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EA reportedly under criminal investigation in Belgium due to FIFA's loot boxes

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Re: EA reportedly under criminal investigation in Belgium due to FIFA's loot boxes

#141

Post by Justsignedup »

Agentlien wrote: post #64

Mandatory disclosure: I am a programmer working for EA and the following are my personal opinions. I do not represent EA in any official capacity. It's my strong opinion that the whole loot box phenomenon makes games as a whole worse. For me, it's not the gambling aspects of it, per se. I am an avid Magic: the Gathering player and never decried the way its loot boxes (boosters) work. It's the fact that, the way these…

I was playing Nioh. The game doesn't have loot boxes, but it has hordes of items that I have to shift through tons of items just to find the maybe 1 that I care about. It is a lot of work with zero joy or benefit.

Loot boxes are the same, except now you also have to gamble.

I feel you my friend.

Also why would you work for EA? I genuinely want to know. After everything I heard / read about them I wouldn't touch that company with a 10ft pole. I even avoid anything they sell intentionally because of it.

Re: EA reportedly under criminal investigation in Belgium due to FIFA's loot boxes

#142

Post by m000z0rz »

s73v3r_ wrote: post #129
lechiffre10 wrote: post #117

They were also heavily criticized for adopting this game mechanic in star wars battlefront and eventually decided to drop it. I don't even understand the appeal of wanting to play games that have this sort of predatory feature. It's been around for a while and I've honestly never even been remotely attracted to games like that. I definitely feel like this has exponentially increased since iOS games called 'freemium'.…

" I don't even understand the appeal of wanting to play games that have this sort of predatory feature." I mean, it's not like you get to choose between the version of the game that has this vs the one that doesn't.

But you can choose to play games that don't have the feature. When Android was first starting, I wanted to get into gaming on my phone - but these days I don't bother, even if I hear good things about a game, because the odds are too great that it's ruined with freemium crap if it's on mobile.

Re: EA reportedly under criminal investigation in Belgium due to FIFA's loot boxes

#143

Post by pitaj »

larrik wrote: post #140
pitaj wrote: post #133

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Except that it lowers game cost for everyone else when whales buy a bunch of cosmetic items.

These games aren't lower in price. Freemium games may have that aspect, but the games in the article are all AAA $60+ games with deluxe editions for $80 or over $100, and still have loot boxes .

Games have been $60 for decades despite growing scope and inflation. Why do you think that is? It's because of alternative monetization strategies.

Re: EA reportedly under criminal investigation in Belgium due to FIFA's loot boxes

#144

Post by Insanity »

dawnerd wrote: post #78
chupasaurus wrote: post #54

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The first year of BF4 after release was pretty much a very long open beta.

BF3 was pretty painful too if I remember correctly. Horrible hitboxes and lag.

The horrible hitboxes are one of the main issues I remember with bf3 as well. It was bad enough to make me quit the game for some months.

Re: EA reportedly under criminal investigation in Belgium due to FIFA's loot boxes

#145

Post by larrik »

pitaj wrote: post #143
larrik wrote: post #140

Earlier quoted context omitted.

These games aren't lower in price. Freemium games may have that aspect, but the games in the article are all AAA $60+ games with deluxe editions for $80 or over $100, and still have loot boxes .

Games have been $60 for decades despite growing scope and inflation. Why do you think that is? It's because of alternative monetization strategies.

The market size been growing too, while distribution costs have dropped to next to nothing. Games used to be physical cartridges, after all.

Re: EA reportedly under criminal investigation in Belgium due to FIFA's loot boxes

#146

Post by ensignavenger »

village-idiot wrote: post #68
kgilpin wrote: post #66

I’m the parent of a teenager who has struggled with an unhealthy obsession with features like this. A kid who is 14 or 15 is able to intellectually understand how to use these game systems, but at the same time he or she is often lacking the type of sophisticated understanding that an adult would have (e.g. that gambling can be addictive and therefore restraint and self-observation is required). They greatly overesti…

This is another area where the arbitrariness of the 18 year majority limit is exposed: 18 year olds are not neurologically adults. That doesn’t happen until like 25-29.

Is there a commonly accepted definition for "neurologically adult"?

Re: EA reportedly under criminal investigation in Belgium due to FIFA's loot boxes

#147

Post by georgeecollins »

AlwaysRock wrote: post #103
pharrington wrote: post #100

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Here's my anecdote. I tried playing Quake Champions, because I remember enjoying Quake 3 as a mid-to-late teenager, and on paper, that type of game should be incredibly up my alley. I found the experience of the initial load screen dumping you directly into the daily loot box screen so offputting that I actually couldn't even enjoy playing the game proper. The very act of just opening the game was so nakedly manipula…

This. When I launch a game I want to play the game. I don't want to crawl through screens of advertising for loot boxes and daily deals. I understand if it's a MMO or something but why does firing up a basketball game now force me to navigate through loads of ad screens before I can ever play the game?

