Today's gamers face many difficult choices when it comes to purchasing a video game. Games today usually cost around $60. Usually, most of us are content with that but game companies today are let's face it: GREEDY. Electronic Arts might have accidentally started a mini gamer revolt when it comes to microtransactions. Last November gamers everywhere finally got their hands on the highly anticipated Star Wars Battlefront 2.
In what should have been an easy best seller for EA turned out to be a public relations nightmare for the company. EA decided to lock most of the most powerful gear & equipment behind a paywall in the form of "loot boxes" forcing players to pay to keep up with the rest of the community. The worst part about loot boxes is that they are completely random so you don't exactly get what you want forcing you to keep buying loot boxes. This time gamers united to boycott the game due to the perceived greed of EA.
In what should have been an easy best seller for EA turned out to be a public relations nightmare for the company. EA decided to lock most of the most powerful gear & equipment behind a paywall in the form of "loot boxes" forcing players to pay to keep up with the rest of the community. The worst part about loot boxes is that they are completely random so you don't exactly get what you want forcing you to keep buying loot boxes. This time gamers united to boycott the game due to the perceived greed of EA.
Most people don't mind paying the initial $60 for a new release, but when you consider that most developers now release games that are either not finished or locked behind a paywall (cough Destiny 2), you can clearly see why gamers boycotted Battlefront 2. Gamers simply had enough of being nickel & dimed by companies like Electronic Arts & Activision. The boycott cost EA over $3 billion in revenue. Not only that, the US government might now take a look at microtransactions as another form of gambling which could bring another set of problems in terms of censorship & higher taxes on games.
You would think that EA would have learned a lesson from the Battlefront 2 fiasco but yet they are pushing out another game UFC 3 that encourages players to buy loot boxes to improve their fighter. The game hasn't even released yet & they are about to exit one firestorm only to enter another.
I honestly feel that if it wasn't for the popularity of FIFA Ultimate Team & Madden Ultimate team, we wouldn't see loot boxes or packs trickle into other games. I personally know people that have willingly forked over $500 each to improve their teams in either game & that is just a small sample size. Now imagine millions of players purchasing additional content & you can clearly see why most of these companies push it with every game they develop.
As a gamer, I am glad the Battlefront controversy happened. EA & Activision should follow the Rockstar Games model & give us the content for free. One of the most popular games today is Grand Theft Auto 5 for that exact reason. That game released in 2013 & yet here it is still being played by millions because Rockstar consistently delivers new content to keep the game fresh. That is the way to keep people playing, let's hope the rest of the game developers realize that before they alienate the majority of their respective fanbases!
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