Items tagged with loot boxes
There is a black market for everything, including FIFA Ultimate Team player cards. An EA employee, or someone otherwise connected to EA FIFA, has reportedly been selling FIFA 21 Ultimate Team items for cash. EA Sports has stated that they are currently investigating the allegation. Screenshots were recently posted on social media of a supposed EA employee selling rare FIFA Ultimate Team (FUT) player cards. The seller offered various packs of Icon and Team of the Year Cards for between 750 to 1000 Euros (roughly $895 to $1,195 USD). There was even a pack of three Prime Icon Moments cards priced at 1700 Euros ($2,032 USD). Potential buyers were requested to provide their PSN, EA ID, and of course,...
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Confession time: I'm an avid watcher of Judge Judy. I think she's rad, and her style of mediating disputes definitely falls into the 'firm but fair' category. One of her favorite sayings is, "Don't pee on my leg and tell me it's raining." That's also the title of her book, incidentally, and I'm reminded of it when watching Electronics Arts' Vice President of Legal, Kerry Hopkins, explain that loot boxes are actually just "surprise mechanics." According to Hopkins, Loot boxes (excuse me, surprise mechanics) are "quite ethical" too, akin to Hatchimals, the popular toy that delights kids with a plush toy hatching from a plastic egg. Or if you prefer, substitute Kinder Egg or LOL Surprise, which...
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At the risk of dating myself, I remember the days of sticking a cartridge into an Atari 2600, and that was it—you played the game as it shipped, with no post-game patches and certainly no in-game transactions. We live in a very different world these days. Microtransactions and so-called loot boxes rule the day, and there is a political effort to remove them from the equation, to a certain extent. Senator Josh Hawley (R-MO), a self-proclaimed "fierce critic of social media practices that prey on the addiction of users," announced a bill called "The Protecting Children from Abusive Games Act." The bill would effectively ban loot boxes and various pay-to-win mechanisms, or what Hawley describes...
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The United States Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has agreed to investigate the practice of "loot boxes" in video games following a formal request by Senator Maggie Hassan. She had brought up the issue earlier this year, noting that most of her fellow members agreed at the time that loot boxes could use some additional oversight by the FTC. "Loot boxes are now endemic in the video game industry and are present in everything from casual smartphone games to the newest, high-budget video game releases," Senator Hassan said. "Loot boxes will represent a $50 billion industry by the year 2022, according to the latest research estimates. Children may be particularly susceptible to engaging with these...
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Trick or treat! Blizzard is looking to celebrate Halloween by offering Overwatch players a few sweet treats. The Halloween events includes new Sombra hero treats, difficulty tricks, and loot boxes. Reddit user ChornosHero posted a picture he took of the Xbox Store, which included an image of a ghoulish pumpkin filled with Overwatch-themed treats. The advertisements exclaims, “Celebrate Halloween with some frightening treats for your heros during a new event: Overwatch Halloween Terror!” There will be multiple Halloween-themed loot boxes. Each box will include four cosmetic items including Halloween skins, spray, highlight intro, emote, victory pose, player icon, voice line, or credits. If...
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