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The groups Fairplay, Center for Digital Democracy and 13 other
organizations urged the Federal Trade Commission to probe the EA
game "FIFA: Ultimate Team".
In the game, players build a soccer team 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 but that
the company would push players to spend more while they played.
"It entices players to buy 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
Health and others.
The packs, or loot boxes, are packages of digital content
sometimes purchased with real money that give the purchaser a
potential advantage in a game. They can be purchased with
digital currency, which can obscure how much is spent, they said
"The chances of opening a coveted card, such as a Player of the
Year, are miniscule unless a gamer spends thousands of dollars
on points or plays for thousands of hours to earn coins," the
groups said in the letter.
The letter also linked the loot boxes to gambling.
"In some cases, young people who have already developed problem
gambling behaviors seek out games with loot boxes; for others,
loot boxes are a gateway to problem gambling," they wrote.
The FTC, which goes after companies that engage in deceptive
behavior, held a workshop on loot boxes in 2019. In a "staff
perspective" which followed, the agency noted that video game
microtransactions have become a multi-billion-dollar market.
(Reporting by Diane Bartz; Editing by David Gregorio)
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