From a business stand point, EA is doing well. Their stock shares are back up to normal. The dip in November/December has quickly recovered and it's no more then a blip on the radar. However game sales are still down. The game sold 1.3 million copies within the first week, but compared to Battlefront's 3.6 million sales, it's abysmal. Battlefront II is still struggling to hit investor expectations, even after factoring the increase sales from Christmas and the release of the 'Last Jedi' movie. By no means is 1.3 million a loss. For a number of studios, that's still a hit. But for EA with over-the-top expectations of the game, the lack of sales did hit their bottom line. In Europe, GTA5 is still selling better than Battlefront II (as well as AssCreed: Origins and Destiny 2).
The microtransactions have yet to be turned back on. It's a good time to try it out if you want to be on a more-level playing field. The fact that microtransactions are still not available is surprising. This is a huge revenue miss for EA. I think many of us have assumed that it would have returned by mid-December; just in time for the holidays. As of the latest EA/DICE posting about the game's upcoming updates, there have been no mentions of microtransactions.
Interesting. Strange. And weird. It's like they are listening to gamers and realizing their crazy money scheme wasn't going to work on us.
Over the past few months the game has been steadily updated to add a map or two and items to the base multi-player without requiring players to pay extra for them. There are also ongoing server updates and continual discounts of the game. I haven't seen it available at full price since it's initial release. Though I'm sure some retailers are still trying to peddle it for $59.99, there isn't a need to buy it for full retail when the sales are abundant.
It seems like there is enough of a core audience playing Battlefront II for EA to continue to push out updates in a timely manner. There are enough predictions that the game will bounce back. While it won't recover from it's "poor" (and I use that term relative to EA and other big AAA studios) start, it will turn a profit for EA over time.
The game is even going to go through with a revamped progression system. This was one of my biggest complaints with multiplayer. It's good to see that the developers are listening and wanting to make this a game that fans and newcommers will enjoy. How long will it last before microtransactions are back? Who knows. It's guaranteed that they will return, even though it will put off a number of players in the process. The game might be better to get rid of the notion entirely. But come on. It's EA. That won't happen.
For now, Battlefront II is holding steady. Games are selling. People are playing. That's enough for EA to handle right now until the next controversy crops up.
Interesting. Strange. And weird. It's like they are listening to gamers and realizing their crazy money scheme wasn't going to work on us.
Over the past few months the game has been steadily updated to add a map or two and items to the base multi-player without requiring players to pay extra for them. There are also ongoing server updates and continual discounts of the game. I haven't seen it available at full price since it's initial release. Though I'm sure some retailers are still trying to peddle it for $59.99, there isn't a need to buy it for full retail when the sales are abundant.
It seems like there is enough of a core audience playing Battlefront II for EA to continue to push out updates in a timely manner. There are enough predictions that the game will bounce back. While it won't recover from it's "poor" (and I use that term relative to EA and other big AAA studios) start, it will turn a profit for EA over time.
The game is even going to go through with a revamped progression system. This was one of my biggest complaints with multiplayer. It's good to see that the developers are listening and wanting to make this a game that fans and newcommers will enjoy. How long will it last before microtransactions are back? Who knows. It's guaranteed that they will return, even though it will put off a number of players in the process. The game might be better to get rid of the notion entirely. But come on. It's EA. That won't happen.
For now, Battlefront II is holding steady. Games are selling. People are playing. That's enough for EA to handle right now until the next controversy crops up.
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