Many business practices that are unfriendly to the consumer have invaded gaming and to many people, it is gotten too serious to ignore. Mobile phone gaming with free-to-play models have long been riddled with predatory and exploitative micro-transactions for almost as long as mobile gaming has existed, but console game publishers have also grown an increasing attraction to this instant gratification business model. The new game Star Wars Battlefront 2 from developer DICE and publisher Electronic Arts is especially and egregiously guilty, for which a massive internet backlash has recently erupted in a manner and magnitude that is arguably unprecedented for a video game in recent memory. As a little green Jedi master might say, begun, the loot box wars have…
“I have a bad feeling about this…”
Video games, when done right that is, usually have a skill based progression system for advancing yourself in the game. The grind is a natural part of any skill based game, wherein the goal is to problem solve, practice, gain skill and reap your just rewards in a pure meritocratic system.
However, in an increasing number of games, of which 2017’s Battlefront 2 is only one example, progression is inherently linked to in game purchases which unlock prizes and upgrades. EA has essentially implemented a “pay to win” progression model wherein customers can purchase micro-transactions to get better upgrades and advantages without the effort, automatically unbalancing fair competition.
“No reward is worth this!”
It’s a practice that effectively creates a class system wherein the best is determined by those few who either can or regardless will habitually hand over more of their hard earned cash long after they already paid for the base game in order to acquire an unnatural competitive edge. Sorry, Master Yoda, but “do or do not, there is no try,” does not apply.
While you might consider just ignoring these micro-transactions, it appears that EA has made this game so unfathomably time consuming to progress normally according to those who have already played the game. Progress is also not determined by the individual’s level of skill and the rewards are so minimal by normal means that the consumer is de facto required to pay them more money through micro-transactions in order to have any chance of progress or competency.
Truly, no reward is worth this, and it seems that considering the millions of dollars already lost by EA due to many consumers trying to cancel their pre-orders en masse, millions of gamers seem to wholeheartedly agree.
“You will never find a more wretched hive of scum and villainy.”
Purchasing these loot boxes do not even guarantee that you even get exactly what you want. You see, these rewards are randomized, meaning that there is the possibility that you could pay money for the chance at winning big. Whether or not you win big or roll snake eyes is all a matter of luck.
The ultimate problem is that in spite of insistence to the contrary by some in the industry, these loot boxes are not only essentially gambling mechanics, they also happen to be legal for minors since loot boxes don’t qualify as “real gambling” on a technicality according to the Entertainment Software Rating Board (ESRB). Minors having the ability to engage in a form of gambling is a problem that not only plagues the largely toxic and lackluster mobile market but has ever increasingly infected console gaming with these kinds of exploitative and anti-consumer business practices by major publishers, much to the hobby and industry’s detriment.
While I wouldn’t begrudge anyone buying a game that looks fun to play, which this most certainly does, others have strongly suggested not to give a penny to the “scruffy looking nerf herders” at EA, and frankly, I don’t begrudge them either. Honestly, all I want to know is at what point did enjoying video games as a hobby require that I develop a life crippling gambling addiction?