Star Wars Battlefront II

[SmoothPancakes]

Yeah, it's no longer possible to buy crystals in game. Sounds like a whole shake up of changes coming. I knew EA would make some sort of changes in response, but I wasn't expecting them to go as far as completely killing off micro-transactions in the game.

Now I wonder what that does for DLC. Do they still keep it free like they've said and planned all along or are they now going to go back to a paid DLC system since they just killed the micro-transactions cash flow?

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[cdj]

Today, we turned off in-game purchases for #StarWarsBattlefrontII. The game is built on your input, and it will continue to evolve and grow. Read the full update: https://t.co/asGASaYXVp pic.twitter.com/vQSOmsWRgk

— EA Star Wars (@EAStarWars) November 17, 2017

[SmoothPancakes]

Basically the big announcement is they're turning off micro-transactions for now and they'll be turning them back on sometime in the future.

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[cdj]

Basically the big announcement is they're turning off micro-transactions for now and they'll be turning them back on sometime in the future.

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Once the heat dies down and they can retool it a bit would be my guess.

Over/under on it being on by Christmas?

[SmoothPancakes]

Once the heat dies down and they can retool it a bit would be my guess.

Over/under on it being on by Christmas?

If it's not back on by Christmas, it'll definitely be back on shortly after the new year.

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[bdoughty]

People can cry boycott all they want online, just like every other boycott, it's going to have zero effect on EA's bottom line and ultimately end up being nothing than some feel good movement for people online and in the end achieve nothing.

Had to bump this one up, don't quit the day job Smooth.

https://venturebeat.com/2017/11/16/s...-make-changes/

Earlier today, Electronic Arts chief executive officer Andrew Wilson had a phone call with The Walt Disney Company chief executive Bob Iger about Star Wars: Battlefront II, according to sources familiar with the situation. A few hours after that call, and players are finding that the option to purchase the premium crystals currency is no longer working. EA has now confirmed that it is taking this feature down to address fan concerns just as the game is about to launch worldwide tomorrow. All of this comes after multiple days of outrage from fans who are upset that EA and developer DICE have implemented an online multiplayer system that gives an advantage to people who pay money.

I can imagine the call went something like, "Fuck em in the ass but at least offer lube." Are you really trying to get back on top of the worst companies in the US list?

[SmoothPancakes]

Had to bump this one up, don't quit the day job Smooth.

https://venturebeat.com/2017/11/16/s...-make-changes/



I can imagine the call went something like, "Fuck em in the ass but at least offer lube." Are you really trying to get back on top of the worst companies in the US list?

Well, once the national news started picking it up, EA was fucked one way or the other.

However, while some people are celebrating their "win" over big bad EA, ultimately nothing changes. EA is turning off micro-transactions for the time being. They're not getting rid of them and even say themselves they'll be turning them back on at some point in the future. My guess is by Christmas, for sure not much later than just after the new year. They'll make a gesture now to get everyone to dial down the hate online, maybe make some more sales, then bring back micro-transactions in a month or two and go back to business as planned.

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[SmoothPancakes]

Regardless of the micro-transactions debate, it sounds like in the end, you really don't gain as much of an advantage as people seemed to think. Polygon spent $90 on crystals before they were disabled and while they got more star cards unlocked at their base level one card status, they didn't get anything that would make them amazing and unrivaled on the battlefield.

And from the jist of their article, whether you grind for free or pay, everyone will still slam into the same giant bottleneck in a frothy pink spray as you can't even upgrade your Star cards unless your overall account and your individual classes have met certain level requirements.

https://www.polygon.com/2017/11/16/1...costs-analysis

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[Rudy]

The power of the people!

[CLW]

"Temporarily" its kind of like a XBox1 "exclusive"

[Rudy]

It still annoys me when they say "We never intended..." BS! You fully intended to make it a big cash grab and you got trashed for it.

[bdoughty]

People can cry boycott all they want online, just like every other boycott, it's going to have zero effect on EA's bottom line and ultimately end up being nothing than some feel good movement for people online and in the end achieve nothing.

People can cry boycott all they want online, just like every other boycott, it's going to have zero effect on EA's bottom line and ultimately end up being nothing than some feel good movement for people online and in the end achieve nothing.

People can cry boycott all they want online, just like every other boycott, it's going to have zero effect on EA's bottom line and ultimately end up being nothing than some feel good movement for people online and in the end achieve nothing.

People can cry boycott all they want online, just like every other boycott, it's going to have zero effect on EA's bottom line and ultimately end up being nothing than some feel good movement for people online and in the end achieve nothing.

