EA Community Manager Calls Concerned Star Wars Battlefront II Fans "Arm Chair Developers"

Star Wars Battlefront II is a highly anticipated title, but recent concerns from fans about a pay to win system has caused some controversy

[bobsmith]

ruining game for every1 else so they can make tons ripping off mostly kids buying these with parents cc I bet

[InTheZoneAC]

They're called whales. These "greedy" companies thrive off whales, a small percentage of trolls who blindly dish out money(most likely their parents).

[Eonjay]

These guys need to go to hell. I'm gonna leave now before I snap.. I'm at work.

[PeaSFor]

They deleted the tweet quickly.......... OR maybe they put it behind a paywall.

[fiveby9]

My response to that guy would be "The armchair gamers in these companies".

Good job picking a fight with the people EA is so desperately courting to buy their product. This guys attitude is basically summed up as, you all don't know anything about game development. So just trust us we're experts. We know better than you.

I love saving money. Thanks, EA and associated technorati, you make my purchasing decisions easier every day.

[morganfell]

First let me say I do not approve of loot boxes in MP that are pay to win. Cosmetics is one thing but impacting gameplay a different matter.

But let me ask you a serious question. What is the difference between pay to win here and pay to win with REQ Packs, that are really just loot crates in HALO 5. Those have been around for 2 years and no one seemed to care.

[RacerX]

I had already learned my EA lesson... This just further justifies it. EA needs to learn a big lesson here and make some big changes.

If enough people are fed up, EA will change.

[Palitera]

Morgan, the difference is probably on the magnitude. It takes a lot to actually ruin a game through greed and we all know EA is first in line for such a feat.

Mts in a 60 usd game is ridiculous, always, for anything. It is just worse when it relates to actual mechanics. And even worse when they are barely obtainable through normal gameplay.

"Everything can be unlocked without microtransactions."

I think we should name this the EA Truth Day or something like that.

Let it echo for a long time.

[Palitera]

PS: Gamespot spent 100 usd in their loot boxes. Ended up with less than half credits needed for Darth Vader.

Think about it for a moment...

240 USD...

For Darth Vader OR Luke Skywalker...

In a Star Wars game...

[morganfell]

@Palitera,

Its pay to win in HALO 5. It isn't time to split hairs on this. Weeks ago people were screaming about gambling with loot boxes. That is what happens in HALO 5. You do not know exactly what you will get. One Legendary item and One Rare item. That's what they tell you. Or something similar depending on the level of REQ you purchase. People on this board were posting left and right that this constitutes gambling and creates addiction. Well there it is and HALO got a pass. Don't get me wrong. I love HALO. I have every book ever published, comics, a stack of HALO loot crates and every game in every form. But PEQ helped ruin HALO 5 because HALO 5 MP was sped up to Call of Duty twitch standards - and I love CoD just not in HALO. The idea being you will die faster and when you die you lose your REQ pack. So go buy another. The system is designed to sell REQ...period. A loot crate in all but name.

[Notellin]

@morganfell Req packs are a horrible example of pay to win. You could only use the weapon variants in warzone which is a mode for casual play. None of it was used in competitive play.

[Leeroyw]

I'm out. No battlefront for me.
I never buy microtransactions anyway. But this is one sale they have lost. Don't treat people like that. I've had enough.

[bloop]

They've lost a sale here too. Locking everything behind either a paywall or an unrealistic grind was enough, but how the publishers/devs are responding to the negative criticism has most certainly put the final nail in the coffin for me. They're really not handling this well at all and are coming across almost child like. It's actually a bit bizarre how they've reacted to the situation. Absolutely no tact what so ever!!

[monkey602]

I had booked Friday off work just to play the game but I don't plan on getting it after seeing the chart on reddit earlier of the hours required to unlock things. I couldn't be bothered with all that.

[Nightmar3Demom]

Yep, lost me as well

[joab777]

I hate when devs speak out in favor of the Publishers. My naive self likes to believe that devs like DICE and Bungie do what they do because they have no choice in the matter, that they have to go along with the Publishers revenue strategies. Both companies made AAA games before they were brought under EA and Activision’s wings.

That said, I’m a bit worried that they may eventually just stop making these games altogether. EA has already abandoned sp games because they aren’t near as profitable. Unfortunately, many of us are spending a ton of money on these things, ie. GTA online, Madden etc. So, the trend will continue. We have to find a happy medium. I thought EA had changed a lot with Titanfall and the free dlc for BF2. They could have made a lot more on TF and didn’t. Oh well!

[XiNatsuDragnel]

Screw you EA seriously these criticism are trying to fix the issues rather than make this into P2W BS that this game is. Dont buy this game, hurt EA where it truly hurts.

[Uken12]

Don't buy any EA titles. They rerelease the same sports games yearly for a premium price. Nothing that can't be fixed with a $5 patch. But hey it's EA and people love that garbage. Also they have a Monopoly with the NFL. Another gold star for EA.
Activision is just as bad. Destiny and Destiny 2. This is actually gambling. I am paying money for a RNG. It's a garbage tactic and should never be supported. EA knows Star Wars is a huge sell, make it look good Graphically and play like garbage. Fans will buy it no matter what. It will sell like crazy.

I don't mind paying for additional content and stuff but this is ridiculous. MS, Sony and Nintendo should really take a firm stance of not allowing this crap.

[-Foxtrot]

Oh great...the closer we get to launch the more immature these guys get on Twitter.

First of all we've seen Paul Keslin, EA's DICE defend the shit out of MTs and the like saying they are "needed" while giving other silly reasons about why they exist. Check the Angry Joe video of him for example.

Then in the last article on here there was a developer at EA called BiggSean66 calling people who were criticising MTs and the like. Read some of his tweets guys...

https://twitter.com/BiggSea...

Now we have another one. It's kind of immature that they are letting complaints get to them when most of the issues fans are voicing are legit complaints. They just hate the fact people are calling their game shit and questioning their practices.

Keep at it guys, they are just making more of an ass of themselves

[TheVetOfGaming]

One video angry Joe rants, then when the developer is being interviewed, Joe just folds.

