BATTLEFRONT II’S ONLINE BATTLE

Developers misjudge gamers’ reactions

STAR WARS BATTLEFRONT II has caused a disturbance in the force, and not in the way that Electronic Arts wanted. It’s all down to how hero characters are unlocked. The likes of Luke Skywalker and Darth Vader originally required crystals, which you earned in play, or bought. It took about 40 hours of play to unlock a single hero character. If you wanted to max-out on everything, it would take thousands of hours of play, unless you reached for real money. A system of Loot Crates also attracted criticism for being, essentially, akin to gambling. These can also be purchased, but the contents are random, making the process basically a slot machine.

Those unwilling to spend the extra felt unfairly disadvantaged by richer or less principled players who simply buy a bucketload of Loot Crates and start crafting high-power upgrades from the start. There followed an online storm. EA reacted poorly at first, delivering an unconvincing rationale that merely added fuel to the online fire. This was followed by a reduction in the number of points required. Finally, it dropped the in-game payment system altogether. In a statement it said that it was “sorry we didn’t get this right.” All upgrades and characters now have to be earned through gameplay. However, EA also said that the ability to purchase upgrades in-game may become available at a later date.

Big games cost seriously big money to make, and in-game micropayments can be lucrative. However, they’ve previously been a feature of mobile games that are very cheap, or free to play. If you have to pay to win, having already paid, expect trouble.

We may well have Disney to thank for EA’s climb-down; rumor has it that its executives were frustrated at the level of unhappiness toward one of its prime assets. It’s still not fully fixed either. The Loot Crate system adds a randomness that doesn’t necessarily reward dedicated play. You can still grind out hours for little if you get the wrong drop.