The Netherlands review Commission will be allowed to fine the company Electronic Arts € 500,000 (€ 250,000 each with EA and its Swiss subsidiary responsible for FIFA sales) weekly for selling loot boxes in FIFA Ultimate Team. The decision was approved by a court in the city of The Hague this Thursday after a lengthy legal battle between the commission and representatives of the publishing house.
According to NU.nl, the publisher of the FIFA series argued that the contents of FUT Packs are only valuable within the game itself, as they cannot be converted into cash. The court rejected this objection, so the company will need to remove the loot boxes from the game within the next three weeks. But EA intends to appeal this court decision.
“Players from all over the world have enjoyed playing FIFA and FIFA Ultimate Team for many years, and therefore we are upset with this decision and what it holds for our Dutch community,” said Benelux Regional Manager Dirk Scholing.
“We do not believe that our products and services are in any way in violation of review laws. We will appeal this decision and will try to defend the right of Dutch gamers to fully enjoy FIFA Ultimate Team,” he added.
Recently, the mechanics of loot boxes have come under serious criticism due to their comparison with review. Some European countries have already equated such “boxes with loot”, and the trio of platform holders even introduced rules requiring the disclosure of the chances of items falling out of loot boxes.
In July we reportedthat the House of Lords in Britain demanded to equate loot boxes with review. Rating organizations have already started flagging games with in-game purchases with random items ESRB and PEGI…
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