EA Rebrands Loot-Boxes as “Surprise Mechanics”

According to Kerry Hopkins, who is the VP of legal and government affairs at EA, loot boxes are actually “quite ethical and quite fun”.

She said this while providing testimony to the UK Parliament’s Digital, Culture, Media, and Sport Committee (Via PCGamesN). In context, Hopkins was specifically referring to their FIFA Ultimate Team packs:

“We do think the way that we have implemented these kinds of mechanics – and FIFA of course is our big one, our FIFA Ultimate Team and our packs – is actually quite ethical and quite fun, quite enjoyable to people.”

But this wasn’t the only noteworthy quote to come out of this testimony. Hopkins also said that EA’s microtransaction crates are not “loot boxes”. Instead, she says that they are “surprise mechanics”.

“We do agree with the UK gambling commission, the Australian gambling commission, and many other gambling commissions that they aren’t gambling, and we also disagree that there’s evidence that shows it leads to gambling. Instead we think it’s like many other products that people enjoy in a healthy way, and like the element of surprise.”

For more, check out the PCGamesN article.

As many people have already said on various platforms, these are some ridiculous statements. The debate on loot boxes and if they qualify as gambling will continue to be argued regardless of these comments. Recently, a US Senator introduced a bill that would ban these microtransaction tactics in any game that can be played by minors. So, it’s safe to say that this issue won’t go away anytime soon.

What are your thoughts on these comments from EA? Do you think randomized loot boxes should be allowed in gaming? Let us know in the comments below and be sure to follow The Nerd Stash for all of the latest in gaming, TV, movies, and more.