Electronic Arts recognizes that this ad should not have appeared in said inventory and explains its commitment to responsibility towards young people.
EA has removed an advertisement for microtransactions for the FIFA video game series in a toy catalog aimed at children in the UK. The company responsible for FIFA 21 has begun to display ads dedicated to its long-awaited new installment of the series, but an advertisement for FIFA Points – the payment currency of the FIFA Ultimate Team mode – appeared step by step in this inventory of the Smyths chain which has more than 100 establishments between the United Kingdom and Ireland.
“We take our responsibilities very seriously when we do marketing for EA games as well as experiences in channels seen by children,” they explain in a statement to the VGC medium. “In spite of everything, we are aware that a FIFA Points advertisement has appeared in spaces where it should not have been,” they acknowledge. “We have worked diligently with Smyths to ensure this announcement is no longer circulated in the remaining copies of their 2020 catalog,” he adds.
Image from Smyths UK catalog | VGC
UK requests evidence to qualify loot boxes as stakes
In this way, the next printed catalogs of the toys planned for the 2020 campaign of the Smyths chain will not include this announcement of FIFA 21 Ultimate Team, where as we see it is explained in four steps how to use these microtransactions designed for adults.
It should be added that the United Kingdom is one of the countries that is working the most to adopt legal regulatory measures around the use of micropayments in video games. The British central government’s concern is now waiting for evidence to be shown to qualify the loot boxes as gambling due to their character governed by randomness and the danger of gambling, they say.
FIFA 21 will hit the market in physical and digital format for PS4, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch and PC this October 9. Those who pre-order the Champions Edition or Ultimate Edition will be able to start playing on October 6, while those who are members of the EA Play service will have the option to start this Thursday, October 1, for ten hours. In this article we compare all your licenses with those of your competitor, PES 2021.
Via | VGC
