[UPDATE 2] EA Listened To Your Half Million Downvotes, Price Of Heroes Dropped 75% In Star Wars Battlefront 2

[iamdarkyoshi]

Time for more anger over microtransactions!

 

 

When reddit user MBMMaverick posted this:

Quote

Seriously? I paid 80$ to have Vader locked?

This is a joke. I'll be contacting EA support for a refund... I can't even playing fucking Darth Vader?!?!? Disgusting. This age of "micro-transactions" has gone WAY too far. Leave it to EA though to stretch the boundaries.

 

(Source)

It sparked quite a frenzy of comments, including one from EA. It said:

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The intent is to provide players with a sense of pride and accomplishment for unlocking different heroes.
As for cost, we selected initial values based upon data from the Open Beta and other adjustments made to milestone rewards before launch. Among other things, we're looking at average per-player credit earn rates on a daily basis, and we'll be making constant adjustments to ensure that players have challenges that are compelling, rewarding, and of course attainable via gameplay.
We appreciate the candid feedback, and the passion the community has put forth around the current topics here on Reddit, our forums and across numerous social media outlets.
Our team will continue to make changes and monitor community feedback and update everyone as soon and as often as we can.

 

(Source)

 

 

At the time of posting this, their post is at negative 487,000 points, setting a new record for most downvotes on a single post (Source)

 

EA took this "Subtle advice" and dropped the price of the top heroes by 75%

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Making games great comes from regular tuning. As one example, today we’re making a substantial change based on what we’ve seen during the Play First trial. There’s been a lot of discussion around the amount of in-game credits (and time) it takes to unlock some of our heroes, especially Luke Skywalker and Darth Vader. Unlocking a hero is a great accomplishment in the game, something we want players to have fun earning. We used data from the beta to help set those levels, but it’s clear that more changes were needed. 

 

So, we’re reducing the amount of credits needed to unlock the top heroes by 75%. Luke Skywalker and Darth Vader will now be available for 15,000 credits; Emperor Palpatine, Chewbacca, and Leia Organa for 10,000 credits; and Iden at 5,000 credits. Based on what we’ve seen in the trial, this amount will make earning these heroes an achievement, but one that will be accessible for all players.

 

(Source)

 

Its nice to see that EA is listening, but I have a better idea... Bring games back to when items were ONLY earned, not purchased.

 

[UPDATE 2] EA Has REMOVED The Refund Button From Their Customer Portal? 

 

This reddit post was actually false.

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The problem is, the bad publicity for EA doesn't seem like it's going to stop just yet. According to numerous Reddit and Twitter threads, EA has removed the refund button from their online portal, seemingly trying to dissuade customers from refunding Battlefront II before launch. The problem is, this story doing the rounds is a bit misleading. EA hasn't suddenly removed a button that would have previously allowed a refund on a pre-ordered game. The refund button never existed for pre-ordered games in the first place. Seriously, there are forum posts going back years from people not being able to get refunds on their pre-ordered games, and being told to go through customer service, instead.

 

(Source)

 

Looks like a bit of confusion there on the original reddit thread. The refund button is NOT there for pre-release games, just normal releases.

 

It still seems that you'll need to wait for about an hour in a support chat to get a refund though.

Edited November 14, 2017 by iamdarkyoshi
Added updated details²

[Cookybiscuit]

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Door-in-the-face_technique

[tp95112]

 Sums it up pretty well. 5:28

[Enderman]

They are 75% of the way to where they should be

[Kobathor]

Taking advice from the SWBF Subreddit to say this - 

We still should NOT praise EA for this decision. If there was not such an explosive outrage, nothing would have changed. We should punish game companies for their anti-consumer practices, and if they change (like they did here), that's NO reason to give them praise.

 

I don't like conspiracy theories, but this change came so quick that I really think it was set up this way. Make the famous heroes mostly impossible to get (even with real money), then change them to be cheap enough to reasonably unlockable through gameplay, and watch the comments of praise and extra buys roll in. I hope it doesn't work. Face in the door marketing at its finest.

[Majestic]

This is how they win. Make it outrageous, get shitstorm and only make it semi-outrageous.

[snortingfrogs]

Battlefront fans when they saw the answer from EA

[Demonking]

So many people let these developers get away with micro transactions that it has come to this. expect it to get worse and the people defending it from the start now look like idiots.

[Biggerisbetter]

I feel the game wont be as popular among the core gamers. They feel burnt and wont purchase the game. Microtransactions has gotten such a bad rap recently it will put people off. I have not brought a game from EA in years and wont be buying any games from them anytime soon. 

[Bcat00]

Zzzzz, this is why i dont play games like these.

 

loaded with unfair nonsense, hackers, and plain boring mechanics

[Derangel]

I'm just going to leave this here: 

 

[Bensemus]

If a feature doesn't improve a game there is no reason to defend it. It's the same with phones. You don't owe companies anything. You are the customer and should be looking out for you, not their bottom line.

[79wjd]

I would really like to see a breakdown of the amount of money development studios spent and earned over the last 20 years compared to the rate of inflation. 

