EA's Debacle- Why I Am Sympathetic
Hello you guys, Santiny here again.
As many of you are already aware of, EA is going through tough times regarding the micro transaction controversy. Just to fill you in a little bit, EA had originally planned to release Star Wars Battle Front II with a pay to win system. Whoever pays the most will basically kick everybody's butt. Personally, I think that is crappy way to play a game. The whole point of gaming is to overcome challenges. There is no greater reward than having the satisfaction of conquering obstacles. I'm sure EA would love to buy a loot box right now that would give them a chance to earn our trust back.
I have read articles and seen videos about people hating on EA and that we should boycott them- I don't fully agree. It is unfortunate that a few greedy and smug individuals at the top didn't have the foresight to see the problems they were causing. According to Fortune, EA had projected that they would sell 1.7 million units for November and instead sold just below 900,000 units. That is about a 50% decrease.
Executives focus on money whereas developers focus on creativity. Developers are more in tune to what the gamer wants. I understand that ultimately a business needs to make money to keep creating content for us. Obviously, some kind of threshold was passed here and it wasn't too difficult to see. Gamers on the internet had been very vocal about not wanting this pay to win system and yet, EA continued with their plans. However, I think that we should shift our attitude from getting back at EA to supporting them only when they give us what we want. I certainly wouldn't want people to lose their jobs over this as they also have families to go back home to. The bottom line is vote with your hearts and not your anger.
-Dumb Goomba