Daily Briefing, Friday 8th January 2021

Hello and welcome to another issue of the Bellular Daily Briefing - your trusty industry news companion

Former EA Sports boss believes FIFA loot boxes are a "long way" from gambling

In a new interview with GamesIndustry.biz Peter Moore, a former boss at EA Sports who oversaw the first iteration of FIFA Ultimate Team back in FIFA 09, likened FIFA loot boxes to collectible cigarette cards and blind bag toys.

• Moore also brought up the classic "surprise mechanics" terminology when discussing who EA view their loot boxes, and stated that "the concept of surprise and delight vs gambling" are "a long way from each other." So there you go, typical EA pap from someone who doesn't even work there anymore.

CEX to remain open during new English lockdown, staff are concerned

Despite being non-essential retail, CEX are remaining open for click-and-collect orders, which is fine under current government guidelines. The problem is that CEX are also open for in-person trade-ins where a receipt has been generated online - meaning staff are having to handle a lot of unsanitised stock.

• This prompted an outpouring of (completely understandable) staff complaints to outlets like Eurogamer - and this isn't the first time CEX have played fast and loose with their employees' safety, either.

New Facebook mobile gaming report shows numbers are way up

This latest report contains analysis for various countries' playing behaviours between March and July 2020, which accounts for all those lockdown-based playerbase peaks - Germany, South Korea, the US, and the UK all saw their numbers jump.

• The UK saw the most significant growth - with 8.6m new mobile gamers representing a 50% increase. The US saw a 28% growth (28m new players) and also led the pack in new average monthly spending - 41% of new players spent money, and the average monthly spend was $27.20.

Iwata Asks compilation to be released in English this April

Ask Iwata, a hardback collection of Nintendo's Iwata Asks interviews, was released in Japan in 2019. The English version will release April 13th in the United States, and April 15th in the UK, according to publisher Viz Media.

• The 176-page book will cover the various interviews late Nintendo President Satoru Iwata held with various key Nintendo figures across the DS, 3DS, Wii, and Wii U eras - including Shigeru Miyamoto and Earthbound creator Shigesato Itoi.

That's everything for today - have a wonderful weekend of gaming and catch us back here next week for more daily news!