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EA Doesn't Think Players Want Darth Vader In Pink, 'Not Giving Up' On Battlefront 2 Microtransactions
Star Wars: Battlefront 2 continues its rollercoaster ride post-release. After a microtransaction fiasco lead Disney to intervene and a swarm of angry fans, EA CFO Blake Jorgensen had a chance to speak at this year's Credit Suisse Technology, Media & Telecom Conference on a number of topics, including its dedication to microtransactions and how it plans and doesn't plan to implement them.
GamesIndustry.biz reports that Jorgensen said EA made its decision to pull away from Battlefront 2's microtransaction-based Star Cards because players felt they were paying to win. Jorgensen noted the distaste for this kind of payment/design structure, but didn't dismiss it completely. "Some people have more time than money, and some people have more money than time," he said. "You want to always balance those two."
To that end, the company is still committed to implementing microtransactions in some way, but is figuring out the right way to do that. "We're learning and listening to the community in terms of how best to roll that out in the future, and there's more to come as we learn more," Jorgensen said.
One way EA isn't considering is leaning in too heavily on character-based cosmetic items, since it could interfere with the canon of a renowned franchise like Star Wars. "If you did a bunch of cosmetic things, you might start to violate the canon," the CFO said. "Darth Vader in white probably doesn't make sense, versus in black. Not to mention you probably don't want Darth Vader in pink. No offense to pink, but I don't think that's right in the canon."
Our Take
The line about canon feels less like "people" don't want Darth Vader in pink and more like Disney doesn't want Darth Vader in pink (I definitely want to see him in pink). Either way, with the number of side stories, expanded universe characters, and diversity of Star Wars character concepts throughout the years, I find it hard to believe EA couldn't sell cosmetic outfits without going for "Pink Darth Vader" (at least not right away. Pink Vader or bust!).
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