[-Foxtrot]

I do think there are small traces of doubt in some of the things he says to Paul where it seems Joe is basically like "yeah...well we'll see" and at the end it's coming across he's just being grateful for the interview but we still need to push back against this sought of thing. However he should have been tougher on the guy and called him out of his contradicted statements...now this was done before the "changes" from the beta so he probably couldn't have called him out more but I do think once Joe does his Battlefront II review and see's that the game is still P2W he's got to call them out. He has to bring up that interview and say "YOU guys said it would be fine, I've played it, you were lying, we are all noticing how it's still P2W, so well done ass hats" and because of this maybe give it an even lower score then they would have given it, even if the single player is amazing...dosen't matter give it a low score and put people off buying it. EA would be gutted if they saw that and saw the sales aren't as good as they had hoped.

[EatCrow]

He pushes back in the interview. One thing is disagreeing...the other is being a total arse...Joe is not a total arse.

[Matpan]

He is just being a good sport... No need to call names or get all mad about it. He posts the questions several times, when he believes he is dodged he doubles back on the matter... There is only so much he can do. Of course he shows gratitude for EA reaching out (it´s a nice gesture, albeit, just a gesture in the end), as you are supposed to do as a professional (or aspiring to be so) journalist.... I think he did a good job. In the end he can only hope his message gets through.

The bottom line is, companies speak only one language, cash. The day the consumers TRULY rally behind a message and speak with their pocket (nowadays organization is pretty simple, tools are in the reach of everyone) by holding purchases massively, companies will go out of their way to really address a pressing issue.

[knickstr]

I love how he's playing the victim card on Twitter to deflect. Haha.

[rainslacker]

Sadly, EA has exclusive rights to make Star Wars games. Kind of like how Activision had Spider-man for so long. Given that, they don't really have to worry about other companies making better Star Wars games, and since Star Wars games will likely always sell, and be financed by Disney, EA can pretty much do whatever they want.

If people really want to do something, start complaining to Disney, and ask if EA talking to their fan base the way they are is how Disney wants to be represented.

it's not that Disney is much better most of the time, but they do try to avoid any kind of criticism or controversy. They may not do anything about it, but ultimately, they are in charge of the franchise.

[CrimzonRazor]

They dont have long left with their disney deal, and to much heat on the ip and disney will start shopping around. Dont think for a second disney wont go elsewhere if this hurts their bottom line.

[-Foxtrot]

Shame there's not a way Disney could cut the deal short and use that kind of shit EA have been saying to their fans on Twitter as an excuse. If I was Disney I'd give them the money back for the contract and find another publisher...but honestly I don't know who would be a good fit.

EA - Obviously not
Activision - Lol...nope
Ubisoft - Little better but would be again an online focused MT/Loot box shit storm.
Square Enix - Maybe the same as Ubisoft but they have their hands full with Marvel stuff
Konami - Nooooope
Blizzard - Too busy with online focused games and they take ages to make them
Sega - Well...hmmm...maybe...maybe not. Some games are good others are awful.

If I had to pick I would say Bethesda with the games published by them. Wolfenstein, Elder Scrolls, Fallout, Dishonored, Evil Within, Prey. Single player focused, usually alright quality apart from usual bugs, care more about fans.

Only other thing I could think of is allow Sony, Microsoft and Nintendo to do one Star Wars game each, let them pick a studio, do whatever they want and be like "Have fun...battle it out". That would be my dream because a Star Wars Naughty Dog game :3

[rainslacker]

@Crimson

Question is, would it actually hurt their bottom line?

On top of that, I'd imagine Disney would have been complacent in the actual implementation as it is, as they are going to be pretty protective of their IP. If the controversy is big enough, they may consider other alternatives though, but I wouldn't doubt they'd still be on board with supplemental forms of monetization if it actually works.

@Fox

I'm sure there are clauses which would allow disney to back out of the deal. Kind of like how sports stars have them with their sponsorships. I'm not sure if people just being upset with what was implemented would be in there or not, but likely something about maintaining proper communication with the community, and likely maintaining a certain level of quality or sales would be. As of right now, we don't know how this current issue would affect sales, or if it will at all. Obviously people aren't happy with the way EA is handling the concerns being expressed, but nowadays, you can never actually please everyone.

I wouldn't mind seeing Disney continuing to maintaining the franchise, as they have their own publishing house, and passing it onto 3rd party developers like Insomniac or P*. Developers with a mostly proven track record for designing and delivering good games. I don't think it would remove any kind of MT or anything, but at least they could maybe come up with something more acceptable to the overall community.

However, I think it won't happen because of this. People in forums tend to express their discontent in a way that isn't overly productive for getting stuff done, and eventually they move onto the next thing. Even EA's response here is likely to be forgotten. Just look at all the stupid things that EA has said over the years which marginalize the communities concerns, and they are still one of the largest and most successful publishers in the world.

[NovusTerminus]

I don't agree with this guy saying this as his defense, certainly not when the complaints in this case are valid.

But there are a lot of "Arm Chair Developers" on the internet.

[TheVetOfGaming]

It's like that with everything. Armchair scientists who have proof the earth is flat haha

[InTheZoneAC]

No one believes the Earth is flat

[Ittoittosai]

@inTheZoneAC

unfortunately there are some morons who do and no matter what you say to them they will believe it. I think the best response Ive heard from a scientist was "well where is the edge of the planet then? cause thats where Im building my house, cause I want to build my bed room with a glass floor looking over the edge." perfect

[DonkeyWalrus]

@Ittoittosai

But then those flat earthers would just say "you can't build your house on the edge because it's surrounded by a giant ice wall all the way around that's guarded by all the militaries in the world. Even if you could get to the edge, the impenetrable dome that covers the planet would prevent you from having a room that extends beyond it."

They actually believe that.

[Mirdus]

Have they explained where meteorites / asteroids come from?

[EatCrow]

ANd what do you think the developers who think of game systems do all day?
They likely sit in armchairs at meetings.

