In 2019 the Games publisher EA sports the popular company behind most major sports titles made a total of $509 million just from FIFA ultimate team, a free add-on for the game in which you open packs with fake and real money in order to upgrade your team to play against others  

The whole idea resembles trading cards to most people as that’s what it is based on, but because the feeling of packing your hero to many is the ultimate fantasy people are willing to spend thousands in order to get them

They can be known as a variety of different names

• Packs
• Loot boxes
• Crates
• Care packages

Most games implement the idea of loot boxes as its an easy way to make money, you can add a variety of different character customisation options in them with the best looking ones being the rarest so people will try and get them even though there’s no guarantee. Yet charities such as GambleAware have said

“FIFA packs are effectively gambling”

GambleAware

It gives children no matter the age the thrill of winning, of betting money on something and the great feeling when it works out, but it woks both ways as if you were to spend a lot of money on these and get nothing it creates a downer where people especially children want to spend more and more to make up for it.

Taking black Friday 2019 into account which was a massive day for companies and microtransactions due to the sales and flash deals with a limited amount, EA sports released FIFA packs that only contained 24 players for £20 with a limited supply

These packs went on to sell out within the first 5 minutes and its been estimated EA sports made around £6 million during this short amount of time. Popular fifa stream PieFace23 who opens these packs for his job said

“I open these so my fans don’t have to”

PieFace23

This is because even people who make money off the game still believe that these are a way to take your money and consumers shouldn’t waste their money on them

Yet social media has become a massive influence on why children want to spend so much money on these packs

This as you can see is due to the fact that Youtubers create an exaggerated reaction when packing something good as people love to watch it and engage with their videos. This then leads to the youtuber putting more money on in order to create content for their fans as the excitement and anger when they have a bad pack is interesting to watch.

But children who are easily influenced see this and are more likely to want to buy packs so they can have the same feeling and have the best team in FIFA. But the true reality is for gamers you can spend thousands and are still not guaranteed to get one single good thing. Influencers have that name because they can influence what people do and their emotion and personality is a key part of that.

EA themselves are going through legal battles about whether or not its packs are gambling. In Belgium it lost the case and are no longer allowed to sell its FIFA packs there. Also many have protested outside the headquarters for how it treats its consumers as most believe they are only interested in the next way they can get a few extra pounds out of you.

https://www.theverge.com/2019/1/30/18203399/ea-fifa-fut-pack-points-banned-belgium-loot-box

In 2013 EA were voted the worst company in America for their greed

I also wanted to go and speak to someone who is aware of the issues children face so I spoke to a teacher from a local school in Leicester to see what she thinks of this issue, teacher can be seen in the photo above

As you can see from the interview there is a problem with how these packs are marketed to children as gaming is meant almost the same as an artform, for the child to express themselves and take away from the issues they face in the real world. The teacher made a great point in saying how “why create more problems” the truth is let kids be kids and stop trying to force them into things for profit.

EA’s defence to all this though is the idea of “Surprise Mechanics” where you are essentially buying into the idea of the surprise is what you are buying, similar to trading cards or kinder eggs its fun not knowing what you will get. EA claim you still get something for your money which differs from Gambling as you don’t completely lose everything. Also under the current laws EA are legal within the UK gambling commission

EA tell you the probabilities of getting a high rated player is low, so the consumer understands that their chances are low. But it is still hard to disagree that the company uses the idea of thrill and wanting something good in order to encourage you to spend more and creates a gambling like atmosphere.

“Like all the best pushers, of course, these games are happy to give you the first hits for free”

The Guardian article, Alex Hern

Gambling addiction is a serious into that’s so easy to get into with the thrill of winning but its vital to try and notice the warning signs first.

This is an example post, originally published as part of Blogging University. Enroll in one of our ten programs, and start your blog right.

You’re going to publish a post today. Don’t worry about how your blog looks. Don’t worry if you haven’t given it a name yet, or you’re feeling overwhelmed. Just click the “New Post” button, and tell us why you’re here.

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