In a recent earnings call, Andrew Wilson, CEO of EA, had the following to say in regards to loot boxes:

We're working with all the industry associations globally and with regulators in various jurisdictions and territories, many of whom we've been working with for some time and have evaluated and established that programs like FIFA Ultimate Team are not gambling. And we don't believe that FIFA Ultimate Team – all loot boxes are gambling.

The news come after the recent decision in several countries to seek the ban of loot boxes which have been considered a form of gambling. EA even seemed to right the wrongs after announcing that it will remove the pay-to-win system from Battlefront II and introduce another system. While the debate about whether loot boxes should be considered as gambling is still ongoing, EA does not think so, with Wilson further giving the following argument:

Firstly, players always receive a specified number of items in each FUT pack. And secondly, we don't provide or authorize any way to cash out or sell items in virtual currency for real-world money. And there's no way we can make value assign to FUT items in game currency. And while we forbid the transfer of items of in-the-game currency outside, we also actively seek to eliminate that where it's going on in an illegal environment, and we work with regulators in various jurisdictions to achieve that.

And so net-net, we're going to continue to push forward. We're always thinking about our players. We're always thinking about how to deliver these types of experiences in a transparent, fun, fair, and balanced way for our players. And we'll communicate with regulators around the world on it.

So what do you think? Is EA right to hold its ground when it comes to loot boxes? Or is it on its way to win "Worst Company in America" once more?

SOURCE

 

[VitaType]

I can already hear the screams of the global angry crowds

Yes, and then the very same people who say how terrible that behaviour is will continue to buy there games because they really "need" there Battlefields, Sport games, Sims's, Mass Effects and so on...

 

[Deleted User]

Good, let them take their stand, because I've been boycotting their shit for YEARS. Hopefully it blows up in their fucking money hungry faces.

#boycottEA

 

[Deleted User]

Soon enough this will be a thing

 

[Deleted User]

-snip-
Soon enough this will be a thing

could you have posted a bigger image?

Jesus christ

 

[Deleted User]

could you have posted a bigger image?

Jesus christ

Fixed

 

[CallmeBerto]

Loot boxes shouldn't be regulated nor should the government get involved. I swear the shit some of you guys say drives me up a wall.

 

[Deleted User]

That was the Glorious day EA died.

 

[VitaType]

Fixed

How can you call FullHD res for a joke fixed? lol
Any chance that you use a 16K monitor?

 

[Ysle29]

Loot boxes shouldn't be regulated nor should the government get involved. I swear the shit some of you guys say drives me up a wall.

Have fun on the wall then. At least take the effort to use arguments why goverments shouldn't regulate loot bozes. No point in ridiculing other users here without reason.

 

[VitaType]

~removed~

 

[Deleted User]

~removed~

I removed the black borders.I posted a ss of a ss by mistake.Im on my phone

 

[Fault Boy]

>fair
They litterally rig (players missing balls, stopping to run even with plenty of stamina remaining etc.) games on FUT if you have a good team entirely made by trading/auction market. (wich is pretty easy and not grindy)

 

[Darksabre72]

what will it take for ea to learn to not put lootboxes in these games after the battlefront backlash

--------------------- MERGED ---------------------------

Oh wow... I swear EA aims to be the most hated company of all time. Soon, we'll be seeing loot boxes in games like Sims. Oh, you want that sweet TV? Only available in our premium pack of 5 loot boxes for $20.

they have been hated for the longest time and won the most hated company award many times

 

[The Catboy]

I really hope this finally kills EA. So many games were crippled by lootboxes and EA was one of the worst offenders (right next to Activision Blizzard,) and it needs to stop being a practice in retail games.

 

[CallmeBerto]

Have fun on the wall then. At least take the effort to use arguments why goverments shouldn't regulate loot bozes. No point in ridiculing other users here without reason.

oh simple there is no crime being committed. Loot boxes aren't killing anyone. EA is holding a gun to your head demanding you buy them. They are there as an option. People know they are kind og like gambling and as such they should take full responsibility if they spend all their money on it. I don't buy the moral arguments since again like I said nobody is getting hurt.

 

[HaloEliteLegend]

The same earnings call also mentioned that this is one of EA's highest grossing years. Despite the flak they catch over lootboxes, clearly it's rolling the money in for them, so why in the world would they stop? The only way this will stop if you get the government involved in the gaming industry further to outlaw such practices.

Loot boxes shouldn't be regulated nor should the government get involved. I swear the shit some of you guys say drives me up a wall.

What we need is for the ESRB to do their damn job and protect consumers, instead of being the lobby boy of big companies like EA.

 

[CallmeBerto]

What we need is for the ESRB to do their damn job and protect consumers, instead of being the lobby boy of big companies like EA.

There is nothing to protect. Nobody is putting a gun to your head and forcing you to buy them.

 

[Hyborix3]

>Masks the fact that they want money and acts like they care for the consumers

>People can smell their bullshit from a mile away.

Keep digging deeper EA.

 

[HaloEliteLegend]

There is nothing to protect. Nobody is putting a gun to your head and forcing you to buy them.

Likewise, no one's putting a gun up to your head and forcing you to gamble, yet we have gambling laws for a reason. Loot boxes and other forms of microtransactions are made to be addictive, and prey on people who get caught in the game's addictive loop. That should at least warrant a clear and noticeable warning if it can't technically be classified as gambling. That's the ESRB's job. They're a consumer protection group, so they should be protecting consumers from a possibly addicting, predatory money hole.

 

[BlackWizzard17]

How many lessons is it going to take for EA to learn?
I would say bad Photoshop but that's not where I shine.