[dropcap]I[/dropcap]n the months leading up to the release of the Star Wars Battlefront 2 beta and the actual game, fans were so hyped and excited for the games launch. As the games release date grew closer fans became more and more hyped to see the game’s beta finally come out. Once the beta came out the fans hype and excitement began to die as they realized how awful the game was. The developers made so many mistakes but the main mistake that they made was adding in a pay to win system called Microtransactions or in other words “loot boxes.” This sparked a huge uproar in the community and started an enormous controversy over weather it was a good or bad thing that could ruin the game completely, Which led to so much hate towards the game and the developers of the game “EA.”

@EAStarWars So excited the hype is real!!!!

— JETT4TH Gaming (@jett4th) November 13, 2015

What Started It All

In EA’s (Electronic Arts) new video game Star Wars Battlefront 2, they introduced a very big controversy called microtransactions, these microtransactions where shown through an ingame item called loot boxes. Which could be obtained through spending real life money on the game or through many hours of playtime.

As said in this quote from an article on Variety, “With the excitement already building for the year-end release of the latest “Star Wars” film, the new video game “Star Wars: Battlefront II” was poised to capitalize on all the excitement for the vaunted Disney franchise.” [perfectpullquote align=”right” bordertop=”false” cite=”” link=”” color=”” class=”” size=””]Loot Boxes are a quicker alternative at the cost of Real Money.[/perfectpullquote]

“Unfortunately for EA, the game developers of  “Star Wars Battlefront 2“, the controversy and fan rage surrounding microtransactions greatly decreased fan hype and enthusiasm for its actual launch. This lead to increasing consumer discontent with some current trends in the gaming industry.”

“Microtransactions refer to a business model where virtual goods, such as characters, costumes, or weapons, can be purchased online for small sums of real currency. One form of microtransactions are loot boxes, a type of unlockable in-game content that contains a randomized selection of items. These loot boxes can either be earned through normal gameplay or can also often be purchased for real money.”

Official screenshot of Battlefront 2 by. Electronic Arts

The Controversy Is Real

The loot box system that EA introduced in Star Wars Battlefront 2 sparked a huge controversy, most people that criticised this system of pay to win even went as far as to call it “Gambling.”

As said in this quote from a CNN article, “Fans were angry because Battlefront II essentially gave players a choice. They could spend a huge number of hours collecting in-game credits to unlock new features and cooler characters, or pay real money to get them instantly. In the gaming world, this is called “pay to win.” It’s not unusual, but the format has typically been used in mobile games that are free to download. Some gamers calculated that it would take six years of playing two hours a day to unlock all the features in Battlefront II without handing over any real money.”[perfectpullquote align=”full” bordertop=”false” cite=”” link=”” color=”” class=”” size=””]Pay to win is a virtual form of “Gambling”[/perfectpullquote]

“Paying for everything, meanwhile, would cost over $2,000. Electronic Arts has dismissed the idea that its game falls into that category, saying that the “mechanics of Star Wars Battlefront II are not gambling.” A player’s ability to succeed in the game is not dependent on purchasing [loot boxes],” it said in a statement. “Players can also earn [loot boxes] through playing the game and not spending any money at all.”

“While characters like Vader could not be purchased for money, players not willing to invest that amount of time could instead purchase crystals, a separate type of in-game currency than the credits, which could be used to buy loot boxes in the hopes that the boxes would contain the items they want. Crystals ranged in price from $5 for 500 to $100 for 12,000 crystals.”

Great Video By ReviewTechUSA on Microtransactions in Star Wars Battlefront 2

The Other Side Of Things

I personally think that loot boxes are a bad thing but it kinda just depends on how the game developers go about it. If the loot boxes only contain cosmetics/visual item then it’s fine because that wouldn’t give anyone an unfair advantage and it wouldn’t be “Pay to Win.” When the loot boxes contain characters, then it becomes a problem because that can make the game unfair and not fun for everyone, that would be classified as “Pay to Win.” It’s also nice when game developers include loot boxes that are purchasable but you can also obtain loot boxes through gameplay that reward you the exact same things, this is how all game developers should go about loot boxes in there video games. Some people might say that it’s fine to have pay to win in a video game because if your able to get lucky with a loot box and get some crazy overpowered character, you would then be able to destroy everyone and have a ton of fun, but this can make other people very mad. [perfectpullquote align=”left” bordertop=”false” cite=”” link=”” color=”” class=”” size=””] Does EA even care about the community or are they just in it for the Money.[/perfectpullquote]

Heres EA’s opinion on the matter, “The intent is to provide players with a sense of pride and accomplishment for unlocking different heroes. As for cost, we selected initial values based upon data from the Open Beta and other adjustments made to milestone rewards before launch. Among other things, we’re looking at average per-player credit earn rates on a daily basis, and we’ll be making constant adjustments to ensure that players have challenges that are compelling, rewarding, and of course attainable via gameplay. We appreciate the candid feedback, and the passion the community has put forth around the current topics here on Reddit, our forums and across numerous social media outlets. Our team will continue to make changes and monitor community feedback and update everyone as soon and as often as we can.”

What Has Been Done

EA has taken a few actions since the initial beta launch by suspending loot box purchases just for now and reducing the price of a character from 60,000 credits to 15,000 credits. EA didn’t say that they would permanently remove loot boxes but they said that they would suspend the purchase of them for now.

As said in this quote from an article on Variety, “It would take 4,528 hours of gameplay or spending $2,100 to unlock all of the game’s content. EA then cut the unlock prices by 75%, so a top-tier character like Darth Vader now cost 15,000 credits as opposed to 60,000. The day before the game’s wide release, EA announced that while the loot boxes would remain in the game, microtransactions would temporarily be suspended.” [perfectpullquote align=”right” bordertop=”false” cite=”” link=”” color=”” class=”” size=””]EA trying to Resolve the issue by lowering character costs.[/perfectpullquote]

“However, reports that Walt Disney consumer products and interactive media chairman Jimmy Pitaro contacted EA CEO Andrew Wilson hours before the announcement suggested the possibility that Disney strong-armed EA into suspending microtransactions in order to protect the “Star Wars” brand image. But EA also signaled that microtransactions will be returned to the game after changes are made, a reflection of how crucial they are to “Battlefront II” achieving profitability.”

The Conclusion

There was so much hype leading up to the launch of Star Wars Battlefront 2, but once the game actually came out, there was a pay to win system called loot boxes that ruined the game. Loot boxes have been a very big issue in certain video games and have created a massive controversy. Some game developers have even taken action just to save there game but other developers might not care. In the end it’s just another way for a company to make money.

Featured Image by TimM, taken from Gemr