Why EA FIFA 21 Targets Children With Loot Boxes?

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You won't believe how much EA is stopping to sell its game mechanics. You won't believe how much EA stops selling its game mechanics in a toy catalog.

EA is promoting the FIFA 21 Ultimate Team Booty Box microtransactions in the Smyths Toys Store catalog.

The announcement includes a four-step guide that explains how to spend the FIFA 21 game currency on card packs in the style of a random booty box.
EA calls this system the "surprise mechanism".

The fuzziest publisher of all, Electronic Arts (EA), is criticized for directly advertising to children in the catalog of British toy retailer Smyths Toys to buy FIFA 21 Ultimate Team in-game.

Although the publisher knows the art of squeezing microtransactions down the throats of players at any time, as we've seen countless times (StarWarsBattlefront II, anyone?), he seems determined not to give up on the worst - which will soon be a curse.

The catalog in question is available for free in Smyths Toys stores across the UK and is aimed primarily at children. The advertisement openly encourages the purchase of packs of Ultimate Team cards with FIFA points (the virtual currency of the FIFA 21 game) and even offers an easy-to-follow four-step guide.

EA's four-step guide to playing FIFA 21.

As explained in the announcement, by spending FUT 21 Coins, the player can purchase packs of cards that, once opened, will include a random selection of players, teams and other benefits of the game to strengthen the player's ultimate team.

Randomization is the key word here; although these microtransactions are voluntary, there is no guaranteed reward or gameplay element, just like playing in the real world. Ridiculously low percentages open up the possibility of selecting the best players. Of course, the content is only revealed after payment is received.

EA" surprise mechanism

Although EA erroneously refers to the parcel card system as a "surprise mechanism," we shouldn't beat around the bush here. They are just ordinary, thinly veiled loot boxes, or in other words, games of chance. EA is actively using a toy store magazine to encourage children to play FIFA 21.

The ultimate mode was developed from scratch to encourage the purchase of card packs and create an addictive cycle where impressive young games are prone to mistakes, as has been documented countless times. The tabloids are inundated with stories of children who are unlikely to bleed from their parents' bank accounts in search of an elusive gambler.

Why EA is so aggressively promoting FIFA 21 microtransactions, just look at the numbers. Last year alone, the Ultimate Team in its various forms (NHL, Madden, FIFA) beat EA by an incredible $1.5 billion.

Once again, greed and the endless pursuit of profit have led EA to target the most malleable group of players and standardize what is usually a highly regulated practice in most real world circumstances.

EA has stooped to a new low, but in a damning indictment of the horrendous state of microtransactions in video games, it's no surprise.
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    July 12, 2021 at 3:46 PM
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    To be honest, I don't see anything wrong with loot boxes, if you know when to stop. Plus, there are now loot boxes that you can open for a low price. For example, on this page you can see Apple Lootbox, which contains many prizes, but the price for it is not high.

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