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

WASHINGTON, June 2 (Reuters) - Consumer advocates on Thursday urged U.S. regulators to investigate 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 extra money whereas taking part in a popular soccer sport.

The teams Fairplay, Middle for Digital Democracy and 13 different organizations urged the Federal Commerce Fee to probe the EA game "FIFA: Final Team".

In the recreation, players construct a soccer group utilizing avatars of actual players and compete against other groups. In a letter to the FTC, the groups stated the sport 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 searching for special gamers," said 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 boxes, are packages of digital content material sometimes bought with real cash that give the purchaser a potential benefit in a recreation. They can be purchased with digital foreign money, which might obscure how a lot is spent, they stated.

"The possibilities of opening a coveted card, corresponding to a Player of the Yr, are miniscule except a gamer spends 1000's of dollars on points or performs for hundreds of hours to earn cash," the groups mentioned in the letter.

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

"Spending is at all times non-compulsory," an organization spokesperson stated in an electronic mail assertion. "We encourage the usage of parental controls, including spend controls, that are obtainable for each major gaming platform, together with EA's own platforms."

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

The FTC, which matches after companies engaged in misleading habits, held a workshop on loot boxes in 2019. In a "staff perspective" which followed, the company noted that video 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

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