers," stated the letter despatched by these groups together with the Client Federation of America and Massachusetts Council on Gaming and Well being and others.

The packs, or loot bins, are packages of digital content typically purchased with real cash that give the purchaser a potential benefit in a sport. They are often purchased with digital currency, which might obscure how much is spent, they stated.

"The possibilities of opening a coveted card, corresponding to a Player of the Yr, are miniscule except a gamer spends thousands of dollars on factors or performs for thousands of hours to earn coins," the groups said in the letter.

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

"Spending is always elective," a company spokesperson stated in an email statement. "We encourage the usage of parental controls, including spend controls, which are obtainable for every major gaming platform, together with EA's personal platforms."

The spokesperson additionally said the company created a dashboard so gamers would track how much time they performed, how many packs they opened and what purchases were made.

The FTC, which matches after firms engaged in deceptive behavior, held a workshop on loot bins in 2019. In a "staff perspective" which adopted, the company noted that online game microtransactions have change into a multibillion-dollar market.

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

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