Even as countries like Belgium are shutting down loot boxes in the wake of the controversy last year, it looks like EA is not willing to back down. In an investors call, EA CEO Andrew Wilson said that the company will push forth with lootboxes, while also simultaneously admitting that they are gambling.

Wilson points out that EA technically operates under the law, since you are guaranteed a certain value each time you spend money on, say, an Ultimate Team pack, and that EA doesn’t allow an option to cash out—which means loot boxes don’t need regulation either. Wilson says that EA has worked with “all the industry associations around the world” to establish that loot boxes are not gambling (which not only contradicts his own admission that they are, but also ignores that industry associations like the ESA are lobbies funded by none other than the big publishers themselves).

And what about the fans, whose backlash was, after all, what caused this whole controversy to begin with? To them, Wilson only offered empty platitudes. “We’re always thinking about our players,” he said. “We’re always thinking about how to deliver these types of experiences in a transparent, fun, fair and balanced way for our players. And we’ll communicate with regulators around the world on it.”

So, yeah. Prepare yourself for even more lootboxes in your EA games, I guess. Or do the smart thing and just avoid them.

Every week, we get a new FIFA Ultimate Team of the Week, which is based on the previous week’s matches. This week’s update has brought us the latest refresh to the lineup, and as expected, it is chock full of players from Chelsea and Barcelona, both teams that are currently dominating at the local league level.

The list of the players follows. This team is available to any player of the FIFA Ultimate Team mode, on any platform, as long as the game has access to Ultimate Team on that patform:

Starting

• GK: Claudio Bravo – FC Barcelona (Spain)
• CB: Leonardo Bonucci – Juventus (Italy)
• CB: Ömer Toprak – Bayer 04 Leverkusen (Germany)
• CB: Hilton – Montpellier HSC (France)
• RB: Andoni Iraola – Athletic Club (Spain)
• LM: Eden Hazard – Chelsea (England)
• CM: Javier Pastore – Paris Saint-Germain (France)
• CAM: Alejandro Domínguez – Olympiakos (Greece)
• ST: Shinji Okazaki – 1. FSV Mainz 05 (Germany)
• ST: Jonas Oliveira – SL Benfica (Portugal)
• ST: Jonatan Soriano – FC Red Bull Salzburg (Austria)

Substitutes & Reserves

• GK: Vincent Enyeama – LOSC Lille (France)
• RWB: James Tavernier – Wigan Athletic (England)
• RM: Robert Hall – MK Dons (England)
• RM: Quincy Promes – Spartak Moskva (Russia)
• ST: Jamie Maclaren – Perth Glory FC (Australia)
• ST: Luuk De Jong – PSV (The Netherlands)
• ST: Chong Te Se – Suwon Samsung Bluewings (Korea)

For more information on FIFA, stay tuned to GamingBolt.

In one of the most dramatic and sizable upgrades that EA has ever made to the Ultimate Team, 130 players have been entirely upgraded. The upgrades all reflect their latest standings and real world performances. While Ultimate Team is, in theory, a dynamic and ever evolving mode that reflects developments in real life as they happen in the sport, this still represents the most massive update to its databases ever.

You can head on over to EA’s website if you want to see the full list of updates (which are broken down by item quality), but some notable standouts are Neymar from Barecelona, Sanchez from Arsenal, and De Gea from Manchester United. It’s a pretty thorough shuffling, and should mix the proceedings up in the game again.

FIFA Ultimate Team is a mode in EA Sports’ FIFA series of football video games. It is available on PC, Xbox 360, Xbox One, PS3, and PS4, although the Xbox versions of the game get exclusive content for Ultimate Team. Stay tuned to GamingBolt for more coverage and information.

One of the most used features of FIFA Ultimate Team (which is also the most popular mode in EA’s FIFA series to begin with) is the trading economy that has sprung up; however, as with everything else, players began to exploit the mechanics, leading to what was originally intended to be a means for some barter deals to be used to trade coins and things that are otherwise the basis of the in game economy. Most importantly, players also began selling coins in a veritable ‘black market’ that sprung up around the game- again, undermining not just the game economy, but also the microtransactions that the mode is based on.

