Groups urge U.S. to probe ‘loot field’ on Digital 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 are saying was the deceptive use of a digital "loot box" that "aggressively" urges players to spend extra money while playing a popular soccer game.

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

Within the recreation, gamers construct a soccer team utilizing avatars of actual gamers and compete against other teams. In a letter to the FTC, the teams stated the game normally costs $50 to $100 but that the corporate pushed push players to spend more.

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"It entices players to purchase packs looking for special players," said the letter sent 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 sometimes purchased with actual cash that give the purchaser a potential benefit in a game. They are often bought with digital foreign money, which may obscure how much is spent, they mentioned.

"The probabilities of opening a coveted card, such as a Participant of the Yr, are miniscule until a gamer spends thousands of dollars on points or plays for 1000's of hours to earn cash," the groups said in the letter.

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

"Spending is all the time optionally available," a company spokesperson stated in an e mail statement. "We encourage using parental controls, together with spend controls, that are out there for every main gaming platform, including EA's personal platforms."

The spokesperson additionally mentioned the company created a dashboard so players would monitor how much time they played, how many packs they opened and what purchases have been made.

The FTC, which matches after companies engaged in deceptive conduct, held a workshop on loot packing containers in 2019. In a "workers perspective" which adopted, the agency noted that online game microtransactions have grow to be a multibillion-dollar market.

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

Our Requirements: The Thomson Reuters Trust Ideas.