[Lathlaer]

12 minutes ago, Derangel said:

I'm just going to leave this here:

I'm not going to defend EA here because what they did and are doing deserves to be punished by their customers, but to be fair if you take this from the post:

 

Quote

The actual reason why they're going to reduce it is because right now the complaints are that progression takes "too" long - specifically about 40 hours to unlock heroes. They will change it, negligibly, so that the story becomes "We fixed the 40 hour hero requirement!" Of course, the change will make it so that still takes about 37 hours (I'm obviously just making up a number here, but the point is that it's still an absurd requirement)

I'm reading that they reduced this credit requirement by 75% - regardless of the fact if it should have been that way from the beginning or not, it feels like a significant change - so not from 40 to 37 (which he even admitted was made up) but from 40 to 10.

 

Like I said, still should've been like that from the beginning (or even lower, dunno, don't play that game because the eclectic hero selection bugs me as SW fan).

[Sauron]

In my opinion it doesn't matter what they cost, just the fact that paying microtransactions can give you a real ingame advantage completely breaks it for me. Just look at the old battlefront 2 and compare it to this - they added almost nothing of value and put plenty behind bullshit paywalls and dice rolls. This is completely unacceptable when they already demand 60$ for access to the game. The only way to fix this is to completely remove the microtransaction system, but we all know it's never going to happen.

On 11/14/2017 at 1:06 AM, Bensemus said:

If a feature doesn't improve a game there is no reason to defend it. It's the same with phones. You don't owe companies anything. You are the customer and should be looking out for you, not their bottom line.

The one exception could be companies that go out of their way to pay their workers fairly even if it means increasing the cost of the final product. But of course it doesn't apply here.

[Delicieuxz]

I don't know why people are supporting pay-to-pay games at all.

[Bouzoo]

There is absolutely no reason to praise EA here, it is still unacceptable. Also @iamdarkyoshi here you have the direct link.

 

EDIT: Seems like an AMA is inbound.

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In fact, this Wednesday we’d like you to join us for a Reddit AMA with some of the key leads on our team. Stay tuned to our social channels for more info on the AMA, and our blog for continual updates on what we’re seeing, hearing and adjusting in the game.

 

Edited November 14, 2017 by Bouzoo

[Bensemus]

1 minute ago, Sauron said:

The one exception could be companies that go out of their way to pay their workers fairly even if it means increasing the cost of the final product. But of course it doesn't apply here.

Ya the selling price should be set so the product is profitable enough to support the people that made it. 

[iamdarkyoshi]

Just now, Bouzoo said:

There is absolutely no reason to praise EA here, it is still unacceptable. Also @iamdarkyoshi here you have the direct link.

I agree. I did link the direct link in the second quote though

[DarkBlade2117]

4 minutes ago, CUDA_Cores said:

That's pretty much how my negotiations on craigslist work. I lowball the crap out of them (in person of course) and then we end up agreeing on a really low price because I started so low. 

I like to do the good o' "Oh I only have "X amount of money" on me". GTX 970 $120? "Sorry man I only have $100, will that do?"

[Bouzoo]

Just now, iamdarkyoshi said:

I agree. I did link the direct link in the second quote though

It was broken for me, it's all working now.

[D13H4RD]

AAA-gaming in 2017

 

Where customers are walking bags of cash.

[TARS]

Reddit:

 

 

EA:

 

 

[Kobathor]

17 minutes ago, huilun02 said:

People won't stop crying until their unreasonable demands are met... to get post launch support and content all unlocked upfront for free. 

Would you define reasonable demands? Also, post-launch support should always be a given, rather than a privilege. A game often cited is Overwatch, with a launch price of $40 and zero DLC. There's loot crates, but they're strictly cosmetic and never give a gameplay advantage. All new heroes and maps are free for everybody. This game is different from OW, so some content will be locked for you to grind for, but things like maps should be free. CS:GO does the same as OW and it's $15.

17 minutes ago, huilun02 said:

I don't get why this game is such a special snowflake getting so much negativity when other franchises do worse thing and do fuckall for customer feedback.

The good 'ol "you shouldn't complain, there are worse things happening!" that I love so much. Are you saying we should be defending EA for extremely anti-consumer practices (see: you aren't even guaranteed credits from crates, meaning even buying heroes with USD would be hard) because other companies are worse? It's not Call of Duty or Halo 5, so we cannot complain of their wrongdoings! EA are saints for not fucking us over like 343 or Activision I guess.

[Derangel]

45 minutes ago, Bensemus said:

Ya the selling price should be set so the product is profitable enough to support the people that made it. 

It already is. Publishers are pulling in record revenue while spending less per year on development then they have in the past decade.

 

15 minutes ago, huilun02 said:

People won't stop crying until their unreasonable demands are met... to get post launch support and content all unlocked upfront for free. 

 

I don't get why this game is such a special snowflake getting so much negativity when other franchises do worse thing and do fuckall for customer feedback. 

Jesus fucking Christ. You are intentionally misrepresenting the argument. Why? What do you get out of sucking EA's cock? What reason is there to defend anti-consumer practices like this? Do you like being fucked by big publishers? Do you enjoy paying more for less content? Do you enjoy games becoming worse? Do you enjoy these companies destroying good games and studios by forcing games as a service on everything? What is it? What possible reason can you have for defending this bullshit?