Electronic Arts Turned a Star Wars Wargame Into a Slot Machine

I could make a shitshow joke here, but Electronic Arts going to Reddit to do Ask Me Anything about Star Wars Battlefront II is sufficient to itself. Here's a summary of the dumpster fire:

Summary of the EA AMA. pic.twitter.com/WuCmSVLelT

— AleX (@bluefootedtweet) November 15, 2017

Let me do a second-level summary:

• The devs didn't address shit.
• The game is set up as a virtual slot machine, using Skinner box techniques, deliberately.
• Frequency of lootbox acquisition and use determines player performance, not skill. This is Pay To Win.
• Showing players what opponents have deliberately incentivizes lootbox purchases, contrasting with the deliberately tedious grind that is the default state of play. Gear alone matters, and getting that rubbed in your face incentivizes purchases.
• Forced artificial limits on acquisition compels players to stretch out their play sessions, making it impossible to just play to unlock everything in a healthy and responsible manner, further incentivizing lootbox acquisition.
• Lootbox contents are random, further compelling purchases by making a lot of drops utter garbage.

That is gambling. Various gaming commissions are starting to notice this, and they are not happy. When the gambling businesses see someone muscle in on their turf, they get mean and fast. First they'll come hat-in-hand to demand their cut, and EA will be stupid so they will refuse. Then come attack lawyers, outraged media people, and their pet politicians making problems for them in the press, the courts, and in legislatures. This shitshow is just starting to jump off.

If it's not put down soon, then first Lucasfilm and then Disney proper will be forced to deal with EA. The Mouse doesn't like it when someone tarnishes the brand like that, so if it gets that far then more than a few heads will roll. The folks making the fallguys take the blame will be lucky if they only get fired and shoved out of the business for a few years. Big Entertainment is big business, and big business does not like fuckups making messes of easy things- and yes, turning Battlefront into a franchise like Call of Duty is simple from their perspective- and they are right to think so.

Call in the cleaners. This mess is already too big and bad to be left to amateurs.