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

WASHINGTON, June 2 (Reuters) - Shopper advocates on Thursday urged U.S. regulators to analyze 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 players to spend more money while enjoying a well-liked soccer recreation.

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

Within the recreation, players build a soccer staff using avatars of real players and compete against other teams. In a letter to the FTC, the groups said the game usually costs $50 to $100 however that the corporate pushed push gamers to spend more.

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"It entices gamers to purchase packs in search of special players," said the letter sent by these groups along with the Consumer Federation of America and Massachusetts Council on Gaming and Well being and others.

The packs, or loot packing containers, are packages of digital content material sometimes purchased with real cash that give the purchaser a potential advantage in a game. They can be purchased with digital currency, which can obscure how a lot is spent, they mentioned.

"The possibilities of opening a coveted card, resembling a Player of the Year, are miniscule until a gamer spends 1000's of dollars on points or performs for hundreds of hours to earn coins," the teams stated in the letter.

Electronic Arts said in an announcement on Thursday that of the game's tens of millions of players, 78% have not made an in-game buy.

"Spending is always non-compulsory," a company spokesperson said in an electronic mail statement. "We encourage the usage of parental controls, together with spend controls, which can be out there for every major gaming platform, together with EA's own platforms."

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

The FTC, which matches after firms engaged in misleading conduct, held a workshop on loot containers in 2019. In a "workers perspective" which adopted, the company noted that video game microtransactions have become a multibillion-dollar market.

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

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