In a statement to The Washington Post, a Lucasfilm spokesperson finally spoke out about the controversy generated by EA in the newly released Star Wars Battlefront II, backing the publisher’s decision to (temporarily) remove the option to spend real money in the game:
“Star Wars has always been about the fans, and no matter if it’s Battlefront or any other Star Wars experience, they (the fans) come first. That’s why we support EA’s decision to temporarily remove in-game payments.”
The question that remains in the air is: did this decision really come from EA?
For those who haven’t been following, EA has been hammered by fans on forums and gaming sites over the Loot Box purchase system. In this system, players willing to shell out generous amounts of money could unlock characters like Darth Vader quickly, gaining an advantage in multiplayer over those who chose to unlock the characters without spending a penny.
Players canceled their purchases and spread all their anger across the internet, leading EA to respond in a Reddit thread and receive the most downvoted comment in the forum’s history.
Since we are talking about Star Wars, one of the most important franchises on the planet, it is obvious that Disney will do everything so that nothing overshadows the release of Episode VIII: on Thursday, Jimmy Pitaro, president of Disney’s consumer products and interactive media division, made a call to EA hours before they pulled the option to make in-game purchases. The Wall Street Journal reported that the call was to express the Disney executives’ unhappiness with how the outrage (of the fans) “reflected on its core property.”
It remains to be seen whether this decision is final or whether the loot boxes will return after the film’s release.
SavePoint Team
Comments (0)
Be the first to comment.