So how about the disaster that is EA and Star Wars: Battlefront II? Hoo boy, I tell ya, watching EA get blasted by gamers, the gaming media, the non gaming media and YouTubers is like watching a never ending train wreck. And I'm loving every minute of it. I've always believed that there is a sadist in all of us, and while some may think it bad to delight in the suffering of others, in the case of EA, it couldn't have happened to a
EA is the cancer of the video game industry. They buy up game developers, really talented ones, spread through the company like said disease and then kill them off. Visceral Games was their latest victim but before that it was Maxis, Westwood Studios, the list goes on and on. It wasn't until the demise of Visceral Games that I realized just how many game developers EA has destroyed. Any game developer that EA sinks their talons into is living on borrowed time.
Nintendo makes lots of bone head decisions. Years after the competition has figured out how to have online gaming networks, the Big N is still floundering about. Their treatment of fans, YouTubers playing their games is deplorable and they kill off fangames, even ones that aren't remakes faster than a falling brick. However, even at their worst, Nintendo and many other game companies for that matter, are nowhere near as bad as EA. Nintendo is out to make money like any other game company but what puts them so far ahead of trash like EA is that Nintendo actually cares about delivering a quality product. EA only cares about the bottom line. They are a company that is solely motivated by greed and that business model has bitten them hard on both butt cheeks.
Disney's chat with EA probably had something to do with the fact that Star Wars Episode VIII releases this month, and having the latest Star Wars game have bullocks like loot boxes mucking up the experience certainly isn't a good look. It was enough to make EA shut off the microtransactions, temporarily, at least. But it isn't just Disney and gamers that are peeved with EA. The money grubbing company has goofed up so bad with Battlefront II that they've attracted the attention of government officials with Chris Lee calling the game "an online casino designed to trap little kids." There's also the little matter of EA losing $3 billion stock value over this whole fiasco. EA shareholders are probably up in arms while the rest of us are sitting back in our chairs, petting our cats, laughing manically.
Normally I don't root for the downfall of a video game company. I wish for them to change, to do better. EA, however, is not going to change. They are more interested in finding ways to make the most money the fastest way possible. The idea of releasing a well made product is a foreign concept to this company. Even after Battlefront II exploded in their faces, EA still went about with microtransactions in Ultimate Fighting Championship 3 and Need for Speed: Payback. I don't think a single tear would be shed if EA were to go under. For far too long EA has gotten away with murder and crummy business practices. This domino effect that Battlefront II has started is some well deserved comeuppance.
I'm sure this whole thing with EA being put on blast and losing money will blow over. Until then, get yourself some popcorn and pull up a chair because as they kids say, "Dis gonna be good!"
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