Concept developmental takes time...by time I mean a lot of thoughts and ideas...these are done sometimes while sitting other times standing...whatever works for the individual.

The invention of the Nike logo came from a student. So this kind of response is really ignorant.

[fiveby9]

To be fair, it's mostly not developers at fault here. They code what they are told to code. It's game designers driven by business people. I get it's a business, but when many in the buying public call out what they see as a sad turn of events in game design, the company attacks the customer? Not smart. Few gamers are enthusiastic about "longterm engagement and continued monetization" as a business practice.

[Dirtnapstor]

Agreed. Too many gamers out there thinking they're experts when it comes to development. I don't care about the loot boxes either way. I think this whole issue has been overblown. Don't understand the uproar. You do not have to buy them to play. If someone wants to invest, so what.
And here's the thing...If the community as a whole hates the idea, then I guess the whole community will not buy in to the loot boxes, right? Apparently everyone hates this "pay-to-win", so that means no one will be partaking. No unfair advantages, problem solved.
Now the people are bitching about having to play the game "forever" to progress. Isn't that the point? Longevity? Actually playing and enjoying the game for a long time?

[fenome]

This is where the whole situation is tricky though, loot boxes and MTS aren't inherently bad on their own. It all just depends on how they're integrated and whether or not they get implemented into gameplay mechanics. These things started in mobile free to play games and these companies saw games like Candy Crush making $600,000 every single day so they want a piece of that pie.

They've slowly been integrating them into AAA full priced games for years but they've pretty much always been cosmetic only, or can be obtained easily through gameplay non issue stuff, no big deal. Now their real colors are starting to show though and they're starting to actually build their whole games around trying to fleece people into buying this stuff. The grind in most games is the whole fun of the game but now it seems like they're going to intentionally try to make the grind tedious and slowly drip feed minor content to encourage prolonged play and pay.

That's my take on it anyways, honestly I think they deserve the backlash. Give them an inch and they'll steal your wallet. Just make your games fun and let them carry themselves on their own legs. Provide new proper content that people will happily pay for, win/win for everybody.
Don't take advantage of loyal fan bases trying to catch whales, they'll keep supporting you as long as you keep supporting them.

[EatCrow]

No. The point is a good game.
Longevity depends on the kind of game. If a game decides to gear their mechanics around lootboxes...its a bad game. Gambling mechanics should not be they way you progress in a console video game.

No different from a pretty looking mobile game.
Paying to win isnt the issue entirely...if everyone who buys that game is rich with an endless supply of money then paying more wouldnt be an issue now would it.
The problem is there are gamers who have that extra cash to spend and who will spend it. They get an advantage over those who choose not to spend it. Thats the issue.

"You do not have to buy them to play. If someone wants to invest, so what."
No you dont have to buy them to play. But if the community decides to buy...either you buy or youll get owned.
The game doesnt look like its centered around skill so that can only get you so far.

"Don't understand the uproar."
Sure you dont. Lets pretend every single game released this gen has released with a pay to progress mechanic.

[NapalmSanctuary]

The systems in this game were built around incentivizing MT purchases. Its the most obvious form of bad game design there is. Specifically cause it never tried to be quality game design in terms of reinforcing and emphasizing the good qualities of the game, as well as incentivizing players to do well.

If heroes had to be locked, they should be unlocked by either gaining certain ranks, or a separate xp earned by proper use of specific troop classes.

Star cards shouldn't be cards. Thats the most generic implementations of equipment and skills Ive ever seen. They should be represented as loudout items and Equipable skills, according to whatever troop class you're setting up. And they shouldn't be upgraded by an extremely hard to come by currency like upgrade points. They should be upgraded by using the relevant trooper class with them equipped. Attaining the cards should be set to trooper class specific levels/ranks, as should the number of cards the player can equip (not overall player rank).

Loot boxes should never have been in the game in the first place. They were exhausting to grind credits for when they were only 1000/1200 credits. Now that they are 2,200 to 4000 credits per box, its a straight up pain in the ass. They serve little purpose other than to distract players from the actual fun of the game and to line EA's pockets with MT profit. If they had to have a random aspect to attaining certain items in the game they should have just implemented a drop system where after every match you get a random item(s).

Everything I just listed would have reinforced the good aspects of this game and incentivized good player performance. It also would have generated nothing but positive word of mouth and review scores for the game, driving sales/profits through the roof. Good business and good game design are not mutually exclusive, as the industry would have us think.

[Dirtnapstor]

@respondents
Thanks for the constructive answers. I had already seen the interview with Angry Joe, was hoping Paul was not sidestepping the questions deliberately. Guess so...EA would have hanged him. DreamcastGuy laid out a pretty good explanation regarding the flaws of this loot system as well.

[InTheZoneAC]

It's really sad when people start justifying their trolling such as this. You are so oblivious to the system designed around progression and loot boxes I'm surprised you managed to even find the comment section, let alone this site. At least understand the entirety of the situation. I have no idea why anyone would defend what many of us saw coming, especially from a publisher such as EA

[Dirtnapstor]

@InTheZoneASS
That was not a constructive response... I'm not trolling or oblivious, until the games official release, just objectively hoping that my favorite developer isn't falling into the trap that has begun to plague gaming. You're the one trolling. Quit waiving your self-righteous flag as if you have the inside scoop.

[rainslacker]

Arm chair developer is more like someone who acts like they could do better, and proceeds to talk about how they'd do something different. A consumer who is unhappy with a product is quite a different thing. They should be respected, and listened to. Even if you aren't going to fix what they have a problem with, still treat them with respect and not like they're just whiny little children.

[NapalmSanctuary]

When one has played multitudes of games that have done player progression a million times better than this game has, its not hard to be specific about improvements. They can call it armchair development all they want. The simple fact is that they openly invite it when they crap the bed so badly.

[rainslacker]

I realize that there are those who can recognize better ways to do things, but at the same time, it a difference between discussing those things and demanding those things. I'm sure in this case there was some of both, and this reply from EA tends to group everyone into those who are demanding such things. That's a problem, because it ignores those with valid complaints who actually want to see positive change, and tends to avoid actually addressing the real criticism that exists.

