{"id":33740,"date":"2022-06-02T16:28:25","date_gmt":"2022-06-02T16:28:25","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/harchi90.com\/groups-urge-us-to-probe-loot-box-on-electronic-arts-video-game\/"},"modified":"2022-06-02T16:28:25","modified_gmt":"2022-06-02T16:28:25","slug":"groups-urge-us-to-probe-loot-box-on-electronic-arts-video-game","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/harchi90.com\/groups-urge-us-to-probe-loot-box-on-electronic-arts-video-game\/","title":{"rendered":"Groups urge US to probe &#8216;loot box&#8217; on Electronic Arts video game"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<div>\n<p data-testid=\"paragraph-0\" class=\"text__text__1FZLe text__dark-grey__3Ml43 text__regular__2N1Xr text__large__nEccO body__base__22dCE body__large_body__FV5_X article-body__element__2p5pI\">WASHINGTON, June 2 (Reuters) &#8211; Consumer advocates on Thursday urged US regulators to investigate video game maker Electronic Arts Inc (EA.O) for the misleading use of a digital &#8220;loot box&#8221; that &#8220;aggressively&#8221; urges players to spend more money while playing a popular soccer game.<\/p>\n<p data-testid=\"paragraph-1\" class=\"text__text__1FZLe text__dark-grey__3Ml43 text__regular__2N1Xr text__large__nEccO body__base__22dCE body__large_body__FV5_X article-body__element__2p5pI\">The groups Fairplay, Center for Digital Democracy and 13 other organizations urged the Federal Trade Commission to probe the EA game &#8220;FIFA: Ultimate Team&#8221;.<\/p>\n<p data-testid=\"paragraph-2\" class=\"text__text__1FZLe text__dark-grey__3Ml43 text__regular__2N1Xr text__large__nEccO body__base__22dCE body__large_body__FV5_X article-body__element__2p5pI\">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.<\/p>\n<div class=\"registration-prompt__container__2jf5K registration-prompt__inline__2WDU- article-body__element__2p5pI article-body__inline-registration-prompt__1-N9W\">\n<div class=\"registration-prompt__text-content__o0YET\">\n<h5 data-testid=\"Heading\" class=\"text__text__1FZLe text__white__3r45t text__medium__1kbOh text__heading_5__2krbj heading__base__2T28j heading__heading_5__2A2g- registration-prompt__heading__3fq-h\">Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com<\/h5>\n<p><button data-testid=\"Button\" class=\"button__button__2Ecqi button__secondary__18moI button__round__1nYLA text-button__container__3q3zX registration-prompt__button-text__3kTtQ\" type=\"button\"><\/p>\n<p><span data-testid=\"Text\" class=\"text__text__1FZLe text__inherit-color__3208F text__bold__2-8Kc text__default__UPMUu text-button__medium__113uZ\">Register<\/span><\/p>\n<p><\/button><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p data-testid=\"paragraph-3\" class=\"text__text__1FZLe text__dark-grey__3Ml43 text__regular__2N1Xr text__large__nEccO body__base__22dCE body__large_body__FV5_X article-body__element__2p5pI\">&#8220;It entices players to buy packs in search of special players,&#8221; said the letter sent by these groups along with the Consumer Federation of America and Massachusetts Council on Gaming and Health and others.<\/p>\n<p data-testid=\"paragraph-4\" class=\"text__text__1FZLe text__dark-grey__3Ml43 text__regular__2N1Xr text__large__nEccO body__base__22dCE body__large_body__FV5_X article-body__element__2p5pI\">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<\/p>\n<p data-testid=\"paragraph-5\" class=\"text__text__1FZLe text__dark-grey__3Ml43 text__regular__2N1Xr text__large__nEccO body__base__22dCE body__large_body__FV5_X article-body__element__2p5pI\">&#8220;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,&#8221; the groups said in the letter.<\/p>\n<p data-testid=\"paragraph-6\" class=\"text__text__1FZLe text__dark-grey__3Ml43 text__regular__2N1Xr text__large__nEccO body__base__22dCE body__large_body__FV5_X article-body__element__2p5pI\">The letter also linked the loot boxes to gambling.<\/p>\n<p data-testid=\"paragraph-7\" class=\"text__text__1FZLe text__dark-grey__3Ml43 text__regular__2N1Xr text__large__nEccO body__base__22dCE body__large_body__FV5_X article-body__element__2p5pI\">&#8220;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,&#8221; they wrote.