So, l have lots of friends in school that spoil themselves by buying the FIFA coins to progress quicker through Ultimate team without grinding endlessly. A best-in-slot player like Ronaldo or Mbappé will generally set you back 1m coins+ each — and it can take weeks, if not months to amass that amount of in-game currency through gameplay alone. The allure of buying this currency is in saving time -- a player can get an elite team right away by spending $50 to $100 on coins, far less than they would have spent through microtransactions.
Competition in the market is one of these drivers. Players can quickly rise in value — by, for example, more than 30% within hours during the release of a new promo card. Those who want to take advantage of these market swings or simply have their dream teams accelerated instead opt to purchase coins which allow them stay in the fray. And this demand is far more pronounced during periods such as Team of the Year (TOTY) or Team of Season (TOTS), which can see price rises between 20% and 40%, because there are a lot more people looking to buy coins.
Much of this behavior is driven by sheer sonic compunction, or the deep-seated lust to compete at a highest level. Some commentators have even likened it to pay-to-win elements, where the more money you put down on a video game translates into better in-game results. Average players, particularly if they are trying to compete against squads worth tens of millions in fut or facing top shelf opponents on "Heads", feel that the purchase is well-advised. A 45 percent majority of those surveyed in November 2023 reportedly confessed to buying the coins because they believed it improved their enjoyment of that game when playing with a better team.
At the same time, players are also attracted because of cost-effective FIFA coins. While for buying players through packs, EA's pseudo-cash FIFA Points grant a worse exchange rate. According to EA's own pack odds disclosures, the probability of packing a player who sells for over 500k is less than 1%. This then leaves a lot of gamers to look at third-party coin sellers where $10 can get you 100,000 coins straight away and is much better value than using that same money on FIFA points.
Of course social influence plays a part in this trend, too. This then filters down, because now kids see their favorite content creators/streamers with god squads and in hand it pushes people to buy coins so they can get that certain card. Worse yet, some of these influencers are actually going as far as to market coin-selling websites — and thus legitimize the practice even more.
Buying coins certainly is a convenient answer but it has dangers to end. Enforcement is sliding, with EA already banning 50,000 accounts from playing FIFA in under a year for breaking the rules on buying and selling coins through third-party companies. However, for most the benefit justifies the risk; a market which millions of people each year — is estimated to be worth over $50 million annually.
Of course most players want to use the best items in game as soon as possible, and so they tend to take into account amount of time spent versus money invested. For many people buying fifa coins is just a better option especially during peak times such as weekend leagues or major tournaments.