For the most part, a company making a consumer product has to treat their customers with respect, even if they don't think that highly of them. In this case, generalizing the concerns meant disrespecting their customers.

[jrshankill]

the tweet had nothing to do with SWBF2 either

[Liqu1d]

What a great community manager. /s

[Snookies12]

A shame, this game could have been something incredible if the developers actually put love and dedication into it.

[RegorL]

You really think there is no love and dedication in this?

Would be very interesting if one journalist were to work as embedded in a game developing company like DICE.
Just to see what kind of work goes into it, what kind of compromises have to be made.

[NapalmSanctuary]

The game, itself, is great. Its the player progression/loot box system that is such a garbage fire.

[strayanalog]

Wow, even EA's own Community Manager puts the "ass" in class. EA certainly knows how to pick them.

[Chaosdreams]

There's a fire at the doorstep of Battlefront 2 and they have no way of putting it out - and how could they? When EA only supplies gasoline instead of water.

[slate91]

Uh oh, this is a battle they won't be able to win.

[RegorL]

For some strange reason they always loose. If EA gave away their games people would complain that if they just had requested $60 they could have done a much better game.

[BlackTar187]

EA is a crap company and you trying to stick up for them in some way makes me want to throw up.

[RegorL]

@BlackTar187, yea - it is feels great to be against those big multinational corporations... doesn't it.

Like McDonalds, Coca Cola crap mass produced food!
On top of that Justin Bieber, Tailor Swift, ... just releases crap mass produced music!
Netflix, Fox, ... only shows crap cheap mass produced programs!

But know what. Games takes a lot of longer time to make than hamburger, latest single or even album, or even a TV series - there are no mass produced games (well some puzzle games on mobile... but reaching the finish needed to actually sell takes work)

As a software engineer I can see that EA is far from a crap company. Their games works. Lower than expected number of bugs IMHO. They also work with a difficult type of games often with higher frame rate and player count than competitive games...

As a hobby photographer I can see that their rendering is great, few games looks as real.

And their audio design has few peers...

Others can be as good in a few areas but I know none that is as good in all areas.

So what is crap about them?

PS
Please don't throw up ;)

[BlackTar187]

And confirmed. 1/2 of what you said is irrelevant to consumers.

[NapalmSanctuary]

They built the game progression around MTs, and in doing so, completely took their consumers for granted. Much like they did when they made the last SWBF, with so little content and no gameplay depth at such a high price. If they were more interested in serving the consumer, like companies with good reputations do, instead of just thinking about short term profits, they would actually be much more successful and profitable, not to mention, sustainable for the long term in those profits.

[RegorL]

@BlackTar187, "1/2 of what you said is irrelevant"

* few bugs
* high frame rate
* high player count
* realistic rendering
* great audio design
+ hitting release dates

Now I am confused, what half is irrelevant to consumers?

@NapalmSanctuary, how many times do they have to say that MTs are optional? that you can not even reach the highest levels with MT - you have to play... [Worst company: you HAVE to play 40 hour for one hero]

Releasing in time is what keeps you profitable. Your budget to build a game is mostly humans: developers, artists and testers. Suppose they delayed EA/Battlefront two years and released Battlefront 2 as Battlefront now...
Twice the development cost (when you are up to speed you burn resources faster), would it sell twice?
Not a chance, missing Disney film restart, fans of the series will buy only one instead of two. Thought $60 was to much, you had several chances to buy if for less during this year.

We will see what happens to CD Project. During Witcher 3 development they have built up a big organisation, for how long will the money they earned support this organisation? Lets assume five years.
If they could release new games every second year, they would survive releasing a lesser success. They get at least another chance before running out of money. Releasing every fifth year on the other hand and you have to get a success or you will be knocking on EAs door asking them to buy you...
Releasing every fifth year adds another problem, every second game will be on new generation of consoles, maybe requiring you to start over to improve your graphics/AI whatever - restarts are expensive.
EA has managed to have several new games available at each console release...

[dboyman]

I also see Disney after the exclusivity agreement is done dropping EA like a hot potato and doing shopping for a new game publisher if they are not doing so already. Disney is the big company not wanting such issues harming there big IP...

[fr0sty]

That's like all the people in a restaurant saying "this food sucks!" and the cook walking out and saying "y'all are just a bunch of armchair chefs, you don't know what you're talking about when you say the food doesn't taste good, because you're not real chefs".

[RegorL]

If they said "this food sucks!" before actually getting their plates - then yes!

[northpaws]

@RegorL

You don't need to try it to know it sucks when you are paying $40 for steak and fries, and then realize you need to pay another $10 to unlock the fries, plus $3 for the ketchup, $3 for the utensils and the $1 for the napkin.

[BlackTar187]

^^ Confirmed EA employee.

[RegorL]

@northpaws If you do not like the food - do not order! Simple as that. But others might find the offer OK.
There are lots of restaurants where you pay $40 for a steak, and additional payment even for frites!

In this case you pay $40 and do not HAVE to pay anything extra, you will get the same quality food as those who are in a hurry and pay an extra $10.

Enjoy your meal! (A game is not just _a_ meal, especially not a multi player game - you easily play more than 20 hours => $4 / hour)

When playing mobile games I never buy any shortcuts - why should I, what't the hurry? I mean I am playing to use some time when travelling...

@BlackTar187, No, I am not an EA employee. But I am a software developer, but not in games...

[DonkeyWalrus]

I mean you could just walk into a kitchen and tell if the food is going to suck. Is it all frozen and weeks old? Is the kitchen filthy? Are they microwaving everything? Do they even use any seasonings? A $40 steak better be a fresh cut, fat trimmed, seasoned well and cooked perfectly. Same concept can apply to video games.

