Can 2018 EA redeem themselves from the mistakes of 2017 EA? If there’s anything we’ve seen during EA Play’s presentation at E3 2018, it’s that they are trying to make amends for their prior folly and today proves they at least know what we want from them.
Midway into today's presentation, immediately before they went into detail on the upcoming Clone Wars content for Star Wars Battlefront II, they mentioned the recent revamp of cosmetic content and progression in the game, which cleared the way for EA's early olive branch to the fans. Then, a little bit later, just after the Command and Conquer: Rivals trailer, Andrew Wilson, CEO of Electronic Arts came out and discussed something that led into discussion about the EA Play To Give program. But, the monologue prior to it struck a very important note about their future mission and very much alluded to their recent loot box fiasco.
“I am blessed,” Wilson began, “to be able to work with some of the most creative people on the planet who come to work everyday to make amazing entertainment. Now, what I can say about all of those teams and what I can say about us is we’re always trying to learn and listen and strive to be better. And so, as you look at the ten experiences you’re going to see today, as you play games this week, there’s some things we hope come through.”
Alright, good intro, but where is this going? Is this a new reveal or some big announcement they’re about to make here? No, it’s an apology to the fans they know they wronged.
“First,” he continued, “that at the very core is choice. You as players get to choose how you play, what you play, when you play, and what devices you play on. That in making those choices, you feel you are treated fairly. That no one is given an unfair advantage, or disadvantage, for how they choose to play. That for every moment you invest, we know that you put so much of your life into the games we make. And for every moment that you invest, you feel like you are rewarded and you’re given value for that investment. And most importantly, that the games are fun. That we move past the grind and that these are experiences that truly enhance your lives. And so, as we think through, as all the things that we’re trying to do, know that we want to be better and that we want to make great games.”
There’s more to the monologue afterward (going into the EA Play To Give info), but this part sat very well with me. Bravo! The community spoke and they listened. It took a moment for me to really understand the thought process but with their past using Season Passes, microtransactions, and the dreaded loot boxes, I think EA has finally heard us as fans put our foot down.
An Anthem For How To Do Monetization
In fact, just a few moment later, the creative heads of Anthem, such as Bioware General Manager Casey Hudson and Anthem executive producer Mark Darrah, came out onto the stage to talk about Bioware’s new Destiny 2 and The Division 2 competitor. But, they asked a couple questions as a panel-of-sorts that were plucked from their Twitter. One of the questions, tweeted by @jlagedo, simply asked “Monetization. How? When? Lootbox? Cosmetics?”
Monetization. How? When? Lootbox? Cosmetics?
— João Amaro Lagedo (@jlagedo) June 1, 2018
Darrah’s response boiled down to two parts: Yes, there is going to be microtransactions in Anthem and No, none of them affect gameplay because it’s cosmetic. Everything that can be bought in the game with real money will be able to be seen prior to purchase. No randomization, no RNG. It was short, sweet, and answered a burning question the fans were crossing their fingers about. This is similar to what became of Battlefront II’s loot boxes and monetization in recent months. The difference here is that Anthem isn’t working on the uphill battle from early issues. Bioware and EA have a real chance now to show they’re trying to fix their problems.
It's Okay Not To Have Loot Boxes
As someone that has had high hopes for EA to get their act together, this is a very deep sigh of relief on my end. EA hasn’t made it out of the forest yet, but they’re on the right path to get there. They learned their lesson with Star Wars to see the future of how Anthem plays out, but Battlefield V still offers some additional content for those that buy the Deluxe edition. While there’s emphasis on cosmetics, it’s unsure what the “rewards” for the additional content may include in game. The announcement of a “Royale” mode, post-launch, could also take part on their decisions here. In addition, FIFA 19 could include the loot box booster packs that prior games have had.
With the Star Wars Clone Wars Content in Battlefront II (and the free content updates of games like Titanfall 2), EA has taken it upon themselves to try to remove Season Passes altogether to continue to keep people playing their games as long as possible.
And what of their mobile market? Command and Conquer: Rivals was announced as the mutant love child of Star Wars: Force Arena and Clash Royale, but monetization on a free-to-play game is likely to still be involved, but as some form of currency to beef up units. I think Andrew Wilson said it best above “that no one is given an unfair advantage, or disadvantage, for how they choose to play.” Hmm, is that still true, Andrew? While this is common for the F2P market, this is still a bit of a back and forth on his part, especially with games like Fortnite proving that free-to-play can still earn a chunk of change if done correctly. So, it’s a problem, albeit a problem for another day.
Even though we’re still fighting the good fight, I’m glad that these game publishers are starting to see that loot boxes are akin to gambling and could change the rules on their demographics if they kept it up. All we ask is that they help stop the trend of loot boxes and Season Passes for future games and other companies may follow suit. We understand: The cost of making a game is high and you have to keep paying the people making them. But, there’s always a choice and, even if it took them touching the hot stovetop a couple times, I think EA is starting to make good decisions.