<\/p>\n<p data-testid=\"paragraph-8\" class=\"text__text__1FZLe text__dark-grey__3Ml43 text__regular__2N1Xr text__large__nEccO body__base__22dCE body__large_body__FV5_X article-body__element__2p5pI\">The FTC, which goes after companies that engage in deceptive behavior, held a workshop on loot boxes in 2019. In a &#8220;staff perspective&#8221; which followed, the agency noted that video game microtransactions have become a multi-billion-dollar market.<\/p>\n<div class=\"registration-prompt__container__2jf5K registration-prompt__inline__2WDU- article-body__element__2p5pI\">\n<div class=\"registration-prompt__text-content__o0YET\">\n<h5 data-testid=\"Heading\" class=\"text__text__1FZLe text__white__3r45t text__medium__1kbOh text__heading_5__2krbj heading__base__2T28j heading__heading_5__2A2g- registration-prompt__heading__3fq-h\">Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com<\/h5>\n<p><button data-testid=\"Button\" class=\"button__button__2Ecqi button__secondary__18moI button__round__1nYLA text-button__container__3q3zX registration-prompt__button-text__3kTtQ\" type=\"button\"><\/p>\n<p><span data-testid=\"Text\" class=\"text__text__1FZLe text__inherit-color__3208F text__bold__2-8Kc text__default__UPMUu text-button__medium__113uZ\">Register<\/span><\/p>\n<p><\/button><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p><span data-testid=\"Text\" class=\"text__text__1FZLe text__dark-grey__3Ml43 text__regular__2N1Xr text__default__UPMUu sign-off__text__PU3Aj\">Reporting by Diane Bartz;  Editing by David Gregorio<\/span><\/p>\n<p data-testid=\"Body\" class=\"text__text__1FZLe text__dark-grey__3Ml43 text__regular__2N1Xr text__large__nEccO body__base__22dCE body__large_body__FV5_X article-body__element__2p5pI\">Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p>    .<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>WASHINGTON, June 2 (Reuters) &#8211; Consumer advocates on Thursday urged US regulators to investigate video game maker Electronic Arts Inc (EA.O) for the misleading use of a digital &#8220;loot box&#8221; that &#8220;aggressively&#8221; urges players to spend more money while playing a popular soccer game. The groups Fairplay, Center for Digital Democracy and 13 other organizations &hellip;<\/p>\n<p class=\"read-more\"> <a class=\"\" href=\"https:\/\/harchi90.com\/groups-urge-us-to-probe-loot-box-on-electronic-arts-video-game\/\"> <span class=\"screen-reader-text\">Groups urge US to probe &#8216;loot box&#8217; on Electronic Arts video game<\/span> Read More &raquo;<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"site-sidebar-layout":"default","site-content-layout":"default","ast-main-header-display":"","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"","ast-featured-img":"","footer-sml-layout":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":"","spay_email":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_is_tweetstorm":false,"jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true},"categories":[9],"tags":[1813,56,25,738,258,64,1816,1817,87,1819,16231,14403,14404,16232,279,6052,49,50,51,52,57,9965,2279],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.reuters.com\/resizer\/-GO4vnnld_bMMsjeh6o_DP29uZI=\/1200x628\/smart\/filters:quality(80)\/cloudfront-us-east-2.images.arcpublishing.com\/reuters\/PEMHBAIC4BKRLFHQ6OEH3FLD64.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/harchi90.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/33740"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/harchi90.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/harchi90.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/harchi90.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/harchi90.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=33740"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/harchi90.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/33740\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/harchi90.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=33740"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/harchi90.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=33740"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/harchi90.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=33740"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}