People can cry boycott all they want online, just like every other boycott, it's going to have zero effect on EA's bottom line and ultimately end up being nothing than some feel good movement for people online and in the end achieve nothing.

https://www.cnbc.com/2017/11/28/eas-...twitter%7Cmain

EA’s day of reckoning is here after ‘Star Wars’ game uproar, $3 billion in stock value wiped out

Electronic Arts' shareholders are running for the hills this month and for good reason.

The company's profitable business model is now at risk after angry gamers revolted over its aggressive in-game moneymaking strategy in "Star Wars Battlefront II."

EA's stock is down 8.5 percent month to date through Tuesday compared with the S&P 500's 2 percent gain, wiping out $3.1 billion of shareholder value. Its competitors Take-Two and Activision Blizzard shares are up 5 percent and 0.7 percent respectively during the same time period.

[bdoughty]

Stock fluctuates but it has definitely had an impact over the past month. Thus making the "zero effect" comment, laughable and bringing a smile to my face. The crow on the other hand... It may be a drop in a bucket to EA but it signifies that the consumer can make a difference, even if it was a small difference. The thing we are going to see is every game under a microscope, from reviewers to the gamers. Someone steps out of hand as EA did here and things will eventually come to a head. The press and investment sites have picked up on this and it will not go quietly into the night.

Sadly this forum is all but dead, so I am going to find a new place to discuss things in regards to this hobby.

I hope Nebraska gets a hire that can make them relevant again. Enjoyed discussing CFB with you CDJ.
I hope Smooth does not have an aneurysm from being so angry.
I hope Steeler is happy once the Super Bowl hits, because we share the same team.
I hope Steeler is pissed when Man City wins the EPL.
To Rudy, I hope you can find some joy in a basketball game in the future.
CLW, outside of the annoying Snoy shtick, you were fun to discuss things with.
G, best of luck in the conference championship.
JB, I have destroyed the image of you and the sheep.
Soulja, here is hoping for a great future for So Miss.

[steelerfan]

Dunno why you'd think I'd be pissed if City wins the league. I wasn't the first 2 times they won. My attitude towards it is pretty simple: if not Chelsea, then anyone but United.

[cdj]

https://www.cnbc.com/2017/11/28/eas-...twitter%7Cmain

EA’s day of reckoning is here after ‘Star Wars’ game uproar, $3 billion in stock value wiped out

Electronic Arts' shareholders are running for the hills this month and for good reason.

The company's profitable business model is now at risk after angry gamers revolted over its aggressive in-game moneymaking strategy in "Star Wars Battlefront II."

EA's stock is down 8.5 percent month to date through Tuesday compared with the S&P 500's 2 percent gain, wiping out $3.1 billion of shareholder value. Its competitors Take-Two and Activision Blizzard shares are up 5 percent and 0.7 percent respectively during the same time period.

It definitely feels like the loot box controversy took a lot of wind out of the sails on this one.

I have yet to play it, but from reading quite a few articles it didn't seem that the character lock system and loot crate system were as gamebreaking as some feared, but rather were just a convoluted money grab. It's funny that it took Star Wars fans to get upset over this system when it feels like so many other games (by EA and others) are just as bad in terms of microtransactions, never ending DLC, etc.

[CLW]

Sadly this forum is all but dead, so I am going to find a new place to discuss things in regards to this hobby. CLW, outside of the annoying Snoy shtick, you were fun to discuss things with.

#1 Yeah with the death of the NCAA series the site basically lost its niche and thus almost everyone is gone now.

#2 I have no idea what you are talking about.

#3 I looked around but wasn't able to find any decent gaming forums so I really don't discuss my hobby much anymore. But if you find a new place hit me up on PSN and I'll bring my "shtick" with me.

[CLW]

It definitely feels like the loot box controversy took a lot of wind out of the sails on this one.

I have yet to play it, but from reading quite a few articles it didn't seem that the character lock system and loot crate system were as gamebreaking as some feared, but rather were just a convoluted money grab. It's funny that it took Star Wars fans to get upset over this system when it feels like so many other games (by EA and others) are just as bad in terms of microtransactions, never ending DLC, etc.

Yeah what EA did with this game is really ZERO different from FIFA/Madden etc... Apparently the sports gaming community is either dumber, willing to pay hundreds of additional $ to win or more willing to accept gambling into its favorite hobby. I'm not and unless/until EA takes the pay-to-win mechanics out of its games I'll never buy their products. I'll simply rent them from GameFLy whore out the easy and mail it back.