Although some honest players used this feature to trade with friends, it became one of the methods used by coin sellers to sell and move coins,” the developer said in a forum post announcing the change.

“Account phishers also abused Trade Offers by moving stolen players and coins after wrongfully gaining access to unsuspecting FUT player accounts.

“This will also address ‘bid bumping’, where people would try and trick others into bidding far more than they wanted for a player item.”

“It was a tough decision,” EA wrote, “but this is the right step towards improving security, showing cheaters the red card, and keeping FUT safe for all FIFA fans.”

It’s definitely a sad turn of events, and it restricts player freedom, but for once, I can’t blame EA for the course of action that they have chosen.

EA’s Ultimate Team modes for its EA Sports titles are pretty damn successful, but none have been as successful as the Ultimate Team mode in FIFA.They generate a lot of revenue for EA, and for a lot of people, FIFA- which, I need to remind you, sells in excess of ten million units every year– is FIFA Ultimate Team. So when EA announced that Ultimate Team would have exclusive content on the Xbox One last year, that was a big deal, and assumed to give the Xbox One an advantage, at least in European territories.

That did not happen, but in spite of betting on the wrong horse, Ultimate Team continues to thrive. However, it still has exclusivity on the Xbox One, and now next week, FIFA 15 Ultimate Team may be getting a closed beta next weekThe invitation image (see above) seems to imply that the beta will be restricted only to experienced players of the mode who own an Xbox One.

An announcement may be made during Microsoft’s presentation at Gamescom tomorrow. Stay tuned.

FIFA 14 will be getting a brand new mode on May 29- titled FIFA 14 Ultimate Team: World Cup, the mode will be available to everybody for free as part of an update. The update will be available to the console and PC versions of the game. That means if you own the game on the Xbox 360, Xbox One, PlayStation 3, PlayStation 4, or PC, you should be getting the mode.

FIFA Ultimate Team: World Cup is an all new mode, which is why it doesn’t just fit into the existing Ultimate Team mode. You will still build a fantasy squad, but this one has an emphasis on international teams instead of club teams, and progress in this mode does not translate to the regular FIFA Ultimate Team mode, or vice versa.

Considering the fact that the mode is now based on national teams rather than club dynamics, a lot of mechanics, including team chemistry, have seen a change in their implementation in this game mode (the regular Ultimate Team mode should be unaffected).

Given the existence of this mode, you probably now have even less of a reason to buy EA’s own official 2014 FIFA World Cup tie in video game.

[Eurogamer]

The coach of England’s national football team (that’s soccer for all you guys on the other side of the pond) has been signed up in an ‘ambassadorial’ role for FIFA Ultimate Team for the 2013-14 season, EA Sports announced. He will be hosting a bi-weekly column on EA Sports’ website where he will discuss the goings on in the Premier League.

Neville was also announced to be part of the exclusive content that will be available to Xbox One players as part of the FIFA Ultimate Team mode. He will be available alongside some of the world’s greatest players including Pelé, Marco van Basten, Lothar Matthäus, Dennis Bergkamp, Gary Lineker and 33 other past masters of the game.

“It’s great to be working with the team at EA. FIFA has become such an integral part of football culture that I hope to bring benefit to the fans. FIFA Ultimate Tea, really is a phenomenal success and you can see why as we all like to think we can manage an Ultimate Team of superstars, I can’t wait to see myself out on the (digital) pitch again,” said Neville.

Shaun White, EA Head of PR in the UK, commented: “We’re delighted to have signed Gary for the 2013/14 season. His knowledge of the game is unrivalled and we’ll be working together to give FIFA 14 players a deeper insight into the real world of football that will enhance their FIFA Ultimate Team experience.”

FIFA 14 launches on Xbox 360 and PS3 in September; it will also be made available on Xbox One and PlayStation 4 later, with the Xbox One version having some exclusive content (that is actually of some consequence in the real world), and being made available for free in Europe with the console to anybody who pre-ordered the Xbox One.