-
Hey, guest user. Hope you're enjoying NeoGAF! Have you considered registering for an account? Come join us and add your take to the daily discourse.
BBC: Star Wars Battlefront II game faces further backlash
- Thread starter Fuz
- Start date
sloppyjoe_gamer
Gold Member
I'd say it's more like overkill, but maybe that's just me.
Revolutionary
Member
Here we go. These are the kind of news articles we need.
Not "community manager receives death threats" or "EA dramatically reduces cost of heroes", which were both headlines that were clearly orchestrated by EA in an attempt to distract from the actual problem at hand: lootboxes.
It's a damn shame what EA has done with this game. I really enjoy the moment to moment gameplay, but the lootbox crap is so deeply integrated that it's impossible to ignore.
Not "community manager receives death threats" or "EA dramatically reduces cost of heroes", which were both headlines that were clearly orchestrated by EA in an attempt to distract from the actual problem at hand: lootboxes.
It's a damn shame what EA has done with this game. I really enjoy the moment to moment gameplay, but the lootbox crap is so deeply integrated that it's impossible to ignore.
Croatoan
They/Them A-10 Warthog
I am surprised Disney hasn't put an end to this.
Pejo
Member
I don't think they'll be illegal, but they'll have to have actual regulation, which is good. Japan already has some of this for its gacha games. You have to list the rates of getting certain drops, etc.
Right now they can manipulate the rates whenever they want and not tell a damn soul about it, and there's no upper limit as to what they can do to pry money out of customers' wallets.
SonicSleuth
Member
I'm new here, but as a lifelong Star Wars and gaming fan... who the hell cares? The opinions of a bunch of angry nerds and/or gaming "journalists" will impact my enjoyment exactly zero percent.
Lootboxes are nobody's favorite thing, but many, many gamers have used some element of them in the past. I remember the first time I jumped into the fray, buying an unlock of draft class reports in EA's college football game on the 360 for a buck or two. I weighed the options - eight hours of dull grinding vs. a buck or two - and went to the dark side.
Again... who cares? It's a game that looks and sounds fantastic, with a ton of content, and I'll play forty hours of multiplayer without even thinking about it, because it's *fun*. If I'm not good enough to win against lootboxers, so what? I'm not good enough to beat elite players, anyhow. I'll take my small victories and enjoy the game.
Star Wars is an incredibly costly license. EA is making a game that is an absolute audio/video spectacle and is also fun as hell... and cost a lot of money to produce. I hope they make a profit. I'll just be enjoying seeing some of my favorite characters and settings brought to life in a way that isn't embarrassing.
Lootboxes are nobody's favorite thing, but many, many gamers have used some element of them in the past. I remember the first time I jumped into the fray, buying an unlock of draft class reports in EA's college football game on the 360 for a buck or two. I weighed the options - eight hours of dull grinding vs. a buck or two - and went to the dark side.
Again... who cares? It's a game that looks and sounds fantastic, with a ton of content, and I'll play forty hours of multiplayer without even thinking about it, because it's *fun*. If I'm not good enough to win against lootboxers, so what? I'm not good enough to beat elite players, anyhow. I'll take my small victories and enjoy the game.
Star Wars is an incredibly costly license. EA is making a game that is an absolute audio/video spectacle and is also fun as hell... and cost a lot of money to produce. I hope they make a profit. I'll just be enjoying seeing some of my favorite characters and settings brought to life in a way that isn't embarrassing.
Trogdor1123
Gold Member
Yep, and then I will be able to pick it up lol
dragonyeuw
Member
We'll see. There's some (well-earned) outrage that may lead to less than projected sales which could in turn lead to some actual tangible improvements, but I suspect plenty of people will complain and then buy it anyway because they just gotta have that Star Wars fix.
Thats something I hadnt considered. How long until EAs handling of the license is something that Lucasfilm and maybe Disney are pissed off about?
EverydayBeast
thinks Halo Infinite is a new graphical benchmark
I dont regret my purchase at all and just ignore the loot boxes.
InterMusketeer
Member
EA is not some poor company trying to just make a profit the only way they can. They make tons of money every single year, and this game would not suddenly be unprofitable if there were no microtransactions. EA is swimming in money, and yet they want to squeeze even more from their customers, at the expense of the actual game itself. That's why people are mad.