[SmoothPancakes]

It definitely feels like the loot box controversy took a lot of wind out of the sails on this one.

I have yet to play it, but from reading quite a few articles it didn't seem that the character lock system and loot crate system were as gamebreaking as some feared, but rather were just a convoluted money grab. It's funny that it took Star Wars fans to get upset over this system when it feels like so many other games (by EA and others) are just as bad in terms of microtransactions, never ending DLC, etc.

Yeah, based on my first hand experience, the loot boxes and pay to win seemed really overblown. The star cards don't give you massive advantages, so you're not going to gain some massive advantage buying loot boxes. And even then, you have to upgrade your Star cards (and be leveled up to even upgrade them) to improve them, so it ultimately is a grind for everyone, whether you pay or not.

#1 Yeah with the death of the NCAA series the site basically lost its niche and thus almost everyone is gone now.

#2 I have no idea what you are talking about.

#3 I looked around but wasn't able to find any decent gaming forums so I really don't discuss my hobby much anymore. But if you find a new place hit me up on PSN and I'll bring my "shtick" with me.

Yeah, unfortunately we never quite recovered once NCAA was killed off. I'm not going anywhere, as long as the lights are still on, I'm gonna hang around here, I have no plans on leaving, though I do find myself supplementing my game discussions and looking for people to team up with in games more with sites like OS and Reddit (as shitty and vitriolic as a lot the gaming communities are on that site) as the numbers here dwindle. But I'll always go take TGT teammates in multi-player games any day of the week over randoms or players from other sites.

And agree about any new sites that bdoughty may find. I'm always looking for new places to discuss and get opinions on games, so if bdoughty finds a good place, I'll happily add it to my rotation of gaming sites to visit alongside TGT and others.

Yeah what EA did with this game is really ZERO different from FIFA/Madden etc... Apparently the sports gaming community is either dumber, willing to pay hundreds of additional $ to win or more willing to accept gambling into its favorite hobby. I'm not and unless/until EA takes the pay-to-win mechanics out of its games I'll never buy their products. I'll simply rent them from GameFLy whore out the easy and mail it back.

I still play EA and 2K sports games, I just tend to stick solely to Franchise modes, which by and large have thankfully not been infected by micro-transactions. If the day ever comes that micro-transactions infect single player offline franchise modes, I'll probably walk away from sports games for good.

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[cdj]

It's still a lot of copies, but given the Star Wars name it is surprising it's underachieving this much in the US compared to COD:

NPD is reporting (via WSJ) that Star Wars Battlefront 2 sales (in the US), were only 882,000 in its debut month. This is in sharp contrast to chief Activision rival Call of Duty: WWII, which instead sold 4.4 million copies during the month using the same metric.

That means that to date, Battlefront 2 has likely only sold about 20% the copies of COD: WWII, if digital sales estimates are accurate, though COD does have a two week head start on it.

Courtesy: Forbes

[jaymo76]

Yeah, based on my first hand experience, the loot boxes and pay to win seemed really overblown. The star cards don't give you massive advantages, so you're not going to gain some massive advantage buying loot boxes. And even then, you have to upgrade your Star cards (and be leveled up to even upgrade them) to improve them, so it ultimately is a grind for everyone, whether you pay or not.Yeah, unfortunately we never quite recovered once NCAA was killed off. I'm not going anywhere, as long as the lights are still on, I'm gonna hang around here, I have no plans on leaving, though I do find myself supplementing my game discussions and looking for people to team up with in games more with sites like OS and Reddit (as shitty and vitriolic as a lot the gaming communities are on that site) as the numbers here dwindle. But I'll always go take TGT teammates in multi-player games any day of the week over randoms or players from other sites.

And agree about any new sites that bdoughty may find. I'm always looking for new places to discuss and get opinions on games, so if bdoughty finds a good place, I'll happily add it to my rotation of gaming sites to visit alongside TGT and others.I still play EA and 2K sports games, I just tend to stick solely to Franchise modes, which by and large have thankfully not been infected by micro-transactions. If the day ever comes that micro-transactions infect single player offline franchise modes, I'll probably walk away from sports games for good.

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It's funny Smooth... I've gone the other way. In the past year I find I have gone back to the days of no longer discussing games with people. I'm just not willing to find another forum and start all over. I'll be here too as long as there is a "here." However, I only visit once or twice a week now where as it used to be 20+ times a day. I give thanks and credit to CDJ et al for trying to keep things going but I would totally understand if one day the plug gets pulled.