I WONT BUY YOUR GAME!

- I wont buy your game unless you let me try a demo. (PC-CDROM days)

- I won't buy your game if the demo is too short.

- I won't buy your game if I played your demo for hours and now I am bored of it.

- I won't buy your game unless it has online multiplayer.

- I won't buy your game unless it has twenty hours of single player content.

- I won't buy your game if it has licensed content.

- I won't buy your game unless I can get it used. (Console days)

- I won't buy your game unless it has split screen mode (OK only dumb marketing people ever told me this)

- I won't buy your game if it has online content that can't be unlocked for free used.

- I won't buy your game if it doesn't have X players in multiplayer.

- I won't buy your game if it has paid dlc.

- I won't buy your game if it is free to play (so true).

I won't buy your game!

Re: EA reportedly under criminal investigation in Belgium due to FIFA's loot boxes

#148

Post by Agentlien »

Justsignedup wrote: post #141
Agentlien wrote: post #64

Mandatory disclosure: I am a programmer working for EA and the following are my personal opinions. I do not represent EA in any official capacity. It's my strong opinion that the whole loot box phenomenon makes games as a whole worse. For me, it's not the gambling aspects of it, per se. I am an avid Magic: the Gathering player and never decried the way its loot boxes (boosters) work. It's the fact that, the way these…

I was playing Nioh. The game doesn't have loot boxes, but it has hordes of items that I have to shift through tons of items just to find the maybe 1 that I care about. It is a lot of work with zero joy or benefit. Loot boxes are the same, except now you also have to gamble. I feel you my friend. Also why would you work for EA? I genuinely want to know. After everything I heard / read about them I wouldn't touch that…

Because EA is not as bad as they are portrayed and everything is not black or white. I really dislike the way we are viewed in the public eye and I feel much of it is exaggerated and undeserved. Seriously, EA is full of very talented and passionate people doing their best to deliver awesome games. There have been some controversies, but it's still a company which produces a lot of games I really love. To list a few EA IPs I really like:

  - Mass Effect
  - Dragon Age
  - Mirror's Edge
  - Titanfall
  - Dead Space
  - The Sims
Beyond that, working as a full-time programmer for EA in Sweden means

  - job security
  - good salary
  - working on AAA games as a full-time job
  - working together with other passionate gamers and nerds who share my interests in a way I wouldn't have thought possible before moving to this industry
  - Getting a lot of information from contacts in the industry before it becomes public news.
  - Learning incredibly much about the behind-the-scenes stuff. Both from EA in general but also from other parts of the industry
Working outside of the game industry wouldn't get me the last four points. Working at a smaller studio wouldn't get me the first three points. Also, I have a house that I love in an area which I adore and I'm raising a child for whom I wish a childhood filled with stability and security. For these and other reasons I really don't want to relocate. This also limits the short list of viable employers.

Re: EA reportedly under criminal investigation in Belgium due to FIFA's loot boxes

#149

Post by edcarter »

daemin wrote: post #86
petercooper wrote: post #61

I'm a FIFA player and this is a complex situation. "Packs" in FIFA are not solely used for cosmetic items but for actual virtual players with distinct play characteristics. EA are trying to turn FIFA into a eSports game (see the recent FIFA eWorld Cup) and the majority of play takes place in the "Ultimate Team" mode. To get the high calibre players you'd use to build up your experience and reputation in UT you either…

I don't see how they can have it both ways. Either the game is an eSport where the most skillful person wins, or they can have lootboxes where the person that spends the most wins. So in the first case there is no super significant difference between the players on the field, which means there is no point to buy loot boxes to get better players. Or in the second case it isn't really an eSport because the person that…

What you are essentially describing is "pay to compete". Many sports have a barrier to entry to compete at the top levels. For example, take a look at Magic the Gathering. A top tier deck can cost thousands of dollars, but it only puts you on an even playing field with other top players. Past that point your success as a Magic player is based upon your skill and consistency.

Re: EA reportedly under criminal investigation in Belgium due to FIFA's loot boxes

#150

Post by al_chemist »

georgeecollins wrote: post #147
AlwaysRock wrote: post #103

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This. When I launch a game I want to play the game. I don't want to crawl through screens of advertising for loot boxes and daily deals. I understand if it's a MMO or something but why does firing up a basketball game now force me to navigate through loads of ad screens before I can ever play the game?

I WONT BUY YOUR GAME! - I wont buy your game unless you let me try a demo. (PC-CDROM days) - I won't buy your game if the demo is too short. - I won't buy your game if I played your demo for hours and now I am bored of it. - I won't buy your game unless it has online multiplayer. - I won't buy your game unless it has twenty hours of single player content. - I won't buy your game if it has licensed content. - I won't…

Those are valid reasons to not to buy a game. You sound offended by customers voicing their opinions what they want.
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