Loot boxes are a long way from gambling, says former EA Sports boss Vortex

Companies like Electronic Arts, Activision, Take-Two or Valve have repeatedly come under fire in recent years due to microtransactions in their games. Probably the most problematic were and still are loot boxes, due to which the governments of several European countries have already acted and, for example, the Benelux countries have taken uncompromising positions on them. For this reason, the rhetoric about random reward packages has changed, developers and publishers are looking for other means of monetization, and some games even base their marketing on players not finding any loot boxes in them.

Nevertheless, this has not disappeared and one of the biggest supporters is the sports division of the mentioned Electronic Arts. The FIFA Ultimate Team mode is the most typical example of a mode that builds on the mechanisms of loot boxes and to a large extent forces players to buy more packages, which opens up a debate about addiction and gambling. Former EA Sports charismatic director Peter Moore does not see this as a problem, and said in a statement to Games Industry magazine yesterday that gamblingu They have loot boxes far away.

Peter Moore adds that in his opinion people love this mechanism and they are fascinated by the uncertainty about what they can find in the package.

“It’s just my personal view, but the concept of surprise and reward compared to gambling” actually stands a long way apart. You buy a gold package or get it by playing, open it and you are either satisfied or upset that it cost [obsah] for nothing, ”says Moore. He also adds that in his opinion people love this mechanism and is fascinated by the uncertainty of what they can find in the package. “Bang, you have Ronald or Messi, and that’s a great thing,” adds Moore, who has spent the past three years as CEO of Liverpool FC. However, it is the feelings that Moore describes that are the most serious from the point of view of loot boxing critics, and it has been pointed out many times that younger players in particular may not be able to cope with such pressure. “You always get something. You will never happen to open a package and there is nothing in it, “says Moore, and does not seem to really see a problem with the mechanism.

Although he admits that he understands criticism and concern, he divides the world into people who play the game and who react to loot boxes. from the outside. “The numbers speak for themselves. When you play it yourself, you love it, ”says Peter Moore, adding in exaggeration that the biggest problem during his time at EA Sports was when the servers didn’t work and players couldn’t play FUT. Numbers are the most important factor for him and according to them, it can be read that the players like the mentioned mode.