[northpaws]

@RegorL

Yes, I do not like the food and I won't order. This is not a free-to-pay mobile game, this is a competitive multiplayer games, the differences between good and bad players should be skills and experiences, not the amount of extra money they spent. I am ok when loot boxes and MTs are just cosmetic things, but when I need to spend hours for one loot box, and then you need to pray to have the cards you need to advance your choice of classes, weapons and skills, it is just disgusting, it is not even like leveling up, it is totally by luck. It is not consumers friendly, it is not fun, the only purpose is to make people lose patience and then pay extra for loot boxes. It basically sacrifice everyone's time and enjoyments just so they can earn extra from the bunch of people who are willing to spend. This is one of the worst implementations of MT & Lootboxes I have ever seen. I am not stopping you from getting the game, go ahead and enjoy, I am just voicing my opinions, as a long time gamer who just want the best for the industry.

[XStation4pio_Pro]

LMFAO

[2pacalypsenow]

Wow.

[UCForce]

EA, you are not helping. You only cause more trouble.

[Sgt_Slaughter]

This is the most downvotes I have ever seen for a Reddit comment, and it now belongs to EA:

https://www.reddit.com/r/St...

[PapaBop]

Lol it's the most downvoted in reddit history.

[Gamist2dot0]

I like those numbers! Hope it keeps climbing! lol

[Zabatsu]

Thanks for providing the link, placed one more downvote in there!

[Jon_Targaryen]

LOL the thread got locked! LMAO!!!

[subtenko]

23 reddit gold though, you know its fake land over there...

[Sgt_Slaughter]

Up to 34 now and almost 400K this is insane

[Zabatsu]

Hah, breaking 500k @Reddit soon. This is awesome. Taste the fury EA.

[DillyDilly]

Does EA get voted worst company of the year again ?

[Dante101]

I hope Disney cancels their star wars contract with EA worse company to have representing the star wars franchise hopefully they do it before 2019 cuz they haven't done anything well with the rights

[Christopher]

Actually, EA and Disney are a lot alike. Disney makes great content, but they nickel and dime everyone they can, including their requirements for cinemas to play the upcoming Star Wars movie requiring 65% of ticket draw and four weeks of prime theater viewing only.

[Christopher]

***Around 65% for several weeks is not unusual for a major release from any studio ***

Wrong right off the bat. It's the highest ever asked by ten percent since this method has been used. There norm is around 45% with 55% being the asking price for old major movies.

***Disney's Marvel and Lucasfilm divisions and WB DC films often get 100% of ticket sales for the first weekend because it almost certainly a guaranteed 100% sell out which in turn means lots more of those $7 colas, $8 popcorns, $5 hot dogs, ***

This is entirely false.

[rainslacker]

People would be better off complaining to Disney over this stuff than EA.

However, Disney would have signed off on the MT, and obviously they want to make as much money as possible off the games as well.

however, Disney doesn't like too much controversy surrounding them, so make enough fuss, and at least they'll address it better than EA would, because EA is prone to blaming the community, or downright belittling them because they know the vocal don't make up a huge portion of the market.

[OC_MurphysLaw]

And that would be what I would call..... a bad community manager. The idea behind a community manager is to cultivate the community and help it thrive....not drive a wedge between it and your company. Well done Mat Everett, doing exactly the opposite of what you should...well done!

[ziggurcat]

good job at digging that hole, EA.

[Automatic79]

Bad reputation before launch. Disney might end there deal with EA if this continues.

[thejigisup]

What a crap response. https://media.giphy.com/med...

[cellfluid]

Just don't buy the game.. Problem solved

[LateNightThirst]

Video games are a BUSINESS, no they don't make games so you can enjoy it then rub them off and say good job. These developers have bills to pay and if a publisher invests say 300 million and sees back only $20 million from retail, what secures their job in the future? Your kind words on N4G?

Microtransactions exist because the economy of game development has dramatically rose in recent years and this is a way of making money on the back end. Now I do agree that premium guns that are superior to lower tier ones in drops is BS. But I think criticizing all microtransactions are ridiculous

[Sgt_Slaughter]

Yes, all microtransactions are ridiculous. Only reason a game should include them, is if it was released as F2P at launch.

[rainslacker]

So a Star Wars game which will sell many millions of copies wouldn't pay these devs salaries?

I hate this argument when defending this crap. These devs are already paid.

On top of that, most of the devs in any studio are let go when their jobs are done with any given project. This is done so the publisher can make money. It happens at every studio. These publishers don't care about making sure those contact employees they lay off have jobs, and the Star Wars game will likely rake in over a half a billion dollars in revenue in the first month.

MT exist so publishers can make more money. Plain and simple. Games can sell well enough today to support their development, just the publishers are relying on a belief that exists from the time when that wasn't the case. Not all games sell well, but many do, and there are more successes today than there were just one generation ago. But a game with MT not selling well is likely to be considered just as much a failure as one without.

On top of that, 300 million? Even the most expensive game ever made, GTA5 only had a 200 million dollar budget. The average AAA game has a budget of 30-50 million, with another varying sum for marketing. But with SW:BF, Sony is paying for that marketing, so EA doesn't have to worry about that.

Whose job is going to be lost if this game didn't have MT? Please, I'd really like to know.

[Max-Zorin]

Worst company in America for you.

[Mobis-New-Nest]

You got that right.

[ocelot07]

I planned on getting this second hand due to lootboxes. The way EA are handling things recently I don't think I will even give this game any of my time.

[yeahright2]

Second hand is fine, just stay away from the MT and dlc and they won't see a dime.

[Jinger]

Been playing for a bit on EA Access and have had no issues with the lootboxes. You unlock them at a decent pace as long as you're doing the challenges and such. For example you can get a "Lightside Hero Pack" by playing the Light Side arcade missions. I have even gotten premium currency (the currency you can buy from the store) from one of my daily lootboxes. I have had 0 temptations to spend my money on buying the currency and have just been enjoying the game.

[Cmoney007]

I would love to see a video of that. It is just better to flip a coin when it comes to any game published by EA. I can give some examples of horrible ideas that EA has come up with.

[Jinger]

What do you mean you want to see a video of that?

