FIFA’s Ultimate Team mode is at the heart of another conspiracy scandal. A few days ago, EA announced the end of a lawsuit claiming they were directing matches. Some now believe that an employee can sell rare and valuable football players for a lot of money. EA says they are investigating the allegations, and “will act quickly” if they discover violations.
FIFA Ultimate Team, as I have explained several times over the past few times than in the rest of my life, is the way players build their own team of cards representing footballers. Rare cards have better stats and perform better in the game. A fashion that is heavy on outdoor cabinets does not inspire confidence, and players are always suspicious of EA.
On Tuesday, Italian FIFA player Matteo Ribera posted a YouTube video showing screenshots of conversations with someone claiming to sell ultra-rare cards, and depositing them directly into people’s accounts – including cards that people usually do not enable to trade. Prices are high, with the ’97 Prime Icon Moments version of Ronaldo apparently selling for $ 2500 (£ 1800). When the person was asked if it was safe and where the cards were coming from, the person said, “For security reasons, can not know exactly.”
Other screens go around show someone who claims to have a partner who works at EA, and he can load any player into your account ‘. It mentions prices like € 1000 (£ 855) for two coveted cards. Various videos and screens allegedly show evidence of previous successful transactions.
There is no evidence that this ‘friend of a friend who works at EA’ actually exists or exists. It could be a cover story for a mistake, exploitation or hack – the thinnest veneer of legitimacy to divert attention and keep a lucrative illegal business secret. Or a scam? I do not know. But this would not be the first time that someone uses access to within their own advantage.
Spaceship MMO Eve Online in particular had a major scandal after players discovered that one of the developers had fixed a lottery so that members of their own alliance won valuable items, and then had few consequences. And just a few months ago, a Dota 2 developer had to apologize after using Valve tools to punish a player he was bickering with in a game.
“A thorough investigation is underway, and if we identify inappropriate behavior, we will act quickly,” EA said. a statement yesterday. “We want to be clear – this type of behavior is unacceptable, and we do not in any way give good to what has allegedly happened here. We understand how it raises concerns about unfair balance in the game and competition. as we get more clarity on the situation. ‘
FUT has long had a black market that sells FIFA coins, a currency that is earned by playing and that can be used to buy players and items on the transfer market in the game. Vendors deliver them on rogue methods, such as buying players for far more than they are worth. EA does not allow it but puppy.
The other recent FUT scandal was over the long-standing (but unproven) belief that the game used technology called ‘Dynamic Difficulty Adjustment’ to get good footballers and teams playing, which encouraged people to buy more outfielders to improve their team. . EA denied it for years, but apparently did not believe enough that several players took them to court over it. Last week, EA announced that the lawsuit was dismissed after letting the plaintiffs talk to their engineers.
Part of me still finds it a little funny that Ultimate Team players worry about being cheated in a mode that makes people openly flee with pay-to-win buses. But know, they know and accept it as part of the game. An EA employee making bankrolls by putting the teams of wealthy players in a secret pile would only be something that would be acceptable.
Disclosure: All the way back I played Dota 2 with the Valve employee. Wakka wakka.