Great that you're not going to let this stuff spoil your fun. The rest of us will discuss these things, which hopefully leads to improvements in the game for everyone.
Croatoan
They/Them A-10 Warthog
I would argue that loot boxes are making Battlefront 2 worse. P2W systems in $60 titles should not exist.
That's precisely why people are trying to link Disney to this whole thing through e.g that reddit campaign rather than just EA. Core gamers already hate EA and it makes little difference.
Being linked among the general public to supporting gambling among minors would be very undesirable for the public image of Disney.
Revolutionary
Member
I find it hard to ignore when you're killed by someone decked out in Purples one day after release.
My train of thought goes from "wow he must be really good" to "I wonder how much he paid to have that advantage?"
Relevant video I found regarding Boba Fett:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r7TmXpCJI8s
Chris_Rivera
Member
This is prime noob crushing time in BF2 for players who pay the cash, before they may make further changes. In a month, none of the unfairness will matter, as the players will have less of an obvious advantage.
base shagohod
Member
The one thing I keep thinking is how much this must suck for DICE, who put all this work into this just to have it blow up in a negative sense before it's even released.
The talent these dudes have is so obvious that it bums me out EA has changed the topic by doing this loot crate shit.
The talent these dudes have is so obvious that it bums me out EA has changed the topic by doing this loot crate shit.
SonicSleuth
Member
Nobody argues that they're a poor company, but they're the rare company who actually CAN pony up the huge dollars the Star Wars license requires. For that, they're making a truly AAA experience and trying to monetize it to the best of their ability.
You have every right not to buy the game if you don't like the game. But arguing that lootboxes make the game worse isn't effective, in my opinion. There will always be better players than you, whether they paid more money or spent more hours or both.
If you want to get deep into this... across all forms of entertainment and lifestyle more money equals an improved experience. Whether that's a five star hotel, a great meal, a reclining theater chair, a more comfortable mattress... money talks. There is no obligation to create the same experience for all people, and there never has been.
TannerDemoz
Member
"The firm is hosting an AMA (Ask Me Anything) session on community news site Reddit later on Wednesday to address concerns."
HAHAHAHAHA.
Inevitable shitstorm incoming. What an insane PR move to make. They're gonna get (quite rightfully) slaughtered.
HAHAHAHAHA.
Inevitable shitstorm incoming. What an insane PR move to make. They're gonna get (quite rightfully) slaughtered.
Lionel Richie
Member
As usual, fuck gaming journalism for rating this game as pretty good, it has a motherfucking 78 on MC. The actual score should be closer to the user score, I wish the fucking spineless big gaming media would be as passionate going against this bullshit as they are when it comes to defending someone's rights to be extremely incompetent playing a game.
PaulBizkit
Member
Dude, this is crazy, it's the pre-order scandal all over again!
Remember 2 years ago when all the people who pre-ordered the game just steamrolled over the people who didn't? That's because one of the pre-order bonuses was a hand-gun that had the firepower of a shotgun.
And THAT is the problem, it ended up being a pay-to-win situation. Same as now.
The lootboxes in overwatch get a pass because it's all cosmetic items that you can obtain without paying anyways.
Lootboxes more important than death threats ?
wvnative
Member
If this drama continues, they most certainly will. We gotta keep pushing.
Revolutionary
Member
I may have worded that poorly and/or insensitively, but the point I was trying to make is that it was a controversial headline to distract from the backlash their game was set to receive.
I highly encourage you to give this a read: https://www.reddit.com/r/StarWarsBa...ork_in_electronic_media_pr_ill_tell_you_what/
Jakartalado
Member
I can't believe I just bought this game for single player (and manage to finish under 4 hours).
A disjointed campaign with a epilogue chapter that just finishes abruptly without any fucks given to the fans.
How is this possible? Isn't Disney supposed to supervise the development of their products? This is a joke (that costs 80 U$ at the moment if you want to play)
Without mentioning the rest of the online free to play model
A disjointed campaign with a epilogue chapter that just finishes abruptly without any fucks given to the fans.
