Quote of the Day, EA Killed, Gutted, And Wore Shame As A Face Mask edition.

I’d like to think that, underneath the ambient sounds in the panel room, a keen-eared observer could maybe hear the flack’s soul dying a little.

“That is what we look at as ‘surprise mechanics,'” EA Legal and Government Affairs VP Kerry Hopkins told the panel when asked about the ethics of loot boxes. “It is important to look at this. If you go to—I don’t know what your version of Target is—a store that sells a lot of toys and you do a search for surprise toys, you will find that this is something people enjoy. They enjoy surprises. It is something that has been part of toys for years, whether it is Kinder eggs or Hatchimals or LOL Surprise!”

I know, I know. They don’t let you be a VP of Legal and Government Affairs for a major video game company unless you’ve already personally strangled your own conscience with a silken bowstring. But allow me this little self-delusion, yes? One hates to think the worst of people, even when they’re working for EA.

Moe Lane

PS: Mind you, I’m ecstatic that my video game playing habits are being indulged in in a country with a firm and rigorous tradition of giving twin middle fingers to ah, gormless sheet-sniffing bench-warmers who are laboring under the quite mistaken belief that there’s something moral about asking me impertinent questions about how I spend my time and my money. Put another way: EA and the UK Digital, Culture, Media and Sport Committee absolutely deserve each other, and I wish them joy in their interactions.