An update for FIFA 15 Ultimate Team released this week has caused controversy among players with some so angry that they’ve taken to social media to show images of FIFA discs torn in two.
Hashtag #RIPFUT has been trending with some players keen to let Electronic Arts know they’re not happy about an update that introduces a new feature called ‘Price Ranges’.
@EASPORTSFIFA well done EA. You just ruined the only reason I put up with your game. #RIPFUT pic.twitter.com/5oAd34MXTG
— ⚒ Dean Mitchell ⚒ (@deanomitch89) March 10, 2015
EA explains more about the update and how it affect players:
“Once this feature has been activated, all FUT items (players, in-forms, consumables, and club items) in FIFA Ultimate Team will have a Price Range that sets the highest and lowest Coin prices that each item can be sold on the Transfer Market. “
EA says that the feature is designed to give FUT gamers a level playing field and ‘understand the value of the players in their club”. However, the impact on coin sellers and those who buy coins from third-party sources to improve their team’s skill and stature is colossal.
You see, in FIFA Ultimate Team, players can buy FIFA points from EA with real money which can be spent on players and items. However, since the launch of the game, players have also been farming coins and selling them through third-party sources at a cheaper rate than EA. Some would say that’s entrepreneurial, while EA would likely say it’s illegitimate.
Before the update, coins that were bought outside the game were passed to players via the transfer market. For example, if a player bought 50,000 coins for £5, then the external party would buy a low-rated player from the buyer for that amount. With the introduction of price ranges, it means that farming coins is no longer as lucrative. Indeed, it makes it more difficult for those coins to exchange hands. So, the coin sellers lose out, and those who wish to buy their way to a good team now need to either work harder in-game to earn the coins, or buy FIFA points in-game (which is likely what the update is really all about).
Judging by the reaction of social media, via hashtag #RIPFUT, many players are very unhappy at the change, which is believed to have been introduced at this stage to prepare players for its inclusion in FIFA 16. But, should they be peeved? Yes, there’s an argument that EA charges too much for FIFA points, but surely it’s common sense for them to try and prevent external parties from profiting out of their game by closing down a loophole and making people buy coins from them instead? While some will call it greed, others may say that EA has every right to introduce a feature that essentially gets more people either spending their money with them, or gets them PLAYING THE GAME PROPERLY instead of cheating.
Judging by the masses of negative comments on social media and on comment sections of various gaming websites, it may be that some FUT gamers won’t bother playing the game at all. Seems that EA may have just learned a very harsh lesson: with price ranges in place from day one, this would never have happened.