How is this possible? Isn't Disney supposed to supervise the development of their products? This is a joke (that costs 80 U$ at the moment if you want to play)
Without mentioning the rest of the online free to play model
wipeout364
Member
I am quite surprised at the people that defend EA, Ive yet to hear a compelling reason for their loyalty or EAs behaviour other than they deserve to make more money. Why do people think this would not be a hugely successful game without micro transactions. It really boggles the mind how people rally to this despicable companys defence.
That AMA will turn into a shitshow, but I suspect the people asking questions will be the source of that rather than the host.
Chances are pretty high many will be reacting with outright hostility, and EA is probably counting on just that.
On December 13th they are adding new chapters to story mode. Source: https://www.ea.com/en-gb/games/starwars/battlefront/battlefront-2/news/the-last-jedi-season-is-coming
BTHR Zero X
Member
What a load of crap.
I have been to places that are 1/10 of the price when it comes to food and lodging that are some of the best places I have ever eaten at or stayed.
Hell in my home town there is a fast food place called Mr Roosters best fried chicken you will EVER Have, it has a higher score then then any big named chained place in the area.
More Money and a name does not equal better. Most of the time they are trash. Like EA.
Peroroncino
Member
No, any sort of progression via lootboxes needs to be shut down hard, no exceptions.
Fuz
Banned
Agree.
It's been a long time since I trusted the gaming press (DA2, anyone?). User reviews, taken with a grain of salt, are way more reliable.
Unknown?
Member
This cant be good for changing anything. The extremists are going to make themselves look stupid and thus ruining the cause of people wanting a real debate. Shitstorms solve nothing.
The issue is that star cards (which come out of loot boxes) are tied to class progression. The number of cards and their overall level determine your class level. Its not like call of duty where you get xp after a match and that levels your divisions. Its made worse by the fact that at current rates youll earn one loot box every 2.5 hours which contains 4 to 5 cards, some of which could be cosmetics and/or star cards for classes you may not be interested in playing, further slowing your progression.
deadscreensky
Member
This isn't even the first massive Disney license misfire this year (Marvel vs. Capcom Infinite did extremely poorly). So it's likely they don't have much control here, or possibly even care. (They released Rogue One, right?) In their small defense, Disney execs can't exactly just go to EA a few months before release and tell them to tighten up mission design on level 3 or double the length.
It's too bad the campaign is apparently middling, I was looking forward to that.
keraj37
Member
Just to be clear, I don't want to be on any side of that conflict, but isn't that the nature of ANY business? To make as much money as possible with less and less self costs?
This is forum where many members are actually working in game dev studios - all of the bigger ones have marketing and business analytic departments that have only one purpose: how to make more people pay more, and how to simply make more money.
There is really no sentiments here nor morality - all you want is only to keep legal boundaries intact.
I am sometimes participating some meetings with higher ranking executives and all I hear is: 'how to make money with that game design?'.
Giving fun to users is just a tool to make them pay for that fun.
And if you believe it is different then that, I advice you to get back to real World.
Yet, I may understand that people feel offended with that p2w policy in full price AAA title. Competently understandable. Yet, you will see that EA will make as much money as they wanted - a lot! And that is all that matters. Will they suffer in long run? I don't think so, but I may be wrong as in anything.
We will see then.
Rndom Grenadez
Member
I played and got Luke and Vader in less than 4 hours :::shrugs:::
Its got pretty decent gameplay.
Its got pretty decent gameplay.
dragonyeuw
Member
I wasn't suggesting anyone who purchased it should or would. As far as I'm concerned it's a YMMV thing. This in-game economy system ruffles my feathers but if you're able to skirt around it to find enjoyment in the game, props to you.
The Stig
Member
Disney LOVES money
Fuz
Banned
Yeah, no, they're dragging down gaming as a whole for all of us.
shira
Member
See you in half a year if you want to unlock everything else
BANGS
Banned
You can't fight dishonestly with more dishonesty... This is like those stupid "the truth" anti-smoking commercials...
wvnative
Member
Disney also has genuine love of their IP and don't want it to be associated with children using their IP to gamble.
LukeSkywater
Banned
Disney didn't create Star Wars, they purchased it. They give zero fucks about anything except $$$$ from Star Wars.
Yeah fuck anti-smoking!
One loot box with cancer, por favor! I'll pay double!