Before I start this off, I want to ask the people who are still buying EA games something. Did you all forget that this is the company that actually managed to win the “Worst company of the year” award TWO TIMES IN A ROW? That alone should be enough reason to think that they don’t care about customers but with the Battlefront 2 drama, we can be certain about that.
For those who aren’t following this case on Reddit, the thing that ignited the flame was this Reddit post where TheHotterPotato explained how you need 40 hours, on average, to unlock one hero in the game. 40 hours! Remember, this is a game you have to pay $70 for and after that play 40 hours if you want to control Vader or Sky Walker.
You know how even a low-frequency sound can create a huge avalanche? Well, EA managed to do that. In fact, they managed to piss off almost every single person on Reddit with one single comment. 600k+ downvotes is an all-time record on Reddit. No one came even close to this and it comes as no surprise when you consider that EA wanted to defend their paywall by explaining how the 40-hour grind gives the players a sense of achievement. Remember, this is the worst company of the year, two times in a row… Of course they made it possible to unlock heroes with money.
To show us all how they are listening to their community they have now decreased the cost of heroes by 75%. But it looks like EA wants that award one more time. To prove that they are the worst company (maybe ever) they have completely removed the refund button for Battlefront 2.
You have to give it to them. They really know how to be real douchebags and treat their customers in the worst way possible. I have to admit that I have no idea if this is legal to do but I am 100% sure that EA and moral can’t go in the same sentence. This is the lowest of the low when trying to prevent money loss. With shares going down at Wall Street by 5% we could start assuming that this is a panic move.
I will remind you, one more time, this is the worst company of the year award winner, two times in a row! This is a company that doesn’t care about what you think. This is a company that wants your money and once they get it they will want more. Can we accept that as a standard for EA and then stop preordering their games? I know that they have great titles, I was a FIFA fan once but micro-transactions made me change my mind. If I pay for the game once I see no reason why I should put more money into it so EA is a no-no.
Voting with our wallets is the only way to send a message to these corporate assholes. Sorry for the strong language but I just can’t find a better word for EA right now. May this whole Battlefront situation be a big lesson to all of us, including EA. If the Reddit community can take a stand and bring shares down by 5% we can all do the same and take a stand with them. Don’t buy the game, cancel your preorders and let them know that they made a big mistake. Things are getting worse with micro-transactions every day and if we don’t do something about them they will soon start charging money for bullets in shooter games!
Oh, one more thing. “Worst company of the year” award TWO TIMES IN A ROW!!!! Write that down.
COntent originally posted at Beyond Gaming
I get what you're saying and totally understand why they face such backlash always and all the time. I've been burned by their games a more than once, which I guess is shame on me. I am still kicking myself for Andromeda.
I didn't read their defense post on Reddit but I sure heard about it on the web haha. My only guess is that they wanted to make unlocking those characters truly worth the effort. 40 hours is really excessive though and even someone who really enjoys pouring hours into games like me can't manage the 140 hours needed to unlock the four best characters haha. Apparently, they learned their lesson this time and reduced the cost of those characters, but it is just unbelievable how tone-deaf they are when it comes to the pulse of the modern gamer. Just awesome.
Just talked to a friend of mine who is playing the game. They lowered the cost of heroes but also lowered the rewards. The unlock time is cut by a lot but it's still a grind fest from what I understood.
In the Reddit post they just wanted to wash their hands by explaining that they wanted to give us a sense of acomplishment... They, however, didn't say that heroes are unlockable with money... I know that they want to make as much as possible but this business model with micro-transactions is going too far.
I'm still on the fence about DLCs like with BOTW. I understand that it is a business and these companies pour a crazy amount of man hours into building games like that, but hitting people for the $60 and then an extra $20 on top for the season pass is so shady. My main complaint with that is there is no guarantee that the DLC will be worth it but basically force you to buy the season pass before the content drops for a review. I have stopped pre-ordering many games after getting burned by Assassins Creed on that front a few times I got tired of burning $60 on anger and disappointment. EA is such a powerhouse that I'm really not sure how much they care about gamer loyalty. They have to know on some level that people will just buy a Star Wars game because it's a Star Wars game. It's sad, but at least there are some really great and cheap indies out there.