Star Wars: Battlefront 2 has seen its fair share of the spotlight recently and it doesn't look like it will be going anywhere for the time being. The game has been facing serious backlash over locked content and the push to purchase loot boxes with real money in order to progress in the game. The backlash was so fierce that EA cut the cost of heroes in Star Wars: Battlefront 2 by 75%, as well as cut the campaign credit payout by 75%.
EA has told investors that the game's microtransaction drama won't affect their earnings. One games analyst has come out with a hot take on the situation and this time, it's not Michael Pachter.
According to analyst Evan Wingren of Equity Research Analyst at KeyBanc Capital Markets on video games and eSports, gamers should be paying more for their games. Wingren went on to say that Star Wars Battlefront 2's launch was handled poorly, but the reaction from the gaming community was an "overreaction" from "Star Wars, reddit, and certain purist gaming journalists/outlets" who have a dislike for microtransactions.
"We view the negative reaction to Star Wars Battlefront II (and industry trading sympathy) as an opportunity to add to Electronic Arts, Take-Two, and Activision Blizzard positions. The handling of the SWBFII launch by EA has been poor; despite this, we view the suspension of MTX [micro-transactions] in the near term as a transitory risk. Gamers aren’t overcharged, they’re undercharged (and we’re gamers) … This saga has been a perfect storm for overreaction as it involves EA, Star Wars, reddit, and certain purist gaming journalists/outlets who dislike MTX.
"If you take a step back and look at the data, an hour of video game content is still one of the cheapest forms of entertainment. Quantitative analysis shows that video game publishers are actually charging gamers at a relatively inexpensive rate, and should probably raise prices.
"Despite its inconvenience to the popular press narrative, if you like Star Wars and play video games at an average rate, you’re far better off skipping the movie and playing the game to get the most bang for your buck."
On Wingren's last note of skipping the film for the movie, it should be noted that Star Wars Battlefront 2 reviews don't paint the game in the best light. The campaign is simply 'OK', the multiplayer is fun, but despite microtransactions being temporarily removed, the game still relies heavily on loot boxes for progression – which tend to be too annoying to ignore.
EA is rumored to be considering two methods of re-introducing microtransactions.
[CNBC]