[Sgt_Slaughter]

Shocked they didn't shoehorn in the old Online Pass bullshit

[Gamist2dot0]

Yes, the arm chairs that's paying you...or won't be.

[Warhead7]

Not a smart move to call your consumers that, especially when they have spent a lot of money on a game that they feel has seriously problems in.

[NohansenBoy]

How many times has EA been called worst company in America?

[datriax]

Not enough....

[datriax]

lol What else would you expect from the bottom feeders of the industry? These guys have the integrity of your common thug, and couldn't give 2 s**ts about ripping off anyone.

Anyone who listens to this damage control, PR bulls**t, is just a colossal moron.

[opinionated]

Lmao! I would actually give EA props for fighting back if they didn’t have a long history of caving to any SJW fruitcake that cried on their shoulder and the “arm chair development” of their micromanagement publisher suits. The window of fighting back was lost a long time ago.

[yeahright2]

SJW? really? you find a way to bring that nonsense into even this?

[opinionated]

Were you triggered? I was making a compassion to what they cave on. Like the way they caved in the article. It was relevant dummy, pull your parties out.

[yeahright2]

not triggered, just rolling my eyes at you.

[Jon_Targaryen]

This kids, this is how you kill your brand.

[Cmoney007]

So EA and DICE are starting to ruin Star Wars games? Amazing.

[RegorL]

If EA had released Witcher 3... there would be no end to the complaining...

That is just how it is, but they will still sell a lot because the community on forums like this is really small...

[Cmoney007]

I have a feeling the game will make a good profit also.

[BlackTar187]

Regorl

be honest do you work for EA?

[RegorL]

@BlackTar187, no - how about you, do you work?

[BlackTar187]

Yea I work. Nice try

[NotAfanBoyy]

EA needs to have their ego deflated. I'm not buying Battlefront II. Plenty other good games to choose.

[Profchaos]

Hurling insults at their fan base has worked wonders for them before cough mass effect cough sim city.

[yomfweeee]

So he deleted the tweet and then said it was never about SWBF2? Just a coincidence it was the same day as the other Dev coming off has an idiot about MT.

EA should tell these people to shut their mouths.

[yeahokwhatever]

To be fair, you ARE all a bunch of loser armchair developers who generally have no idea what you're talking about. ahhahahaa Shame on EA for pointing it out. Shame!

[tigertron]

I thoroughly enjoyed the beta but after what I've heard and now this, I'm very tempted to cancel my pre-order like I did with the last game.

[GeraltOfRevia]

They have all these anti-consumer preacises and they call out people for questioning them yet everyone still supports them. The least you could do is not buy the game new.

[PlayableGamez-]

EA it's time to stop

[Averyashimself]

Almost no one in this entire community is a fan of microtransactions. Why would they be dumb enough to still include them? There only going to keep losing players.

[yeahright2]

You underestimate the casual. the causal gamer isn't on here, probably doesn't give MT a second thought, just buys when they think something is cool. and it's not a big deal because they only buy the biggest of games, COD, battlefield, battlefront, and the like.
EA is counting on us being fans of MT, they're counting on the overwhelming majority of gamers being casuals that are indifferent about them, and buy a few MT here and there while they are hunting for whales.

[ninsigma]

Clever...

[TRYNDAREUS]

If i had the money I would create my own commercial exposing this dogs shit of a game, and have it played during Britains got talent so every kid and parent can see this bullshit this game has to offer. My 2 boys asked for this game for Christmas and after reading this they have asked me to cancel them. Glad they saw sense.

[FlameWater]

To the arm chair developers, what are you going to do? Stop buying micro transactions, DLC, loot boxes? Of course not you will wait for the next new shiny game, pre-order and come back to game forums to bitch. The cycle continues

[rainslacker]

I dunno. I complain myself. I can't remember the last EA game I brought. If i had some real issue, I'd take it up elsewhere directly with the company, then move on, but I'm free to discuss it elsewhere.

Only DLC I'll buy is substantial story based DLC, the rest I have absolutely no desire to spend money on.

Granted, more generally speaking, there are a lot of people that will partake in such things, but I'd imagine most of that comes from the part of the user base which actually doesn't pay much attention, or doesn't care at all. I'm sure there are a few here who complain, and still don't boycott, but overall, the hardcore gaming community which is vocal about this stuff are a pretty small portion of the market.

[Cyro]

Giving Star Wars to EA was a huge mistake. I was actually excited at first because I thought they would just be lazy and make it Battlefield with a Star Wars skin but no they just completely messed up and did their own thing that no one asked for. Maybe they will get it right the second time? nope messed up again. I hope this game bombs but it probably won't since the Star Wars name will be enough to carry it alongside the upcoming movie.

[Nacho_Z]

EA seem to be regularly shooting themselves in the foot lately.

[VTKC]

This is not looking good for EA. Someone tell that manager his douchebag is showing. This is getting worser as it gets closer to release. Will this be another "LAWBREAKERS" moment?

[PistolsAtDawn]

He isn't wrong

[isarai]

i get it can be frustrating having outsiders telling you how to do their job when they don't know what happens in the studios, but you can't play victim for avid consumers of your product calling you out when you pull some shit they don't like (in this case REEEAAAALLLYYY don't like) would have been better off saying nothing and making what changes you can post launch letting your actions speak for you, it's working for Ubisoft with the crazy revival of Rainbow Six Siege and somewhat rivival of the Division.

Look man you want lootboxes fine, but make that shit cosmetic, and use your mountains of cash to design really cool skins, armor and other aesthetic goods, people will go nuts over that shit, hell people go nuts over a simple butterfly knife in CSGO just cause it's rare, doesn't even look fancy, it's just rare. make some special trooper armor decals/colors, let me unlock new laser effects/colors (doesn't got to be outlandish, just like a more jagged red beam that sounds different? stuff like that) and how about you actually put effort into the winning pose thingy, seriously they look like simple stills from basic idle animations.

