Around FIFA 21 there are always discussions regarding the topic of packs, which are partially criticized as loot boxes and hidden gambling. A former boss of EA Sports recently commented on the topic and defended the mechanic.
Who is speaking? In an interview with the portal GamesIndustry.biz, Peter Moore, a former executive at EA Sports, commented on the topic of packs in FIFA. Moore has a long career behind him: After high positions at Sega and Microsoft, Moore joined EA Sports in 2007, leading the competitive division and was appointed COO in 2012. In 2017, Moore moved on to Liverpool FC, where he became CEO, and he recently transitioned to the board of Nifty Games.
Surprise instead of gambling?
What Moore says about packs: The portal asked Moore about the criticism of the packs in FUT in FIFA as part of his transition to Nifty Games. From Moore’s perspective, these are not really a gambling mechanic.
It is more of a concept that resembles collectible cards or surprise bags, where the surprise is in the foreground: “People loved it. I think this feeling of uncertainty and ‘What are you going to get?’ and then bang, Ronaldo or Messi comes out, and that is a wonderful thing.”
As early as 2019, Electronic Arts talked about “Surprise Mechanics” in connection with packs and compared them to surprise eggs.
You will always get something, says Moore: “It’s not like you open the packs and there are no players inside.” However, it should be noted that the chances of getting particularly good players from packs are very low.
From Moore’s personal perspective, however, there is a difference between packs and gambling. The concept of “surprise and joy” is far from “gambling”:
“You buy or grind up to get a gold pack, you open it, and you are either happy or you think it’s a shitty pack. I don’t see that as gambling per se – but that’s just my personal opinion as an outsider at the moment.”
Peter Moore to GI.biz
At the same time, he understands the questioning of loot boxes and that there is criticism about them. He refers to “another EA title”. A game where this was a big topic, was Star Wars Battlefront II, where loot boxes were later removed.
With Star Wars Battlefront 2, EA changed its decision after the critical feedback and reversed a decision: “One thing they are always good at is getting feedback and realizing: ‘You know what, I probably shouldn’t have done that’ or ‘That was the wrong decision, it wasn’t gamer-first’, and then retracting it and making another decision.”
In FIFA 21, packs remain a big part that can be purchased with in-game currency coins, but also with real money FIFA Points. The decisive point regarding the mechanics, according to Moore, is whether players like them.
The numbers speak for themselves, says Moore: “If you play it, you love it. One of the only complaints we received about Ultimate Team when I was at EA was when the servers went down and they couldn’t play or open their packs.”
The topic of gambling and packs has now firmly settled with many players. FIFA pro Tim Latka also addressed this before the release of FIFA 21 and emphasized not wanting to spend money on packs – out of a sense of responsibility.
