An insider with contacts within EA Sports claims that an internal company document shows that Electronic Arts is trying to steer players into a game format that encourages them to spend more money. This model has been criticized for possible links to gambling.
The leaked 54-page document comes from the company's sports division in Burnaby, BC, where a team works on FIFA games. The documents discuss a gameplay mode that allows players to purchase loot boxes within the game to enhance their performance or increase their chances of winning by providing a better player to their team. This gameplay is featured in FIFA Ultimate Team mode and is reportedly the game's " cornerstone ."
FIFA and EA want everyone to go for Ultimate Team mode and spend a lot of money
Part of the presentation reads, " We're doing everything we can to get players there ," while other sections offer concepts like " content previews that will boost excitement and channel players into FUT from other modes ." Another panel emphasizes the importance of FIFA Ultimate Team with " All roads lead to FUT ."
Critics of this model, along with psychological reports, agree that the randomness, combined with the visual and auditory effects when a box is opened within the game, makes them addictive and similar to gambling or slot machines. Keith Whyte of the U.S. National Problem Gambling Council makes this comparison and adds, " Nothing is more attractive, and in some people, addictive, to the brain than variable and intermittent reward ."
Various forums and message boards online are filled with people admitting that they are trying to break free from loot box addiction. Experts like Whyte say they see more and more troubled players spending savings and even going into debt to experiment. The Electronci Arts employee who leaked the documents claims that many workers feel morally awful about having to work on games with lootboxes that incite gambling, but cannot do anything because investors and money are the priority for the company.
Source: CCBA
[irp]