[rainslacker]

Yeah. Blizzard is doing pretty well with their MT stuff. Although I haven't played since they started their new currency stuff, but they used to do a lot of cool skins, mounts, or special perks for leveling up additional characters, which didn't really affect PVP at all because they were typically alts.

Personally, I don't have a problem with those kinds of things, and I don't think most people do....particularly if they can be gotten through other means. I know a lot of games do this now, and don't really get any heat about it, except for the random equating of those things to things like we have here to try and make it acceptable because hey, that other company does it.

[RyanShutup]

lol... this will surely go well for EA.

[Nybz]

I still find myself popping people's heads off who are stacked with crazy purple cards. I think whats happening is we the gamer's want a fair and balanced playing field, but in a game as chaotic as Battlefield, there are moments where you're able to take advantage of people's lack of awareness by playing in a more "cheesy" way to get your kills, resulting in making people second guess and question their decision of pulling out a credit card to begin with.

Though, i'm sure a talented fragger, with awareness and an understanding of movement skill in battlefield WITH those really amazing cards become an actual problem, but those people are far and few between.

I have yet to see data that shows someone buying something in Battlefront 2 that allows people to get "1 shotted", which essentially would be considered god mode to someone who has great aim - so far it's all quality of life tweaks such as shorter cool downs, the ability to heal a little better (which btw isn't as intense as you'd think in Battlefront 2, it's far from having an invisible pocket healer on you, you still will die and not survive a 2v1 unless the 2 fighting you at the same time have a hard time aiming.)

I dunno, me and my crappy white cards are chilling and I'm enjoying the game so far.

[Nybz]

Pointing blame at loot boxes for unfair gameplay is short sighted and surface level.

We, the gamers and consumers of their product must begin demanding more from developers, and not just get angry and start threatening the lives of these humans working their day job at a studio.

We must encourage developers with their seemingly limitless resources to create proper matchmaking systems designed to help balance the community so that casuals can remain casual and enjoy their time with one another and allow competitive people to push the bar and battle with like-minded individuals.

This way two different mindsets can coexist without ruining each others enjoyment.

Markets look at gamers and treats gamers like children, because we don't make it a habit to demand more from devs, instead we starts to get loud, point fingers and threaten/beg for changes instead of looking for the head of the snake.

Matchmaking if done right, will help greatly so that people's time isnt ruined by johnny-go-loot box pub stomping a bunch of people who would rather not drain their bank account for gear.

This could be our start for this change, if asked correctly. Until then, these dev's are taking OUR money and giving us bare minimum because they can since there is no actual unified coherent demand, we have to make these companies better with the use of social media.

[Vectrexer]

Well it's the so called armchair developers that's paying your salary!
I hope this game fails only because they're trying to milk money out of paying customers that they shouldn't!

[SirBradders]

After watching angry joe video I canelled my pre order. After hearing this I will try to convince more to cancel their preorder.

[lio_convoy]

Wow. After the disaster that the first game was (I totally regret ever spending a dime on it) and now this? Yeah, thanks, but no thanks. -1 for me ever buying it. Even when it inevitably drops to $19.99 at Wal-Mart in 6 months.

[Artemidorus]

EA showing it's true colours, angry butthurt clowns.

Boycott these idiots, they think it's ok to let people spend alot of money on something when they already paid a fee for the physical copy.

I could buy the latest console with games if I did everything they asked.

[Chexs1990]

Who the f**k do they think they are! We're the ones who has to buy their games. F*****g arrogant a*****es... I'm done, EA can go sit on a bomb

[uth11]

Sounds about right

*graba popcorn*

[ChristopherJack]

I don't care either way. If SWBF2-2 is a good game, I'll get it, & I'll enjoy it. Microtransactions suck but unless the game requires them to continue, I don't care. Darth Vader being a late game unlock is odd, considering most won't players wouldn't get far enough to unlock the franchises most iconic character.
The outrage community was wrong about Shadow of War so I'd be happy to give Dice the benefit of the doubt.
It's unfortunate when publishers force unpopular choices onto developers, would be a shame if the core game was good but it bombed because executive ego- we know who'll suffer there & it won't be the executives.
Only real way to support good developers is to buy & play the game without touching the microtransactions.
By all means keep the outage going, it DOES have an impact, hopefully the next game will be star card & drop box free, plays like a warfare game rather than arena shooter & many more beloved features. Just keep your outrage accurate.

[RabbitFly]

I don't feel like the outrage ever will be accurate. It is a bit sad, but I guess it is human.

People just want stuff to be angry at it seems.

Darth Vader as a late game unlock makes more sense than any other thing being a late game unlock. He is the most iconic and beloved/feared character in the entire franchise. As an unlock he is the best incentive to play the game.

When the estimate is a dozen or so hours it is really not a lot to ask either.

[ChristopherJack]

I think the issue is just that, he's the most iconic character yet it takes dozens of hours to reach him. It'd be a smart move if people weren't outraged but realistically, in this world, how many people are going to put in those hours? Many will but the casual gamers who are by far the majority, they won't put anymore than 10-20 hours into MP.

EA should've seen the backlash & put an awesome but less iconic character as the late game unlock- like Mace Windu or Old Ben.

[RabbitFly]

Well longevity and retention rate is statistically much better on MP games than they are on Sp games.

That is not true for everyone of course, but that is where the market is right now. This where the success of Call of Duty, Battlefield and Overwatch comes from.

People putting in hundreds of hours into the multiplayer mode. Yet successful single player games will have a hard time getting people to even finish the story mode.

Mace Windu or Obi-Wan would also probably be fine for late game unlocks. But from an incentive perspective. It makes sense that the later unlocks are "cooler" than the early unlocks. Otherwise people will feel that there is no point in progressing.

[Felsager]

EA, fuck you.

You came in ruining a great experience for the community. You will not get a motherfucking dime out of me. Keep your greed to yourself. I'm not going to support MT in any way or form.

[blanka4545]

Star Wars Force Unleashed here I come yeah!!! haha!

[Good-Smurf]

Hey at least our armchairs are not locked behind starcards.

