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

WASHINGTON, June 2 (Reuters) - Consumer advocates on Thursday urged U.S. regulators to analyze video game maker Digital Arts Inc (EA.O) for what they say was the misleading use of a digital "loot field" that "aggressively" urges gamers to spend more money while enjoying a popular soccer sport.

The groups Fairplay, Center for Digital Democracy and 13 other organizations urged the Federal Trade Commission to probe the EA game "FIFA: Final Group".

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

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"It entices gamers to buy packs in quest of particular gamers," stated the letter despatched by these groups along with the Shopper Federation of America and Massachusetts Council on Gaming and Health and others.

The packs, or loot packing containers, are packages of digital content material sometimes purchased with real cash that give the purchaser a possible advantage in a sport. They are often bought with digital currency, which may obscure how much is spent, they mentioned.

"The possibilities of opening a coveted card, reminiscent of 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 cash," the teams mentioned in the letter.

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

"Spending is at all times non-obligatory," a company spokesperson mentioned in an e mail statement. "We encourage the use of parental controls, together with spend controls, which are out there for every main gaming platform, together with EA's personal platforms."

The spokesperson additionally said the corporate created a dashboard so gamers would monitor how a lot time they performed, what number of packs they opened and what purchases were made.

The FTC, which works after firms engaged in deceptive behavior, held a workshop on loot packing containers in 2019. In a "workers perspective" which adopted, the agency famous that video game microtransactions have turn into a multibillion-dollar market.

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

Our Requirements: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.