Electronic Arts (EA) is analyzing the structure of the FIFA Team simulator Ultimate Team mode, in order to prevent further legal fights. According to SBC Notícias, the latest “FIFA patch” has codes that allow developers to disable the mode in some countries that have laws in conflict with games.
Recently, the FUT Watch database wrote a message on social media: ‘FIFA Ultimate Team is currently unavailable due to a demand from authorities in your region.’
Compliance with European laws regarding the gaming industry has been a complication for the developer in recent times, since the existence of loot boxes in EA games, has generated legal consequences.
The news comes at a time when these charges at FIFA have received a lot of attention because of the problems they can cause in children and adolescents.
This year, young Jonathan Peniket told the BBC that he spent more than £ 3,000 on football game packages after becoming addicted to buying players in the video game. “I emphasize this before saying that I feel compelled to tell my story of how ‘gambling’ led me to one of the worst experiences of my life,” said the broadcaster.
“I remember clearly in 2012, when I asked my parents if I could use my money to buy packages, and my frustration when my father said the packages were ‘games of chance’, before I finally agreed.”
Peniket added: “Four years followed by spending more and more money on player packs – each time looking for that buzz that came up only occasionally.”
EA has problems in different parts of the world
In addition to European countries, EA also had problems with these charges in the United States and Canada. The developer was fined € 10 million in the Netherlands in 2018, because local authority Kansspelautoriteit (KSA) defined that cashiers’ boxes at FIFA – known as player packs – violated national laws.
In a statement, a KSA representative said: “The players are generally young and therefore particularly susceptible to developing an addiction. As such, these elements have no place in these games ”.
In early 2020, a French lawyer considered that the FIFA Ultimate Team could be considered a gaming product after his client lost more than € 600 in five months, without ever having acquired a prominent player.
In other countries, such as Belgium, players can use the mode, however they can only purchase using the game’s currency, FUT coins, to assemble their team.
Game developers complain of overcharging
This topic is not exclusive to FIFA. Therefore, game developers have stated that these withdrawal features are an essential component of content monetization and immersion in games.
In addition, they stressed that regulators classified various elements of the games as loot boxes, incorrectly pointing out rewards for players who reached a new stage or skill in the game.
Recently, the European Union published the document “Internal Market and Consumer Protection” (IMCO), on cashiers and game components, in which it raised several questions for regulatory authorities in member states.
In the United Kingdom, the authorities stressed that the portion of cash withdrawals in games will be part of the revision process of the ‘Gambling Act 2005’. In the midst of so many legal changes, EA may decide to completely delete this function in certain locations, in order to reduce its legal problems.
