A Wall Street financial analyst has claimed that Star Wars Battlefront 2 players are “overreacting” in regards to the game’s microtransactions, adding that they’re actually being “undercharged” by EA.
KeyBanc Capital Markets analyst Evan Wingren shared a note with CNBC describing to the reaction surrounding the game, describing how the controversy had escalated because of Reddit users and “purist gaming journalists.”. Wingren wrote: 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 [microtransactions].”
In another controversial addition to his statement, Wingren suggested Star Wars fans who are also gamers would be better off skipping the upcoming The Last Jedi altogether if they wanted more value for their money. “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,” he added.
Also: Star Wars Battlefront 2 Sales Down 60% Compared to Battlefront 1
Wingren came to this conclusion after calculating the amount of time players will spend with Battlefront 2 compared to watching The Last Jedi. The analyst estimated that if a player purchases Battlefront 2 for $60 and then spends an additional $20 per month on microtransactions, if they then play the game for 2.5 hours a day for a single year the total will come to “roughly 40 cents per hour of entertainment.” This is compared to an estimate of $3 per hour if watching a movie in a theater. Wingren added that an hour of video game content “is still one of the cheapest forms of entertainment and that “video game publishers are actually charging gamers at a relatively inexpensive rate, and should probably raise prices.”
The point that publishers should raise game prices is one that has repeatedly been raised, with many having stated that game development costs have sky-rocketed thus leading to the rise of microtransactions. However, EA pushing predatory microtransactions as a solution to this is one that hasn’t been well-received by the gaming community, forcing the publisher to go back to the drawing board and reevaluate its stance on loot boxes in the like of Star Wars Battlefront 2 and Need For Speed: Payback.
