The build-up to Star Wars: Battlefront II was handled expertly by EA. Each trickle of information, from details on the campaign, to the vast amount of locations and characters — everything felt like EA was finally listening to their wants and needs. The trailers and feature lists looked phenomenal. But then the loot boxes dropped, and the revelation that unlocking Darth Vader or Luke Skywalker would cost 60,000 in-game credits to unlock, which translates to 40-60 hours of in-game playing to unlock (each), or a decent amount of cash through the game’s storefront. Gamers were rightfully furious.
It felt like EA and Dice (and Disney) were betraying the trust of fans who were willing to plop down $60 on day one. They took fans for granted, and expected the cash to roll in. When this complaint was brought up on Reddit, an EA community manager responded with this:
“The intent is to provide players with a sense of pride and accomplishment for unlocking different heroes,” the EA rep wrote on Reddit. “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.”
The post officially broken the record as the most down-voted post in Reddit history. As of this writing on the evening of November 13th, it’s at -481,000 votes. The previous record (which was coordinated to have mass downvotes), was -24,000. When Motherboard pointed out this fact eight hours ago, it was at -280,000.
As news of the post spread, fans looked for a way to get a refund for the game, and the vibe in the community went from gungans dancing in the streets of Naboo at the end of Episode I to Darth Vader saying “no” at the end of Episode 3. Let me illustrate:
From this (fun and happy):
To this (not a good time for anyone):
Thankfully EA listened. Dice slashed the prices of all heroes by 75 percent, bringing Luke Skywalker and Darth Vader down from 60,000 credits to 15,000, Emperor Palpatine, Chewbacca, and Leia Organa for 10,000 credits, and the game’s main character in the campaign, Iden Versio, will cost 5,000. These credits can be earned through unlocking loot crates still, but now getting the full cast of the universe you love will be something actually doable for the average gamer.
You keep talking, and we’ll keep listening.
Today, we’ve drastically reduced the cost of hero unlocks in #StarWarsBattlefrontII. Learn more: https://t.co/H6m6ywGMAh pic.twitter.com/fJoJqWDRmo— EA Star Wars (@EAStarWars) November 13, 2017
It’s a surprise to be sure, but a welcome one.
(Via Motherboard)