Honestly, this really should be how FIFA 19 Ultimate Team packs work…
It is safe to say that EA has been having some severe problems with micro-transactions of late. Their Star Wars Battlefront series caused such an outcry from fans, that they temporarily took the micro-transactions out of the game.
More recently, the Belgian courts ruled that micro-transactions – in which a player doesn’t know exactly what they are getting – are a form of gambling.
However, EA’s FIFA series is still raking in millions of pounds thanks to fans buying large sums of FIFA points. There have been stories in the past of people spending thousands, and not getting anything worthwhile – and even children have been caught doing this on their parent’s credit cards.
Despite the backlash, FIFA continues with the ability to spend real-world money in their game; something which many players would claim is a requirement to have a chance at a competitive team.
That was before the release of the 2018 World Cup game mode late last week.
Potentially more shocking than the fact that the expansion is a free update, was the fact that you didn’t need to spend any money on packs. Players earn a pack after every single online game that they play, and because the pack weights are so high, you have an excellent chance of getting a good player.
While this apparently wouldn’t ring true in the full version of the game, earning a pack after every single match would be an incredible inclusion to FIFA 19 Ultimate Team packs.
Packing big name players is much easier and cheaper
While you may wonder why EA would ever voluntarily do this, there is still an option to buy packs with real-world money. However, if you are earning a pack after every game, and can afford the time to actually play the game, complete squad builder challenges, etc – you don’t need to spend anything on packs.
Whether or not EA would ever go down this road is questionable, with dips in the player-base being one of the main ways to bring around that change. FIFA will be showing off their latest game at some point this summer.
Hopefully, the reveal will include something about negating the need for spending money on packs or removing the transfer market – an unlikely move from EA, but a player can dream.