Just when you thought it was safe to talk about Star Wars Battlefront II again (wait, was it ever safe to talk about it?), a new news report proves just how detrimental the decisions of EA have been. The sequel to the rebooted Battlefront franchise was meant to make the game bigger and better in every way. And to an extent, it did do that. More levels, more characters, more things to do, it was all there. But, a hard progression system AND microtransactions led to major changes right before launch, and that has affected sales.
It was noted earlier that Battlefront II sales in the UK were down a staggering amount from the original. But now, the Wall Street Journal is reporting that for the month of November, the game didn’t even crack 1 million. Which is significant on numerous levels. Not the least of which is that the original Battlefront did do that in the first two weeks, whereas the sequel has not.
So, the question is, did the progression system and microtransaction backlash really hurt the sales that much? Yes, we truly think so, if for no other reason than nothing else explains the large drop in sales. The game had no competition when it released on the 17th (or at the very least, no major competition, as the only other big release was on the Nintendo 3DS), and had no competition the two weeks after. And, the success of the original Battlefront, with the promise of bigger and better changes, should’ve meant the sales were going to skyrocket. Yet, it didn’t.
More proof of the backlash affecting sales is that this backlash was major news across the internet and the world. Fans were outraged at what EA was asking of them just to “enjoy the game”. And when fans are angry and are in the right, they push back hard, which EA has just learned the hard way.
Now, yes, we know the game will get to 1 million in sales, no doubt. But the fact that it didn’t get there quickly speaks volumes as to the situation EA is in right now.
