FIFA and the thorny issue of loot boxes have once again hit the mainstream headlines after a UK teen revealed he had blown £3000 on Ultimate Team packs.
The BBC 5 Live Investigations Unit today published an investigation into FIFA loot boxes based on the testimony of a 21-year-old Brit called Jonathan Peniket who, as a teenager, spent the savings his parents’ had given to him for his future on packs.
FIFA lets you spend real world money on packs of virtual cards in a bid to create the ultimate team. While the mode, which brings in billions of dollars a year for publisher EA, shows the percentage odds of “packing” cards of each available rarity, customers do not know exactly what they will get for their money. Ultimate Team has been accused of being pay-to-win because of the availability of powerful cards in packs – cards that are then used to play competitively online.
