FIFA 21 is approaching, but there is already significant criticism from players. The reason: A new advertisement for FIFA Points.
Update, September 30, 2020: EA has since responded to the incident.
What kind of advertisement is this? The advertisement features a graphic that highlights Ultimate Team. The mode is introduced with four steps:
- Start playing FIFA Ultimate Team
- Use FIFA Points to open packs
- Build your dream teams
- Take them to the pitch and play
The advertisement is currently being discussed online, for example on reddit and Twitter:
What is being criticized? The crux of the matter is the FIFA Points. The optional in-game currency can be purchased with real money. This, in turn, can be exchanged for packs from which players for your Ultimate Team can be drawn. However, to get really good players here, you need a lot of luck.
Where does the advertisement come from? From the image alone, it is not entirely clear who is behind the advertisement or where it was specifically published. We do not know if it is an official EA advertisement or if it comes from the corresponding retailer.
We have contacted EA to learn more about the origin of the advertisement. As soon as we know more, we will add an update to the article.
A report from “Gamerant” and several users (via reddit) suggests that the magazine in question is the new toy catalog from the UK retailer “Smyths Toys”.
This means that the advertisement appeared in a toy catalog that is primarily aimed at children. A point that is causing a lot of anger among players.
Angry reactions: “Damn unethical”
This is how the reaction looks: In the FIFA subreddit, the topic just before the release of FIFA 21 is among the most discussed threads in recent weeks. It currently has around 5600 upvotes and 275 comments. The reaction to the advertisement is clearly negative. There are various reasons for this.
- On the one hand, it is criticized that the point “uses FIFA Points” is presented so prominently. After all, this is the in-game currency that can only be purchased with real money. FIFA Ultimate Team can certainly be played without FIFA Points, but here it appears to be a fixed process.
- On the other hand, the criticism is that such an advertisement appears in a catalog whose target audience is primarily children. This is effectively promoting gambling.
For years, FIFA Points and the real-money investment in Ultimate have been a major topic of discussion among players.
Many see the packs as a variant of loot boxes and gambling. In Belgium, for example, the sale of FIFA Points was banned in 2019 after efforts by the Belgian Gaming Commission. In the summer of 2019, EA referred to loot boxes as “quite ethical and fun” surprise mechanics, which also led to a lot of criticism. Now the advertisement is receiving a lot of comments, with some speaking of a new low. Parts of the comments are directed at EA Sports, but also at the retailer.
- “I find that extremely wrong, as it is not only in a children’s magazine, but they are actually saying that you should approach the game by buying points and opening packs. It is so damn unethical to normalize in-game purchases for children from a young age,” comments user freakedmind (via reddit).
- “EA has reached a new low… Shame!”, comments user elon5555 (via reddit).
- “I have the Smyths catalog and took a look. This is definitely shabby, but I’m not sure if this particular case lies with EA. Rather Smyths itself,” contributes user fictionchris (via reddit). “Smyths sells top-up cards for PSN/Switch Online/Xbox, etc. I assume they also sell FIFA Point cards, and this is something they put together to sell more of it.”
In addition, there are plenty of other individual, angry comments. It is the next chapter in the discussion about FIFA and the use of real money. Among other things, there have been cases such as:
- A player who invested his money for college in FUT.
- Professionals revealed how much money their strong teams cost.
- During the FIFA 20 TOTY event, streamers poured huge sums into FUT to pull special cards – and had little luck.
Accordingly, the packs and the use of real money in FIFA are highly controversial. There is much discussion about the extent to which packs can be considered easily accessible gambling. FIFA pro Tim Latka also recently addressed the issue and made a decision for himself: The pro completely refrains from FIFA Points in FIFA 21.
