Former Electronic Arts exec Peter Moore (pictured) has said that the company’s FIFA Ultimate Team mode is a “long way” from gambling.
Speaking to GamesIndustry.biz, Moore said that the game’s loot boxes are intended to “surprise and delight” in the same way that football stickers work and are a long way from gambling. However, the former EA Sports boss does admit he understands the need for scrutiny for the business model.
“This is a personal view, but the concept of surprise and delight vs gambling… on a continuum, they’re a long way from each other,” he said.
“You buy or grind your way up to getting a gold pack, you open it up, and you’re either happy or you think it’s a crappy pack. I don’t see that as gambling, per se — but again, this is my personal view as an outsider right now.
“I get the scrutiny, I understand outside of sports that loot boxes — again, another EA title in particular — get a lot of scrutiny and criticism. EA pulled back on that. One thing they’re always good at is getting feedback and realising ‘You know what, probably shouldn’t have done that’ or ‘That was the wrong decision, it wasn’t gamer-first,’ and then pulling back and making a different decision.”
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