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Last week we said some good things about Electronic Arts in this space, so for the sake of balanced information, this week we will talk about loot boxes.
There was a scandal in the FIFA Ultimate Team fandom this week when people on social media began posting screenshots of chats and videos that allegedly show an EA employee trying to sell rare Ultimate Team cards to players by the hundreds or even thousands of euros. (It’s unclear how rare those cards are; EA just tells people there’s less than a 1% chance, so it’s hard to know if those cards could really be considered fair pricing.)
Gamer outrage over the reports gained enough steam for EA to issue a statement saying it had begun a “thorough investigation” and would “take swift action” if it detects any inappropriate behavior on the part of its employees. It also had this line:
DATE | “We want to be clear: this type of behavior is unacceptable, and we in no way condone what is alleged to have happened here. We understand how this raises concerns about the unfair balance of play and competition.” – EA, in his very serious comment on this very serious scandal.
If we take the statement at face value, EA is concerned about the “unfair balance in game and competition,” which is an odd position when you’re the one who created the Ultimate Team business model specifically for players to launch. Obscene amounts of money in the game would have a significant competitive advantage over those who did not.
I understand why they would object to the aforementioned obscene amounts of money lining an employee’s pockets rather than company coffers, but that’s the kind of objection that they will probably deal with privately rather than promoting it to masses as evidence of your payment. Competitive game balance – win.
The company may also be reluctant to call it embezzlement or something, as EA’s defense of why loot boxes don’t count as illegal gambling is that virtual currency and items are not “things of value” as they are. outlined in gambling laws. . (By the way, that defense does not appear to be very effective; it failed EA in the Netherlands and Big Fish Casino in a court case in Washington.)
Maybe EA is opposed because it doesn’t want its players to be scammed. I mean, it would be tragic if someone spent a small fortune to get these rare letters but never received them. And by “tragic”, of course, I mean “the actual FIFA Ultimate Team business model works exactly as expected.”
Perhaps EA is simply philosophically opposed to one-time transactions where the customer knows exactly what they are buying, how much it will cost, and will not be incessantly bothered to buy add-ons in parts to complete the experience.
An objection can See here is that this supposed sales clerk is dealing with people one-on-one via social media and direct messages. It’s just not scalable in the way EA would need the business to be to service the entire Ultimate Team player base. This is where the real competitive advantage comes in; Only those players with access to this mystery dealer could load their teams with the best cards on demand. The rest of the field would have to keep spending money (and time) opening packages and hoping to find these extremely rare cards, as EA has always wanted.
EA could, of course, add the option to buy individual cards for hundreds or thousands of dollars. And some people, of course, would pay those prices. But EA won’t start doing that, because it makes the whole sleazy business too transparent.
Charging people € 1,700 for three cards so they can have a competitive advantage is outrageous. Obscene. Exploitative. And it would be denounced as such by parents, the press, and possibly even politicians.
On the other hand, allowing people to spend € 1700 (or more) to get all three cards they want by betting a few dollars at a time, all without revealing exactly how rotten the odds of getting those cards are … good past innovation from fashion.
STATISTICS | $ 1.49 billion – EA net revenue from Ultimate Team modes in 2020 (roughly 27% of all publisher revenue), according to EA’s annual report.
STATISTICS | $ 15 Billion – Juniper Research’s projection of the number of loot boxes generated worldwide in 2020, which would make EA account for 10% of the entire market.
STATISTICS | $ 53.9 billion – the size of the global console market in 2020, according to Ampere Analysis.
DATE | “One of my favorite writers told me that he runs to have something he hates more than writing.” – Failbetter Games Narrative Designer Olivia Wood is just one of the professionals offering sage advice in this Academy manual for people interested in getting into game writing.
DATE | “We are still in the early stages of the industry. All players will make mistakes along the way, including ourselves. But beyond any hurdle, this rapid trend demonstrates the technology industry’s confidence in cloud streaming.” – We asked the remaining players in the streaming game market about the impact of the closure of Stadia Games and Entertainment, and Blade executive Florian Giraud was not alone in his optimism.
DATE | “Shadow became a victim of his success.” – Shortly after we spoke with Giraud, Blade’s US branch went bankrupt and its Paris operation started suspension of payments proceedings. This quote is from a statement Blade released saying that it is reorganizing to get rid of debt and keep its game streaming service afloat. He did not explain exactly how the company fell victim to his success.
DATE | “If you are an Xbox customer, what I want you to know is that it is about offering excellent exclusive games for you that are distributed on platforms where Game Pass exists.” – Now that Microsoft’s acquisition of ZeniMax has been closed, Xbox CEO Phil Spencer is quite frank about his motivations for the deal.
DATE | “This deal wasn’t made to take games away from another player base like that.” – Spencer took a very different tone last October, before regulators who could raise antitrust concerns signed the acquisition.
DATE | “The committee will continue to focus on identifying actions that can transform GameStop into a technology business and help create lasting value for shareholders.” – While promoting its newly formed Strategic Planning and Capital Allocation Committee, GameStop forgot to explain what a technology business is, why it does not currently qualify, or what will change to become one.
DATE | “… a pragmatic necessity …”: 10 years ago this month, Insomniac Games creative director Brian Hastings broke the news that the company is opening a division to make mobile games using a tone typically reserved for layoffs and study closings. . Read the column; made more sense in the context of what a very tense time for the industry.
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