[OffRoadKing]

Gee I wonder how all the mature and eloquent gamer kids will react to this, lets watch.

[BuildTheWall]

I want this game to fail harder than E.T.

[RabbitFly]

It wont. Star Wars has too much market recognition to fail at this point.

I also question peoples intentions when they say stuff like that. Why do you want it to fail so bad? Don't you want them to keep making Star Wars games? Do you want the people that work at DICE to loose their job? Why would you be so mean spirited?

[windblowsagain]

Everyone.is an armchair dev, just like everyone is a coach when watching football on tv.

But EA just ruining shit again.

BF5 better not be like BF1 and other crap from. Battlefront.

In either case I'm not buying this game.

[happy2b]

No I refuse to pay full price for this game. I already put my trust in you to make battlefront 1, do you remember that I didn't complain, wine, moan groan.... nothing. And you let me down. Also this manager, who gave him his job how can he be so bad at handling this situation.

I do understand it's hard to make the game, your at EA, Disney and George Lucas's mercy and it's tough in general to make the game as well as dealing with the 1000's of screams and yells of the internet it never stops it must suck. My condolences to the actual workers.

[OnionThief]

The trend of attacking their customers really need to stop.
Book publishers don't cry "ugh, entitled readers. They're just armchair authors"
Film publishers don't cry "ugh, entitled moviegoers. They're just armchair directors"
So why is it acceptable for a games publisher to go "ugh, entitled gamers. They're just armchair developers"

It really goes to show how little respect EA have for their audience.

[KillBill]

Seriously why are these people even in charge when they can't communicate with the people they are tasked to communicate with?

[RabbitFly]

To be fair. The gaming community's current outrage is far from objective.

Destiny 2 got hanged for it's microtransaction system. Yet it is one of the least offensive implementations of a system yet. In fact it serves the people playing without paying more than those that pays.

Shadow Of War got hanged out for it's microtransaction system. People claiming the end game grind was extended to incentivize purchases. Yet purchases had almost no effect on the grind whatsoever.

Now Battlefront 2 is being hanged out for having microtransactions, but the outrage is still without any real nuance. If we as a community cannot have a nuanced discussion about the topic. How can we expect the developers to respond.

While many peoples intentions might be good, there is too much noise around such issues that are simply people crying wolf, because they enjoy it.

[DreadGara]

Fuck EA, and fuck Konami too while we are at it.

[corroios]

they are destroying games. I just hope that gamers dont buy this game.

[Fist4achin]

Hey numbnuts, how about giving gamers/fans what they want. Unfortunately, it will sell like hotcakes and they will make tons of money and deem it a success.

[HeroPsychoDreamer]

Those "arm chair developers" are the ones buying the product. Slating you consumer base. Not very wise.

[yeahright2]

They know who they're talking about. And I'm sure they've made the calculation that they can afford to tick off the arm chair devs while banking on casuals and the whales among them to still sell millions.

[Garethvk]

You would think after the fiasco of Mass Effect: Andromeda and their other missteps they would learn. They have been very difficult to deal with of late from a p.r. side and we are debating dropping coverage as It is hard to promote products for a company that has such disdain for consumers and clearly does not get it.

[andrewsquall]

Here is your happily anticipated future moldy that you keep defending. You are welcome to keep it. But please, the next game that talks about mt crap like this, defend it to death again, it makes you look so cool.

[stefd75]

Do they not know that we can destroy their sales, its time that us gamers stand up to companies like EA and say no more. As much as I am a Star Wars fan and as much as I was looking forward to BF2 I have cancelled my order and wont get it until they sort it out and even then I may get it 2nd hand so they dont get the money for it. They want to be greedy and piss the gamers off well we can piss them off. Dont get this game until they sort out their crap and pack it in with their greed. We have the power and always had time we acted on it.

[DJStotty]

EA, Activision need to learn a harsh lesson and quickly, the more people accept this kind of practice the worse it will get.

Abandoning Mass Effect SP DLC to cater to a microtransaction cash cow (Anthem)

These big publishers are being boycotted by me and my friends.

[Kubark]

I hope like hell that gamers will finally say "enough is enough" and hit EA where it hurt$.

[zb1ftw777]

I'm out.

[TheEroica]

Really tough to call video games art when EA is at the helm.

[TheEroica]

Imagine if they just made a kick a$$, fully featured game? One that made the fans excited instead of instantly jaded... Imagine if they didn't come off as sleeze bags and instead got fans in their corner?

Games like this are one reason classic Snes and NES consoles fly off shelves... People want to play video games.

[kevnb]

thats going to help them sell games.

[Parasyte]

Wonder if this guy is going to lose his job. That was one of the dumbest things anyone that works in PR could do.

[jojo319]

Damn..... I wonder if THIS is the actual case that tips the balance back to the consumers. I actually cancelled my preorder (The only reason I preordered was a $10 extra bonus from BB). That being said, I DO realize that development costs have skyrocketed and game prices haven't budged in 15 years. I would MUCH rather just have a price increase than this sh*t though.

[glenn1979]

if you think that's worse? just watch angry joe review of need for speed, that will take the trophy of garbage EA

[deividpaulo]

(4,2*100)/6=30%

[Bleucrunch]

Naaaah no thanks EA, I mean I couldn't stand you either way but this is one arrogant ass post by you. You clearly don't need my money, won't support this game and don't support much of what you release anyways (except Dragon Age......for now).

You do not reference your customers in that way. Screw you!

[capjacksparrow]

When insult your fanbase you do, destroyed your reputation becomes.

[PurpHerbison]

Boohoo

[FloydianAndroid]

All due respect to the “EA Community Manager,” but it’s bad business to insult your fan base. In sports you can call someone an armchair quarterback, because most of the fans never played the sport, however, gamers are the consumer of your business, so you might want to pump the breaks on the insult. It’s easy to be cocky because you know your young fan base will continue to beg their parents for money for microtransactions, but most adult gamers are onto you and your defensiveness proves that you’re scared to death. In the long run you’re gonna have to stop locking content behind paywalls. Thank you, F*** you, good day.