In a recent conference call with investors, EA touched upon the subject of loot boxes, and they had some interesting things to say regarding the matter, mainly that they don’t consider loot boxes gambling and that they’re going to continue pushing loot boxes in the future. Guess EA didn’t actually learn anything from Battlefront 2 after all.
In the call, EA’s CEO Andrew Wilson said that: “We’re going to continue to push forward [with loot boxes]. 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.” Honestly, that quote is just as bad, if not worse than “sense of pride and accomplishment”.
He goes on to talk about how he doesn’t believe loot boxes to be gambling in the first place, citing FIFA Ultimate Team as the primary example: “We don’t believe that FIFA Ultimate Team – all loot boxes are gambling. 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.
“There’s no way we can make value assign to FUT items in game currency. 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.”
It’s an interesting stance that EA have taken here, because there’s a case to be made that FIFA Ultimate Team is one of the worst offenders of the pay-to-win bullshit that Battlefront 2 was lambasted for. Players with not enough time and too much money can just buy Gold packs and fill their squad with high ranking players, but there’s still no guarantee they’ll work together because you have to take into account chemistry and other factors. It’s almost like that’s a gamble or something.
Wilson does say that EA are working with regulators in various jurisdictions, though they mention that the regulators they’ve been working with have “established that programs like FIFA Ultimate Team are not gambling”.
The Dutch would disagree with that statement, as they recently ruled that FIFA, along with some other games, are in fact gambling and need to alter their loot boxes by the 20th June or face repercussions. Meanwhile, the likes of Sweden, Korea, Belgium and certain US politicians have also begun to wage a war on loot boxes.
Where things go from here will be interesting. EA seem to be taking a “defiant” stand against the rising tide of pressure from gamers, governments and regulatory bodies, though that defiance is more likely a desire to have their cake and eat it too. For now, the ball seems to be in the court of the Dutch. Depending on how they respond to EA refusing to budge in regards to loot boxes and gambling with determine how this debate goes forward.
We had a Master of Commercial/Business Law take a look at the loot box situation, and he provided some insight into what options developers and publishers can take going forward. Check it out. What are your thoughts on the whole loot boxes as gambling debate? Sound off in the comments.
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