Groups 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 investigate video game maker Digital Arts Inc (EA.O) for what they are saying was the misleading use of a digital "loot box" that "aggressively" urges gamers to spend extra money while enjoying a popular soccer sport.

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

Within the game, gamers build a soccer team utilizing avatars of real players and compete in opposition to different teams. In a letter to the FTC, the groups said the sport normally costs $50 to $100 however that the company pushed push gamers to spend more.

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"It entices gamers to purchase packs in quest of special gamers," mentioned the letter despatched by these teams together with the Shopper Federation of America and Massachusetts Council on Gaming and Health and others.

The packs, or loot bins, are packages of digital content material generally bought with actual money that give the purchaser a possible advantage in a game. They can be purchased with digital currency, which may obscure how a lot is spent, they mentioned.

"The possibilities of opening a coveted card, such as a Participant of the Year, are miniscule except a gamer spends thousands of dollars on factors or performs for hundreds of hours to earn coins," the teams mentioned in the letter.

Electronic Arts said in a statement on Thursday that of the sport's hundreds of thousands of gamers, 78% haven't made an in-game purchase.

"Spending is always non-compulsory," 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, including EA's personal platforms."

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

The FTC, which fits after companies engaged in deceptive habits, held a workshop on loot containers in 2019. In a "employees perspective" which adopted, the agency noted that online game microtransactions have turn out 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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