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

WASHINGTON, June 2 (Reuters) - Shopper advocates on Thursday urged U.S. regulators to analyze online game maker Electronic Arts Inc (EA.O) for what they say was the misleading use of a digital "loot box" that "aggressively" urges players to spend extra money while taking part in a preferred soccer game.

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

In the game, players construct a soccer crew using avatars of actual players and compete against other groups. In a letter to the FTC, the teams said the sport usually costs $50 to $100 however that the company pushed push players to spend extra.

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"It entices gamers to purchase packs in quest of particular players," stated the letter sent by these teams along with the Client Federation of America and Massachusetts Council on Gaming and Health and others.

The packs, or loot packing containers, are packages of digital content sometimes purchased with actual money that give the purchaser a potential advantage in a sport. They can be purchased with digital foreign money, which may obscure how much is spent, they stated.

"The possibilities of opening a coveted card, akin to a Participant of the 12 months, are miniscule unless a gamer spends thousands of dollars on factors or performs for hundreds of hours to earn cash," the groups said within the letter.

Electronic Arts mentioned in a press release on Thursday that of the sport's thousands and thousands of players, 78% haven't made an in-game buy.

"Spending is always non-obligatory," an organization spokesperson said in an e-mail assertion. "We encourage using parental controls, including spend controls, which might be obtainable for each major gaming platform, together with EA's own platforms."

The spokesperson also stated the company created a dashboard so gamers would observe how a lot time they performed, what number of packs they opened and what purchases had been made.

The FTC, which fits after companies engaged in deceptive conduct, held a workshop on loot boxes in 2019. In a "employees perspective" which followed, the company noted that video game microtransactions have develop into a multibillion-dollar market.

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

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