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A group of gamers has lodged a class action lawsuit against EA Sports over its “loot boxes,” called “Player Packs,” that they say are falsely advertised to consumers.
Lead plaintiffs, Jason Zajonc, Danyael Williams, and Pranko Lozano, allege in their complaint that gamers who play various sports video games made by Entertainment Arts Inc. (EA) are duped into thinking that purchasing additional features for the games can make their teams better and more competitive.
Instead, say the plaintiffs, EA Sports is actually using artificial intelligence to encourage players to purchase the packs by giving them false information about their video game team.
“Since 1991, EA has developed and released annually a variety of sports simulation video games under its EA Sports label, available on a wide variety of gaming platforms,” explains the complaint. “Modern versions… include an option for online gaming.”
According to the class action lawsuit, EA Sports advertises the authenticity of its games, describing them as “hyper-realistic” and “delivering you gameplay control with precision and intent” in its marketing materials. While gamers can play against the computer and other gamers with existing teams, the plaintiffs say that the most popular mode is Ultimate Team Mode, or UTM, which allows gamers to create their own dream team for online games.
The class action lawsuit contends that within the past few years, EA has developed and used artificial intelligence technology to take advantage of gamers who play UTM by duping them into shelling out additional money for the chance to make their teams better.
“During the preceding four years, EA made, and continues today to make available for sale to Ultimate Team gamers in-game ‘loot boxes,’ called ‘Player Packs,’ which gamers redeem to receive randomized ‘Player Cards,’ representing players with varying skill, summarized in a player rating,” states the complaint. “Loot boxes are games of chance, and gamers who purchase Player Packs hope to get lucky and receive highly-rated players for use on their Ultimate Teams, so as to be more competitive in Ultimate Team Mode matches.”
The class action lawsuit alleges that EA perpetuates the myth that gamers can get lucky by purchasing a Player Pack that happens to have a highly-rated player to add to their team. However, the company actually deploys artificial intelligence programs, including Dynamic Difficulty Adjustment (DDA) and Adaptive Difficulty (Difficulty Adjusting Mechanisms), to manipulate gamers into purchasing the loot boxes.
“This is a self-perpetuating cycle that benefits EA to the detriment of EA Sports gamers, since Difficulty Adjusting Mechanisms make gamers believe their teams are less skilled than they actually are, leading them to purchase additional Player Packs in hopes of receiving better players and being more competitive,” explains the complaint.
According to the class action lawsuit, EA’s DDA and DAM technology can make players used in the video games run faster or slower, fail to catch passes, or miss shots in order to keep gamers engaged and spending money.
However, the company advertises the video games as mirroring the real world “where the outcome of matches depends solely on the gamer’s competence and the strength of the players on his or her team, as compared to his or her opponent’s competence and team strength.” EA’s allegedly undisclosed manipulation of the video games violates consumers’ expectations.
Indeed, the plaintiffs say that EA’s use of artificial intelligence programs to manipulate gamers deprives video game consumers of the benefit of their purchase and injures them financially by tricking them into purchasing more Player Packs.
According to the complaint, the deceptive artificial intelligence and use of Player Packs were deployed in the 2017 to 2021 versions of three EA Sports franchises, including Madden NFL, FIFA, and NHL.
The EA Sports class action lawsuit seeks to represent all U.S. consumers who purchased these video games since Nov. 9, 2016, as well as a subclass of those who purchased Player Packs or Player Cards for the games.
The plaintiffs accuse the video game company of violating California consumer protection laws, false advertising, and unjust enrichment. They are seeking damages, as well as a court order stopping EA from the alleged misrepresentation of Player Packs and Cards in their video games.
This is not the first class action lawsuit the video game maker has faced over its loot boxes. A California resident alleged the loot boxes amounted to gambling and perpetuated addictive behavior in gamers in a lawsuit filed earlier this year.
Do you play EA Sports video games? Do you think EA is tricking gamers into purchasing Player Packs? Tell us your experience in the comment section below!
The lead plaintiffs and proposed Class Members are represented by Jack Fitzgerald, Trevor M. Flynn, and Melanie Persinger of The Law Office of Jack Fitzgerald, PC and Paul K. Joseph of The Law Office of Paul K. Joseph, PC.
The EA Sports Class Action Lawsuit is Zajonc, et al. v. Electronic Arts Inc., Case No. 3:20-cv-07871, in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California.
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49 thoughts onEA Sports ‘Player Packs’ Mislead Gamers, Says Class Action Lawsuit
Please keep me informed my son has spent 3-5k and every dollar he gets on this game. Gambles his team away by selling players then gets garbage back so he has to spend more money. Been a viscous cycle for years now. They should be sued.
Please add me I have been banned from the game and not given any explanation or direct answers by ea I have also spent 1000s of dollars I have bank statements to prove it
I think we need to go to the headquarters and deal with ourselves. They just gonna take their expensive lawyers and drag this on. I play fifa and have spent thousands of dollars and nothing. The game play reduces my players stamina to red by halftime in order to give other players advantage to win so they can keep playing. Thus is complete fraud. I want in on this lawsuit please. I’m a a point where I’m ready to go to their HQ and do some damage control myself
i need to be part of that lawsuit