In an unprecedented last - minute reversal, EA has drastically altered Star Wars Battlefront II's controversial
loot box system by temporarily removing the ability to purchase «crystals.»
Progression is deep rooted into the game's
loot box system by design, and it's virtually impossible to level up the character class of your choice.
Not exact matches
This major shake - up
by the ESRB comes in the wake of the increasing political pressure on the agency to address the predatory nature of
loot boxes and other monetized
systems in gaming.
The
system is unfair
by design, and for the sole purpose of trying to tempt people into spending more money on
loot boxes than they ever would on the game alone or a season pass.
Indeed, barely a second goes
by where one of its core elements doesn't bring to mind the superior experience offered
by other games, from the shooting mechanics of Quake and Unreal Tournament, to the mobility tactics of Titanfall and Tribes, to Overwatch «s own objective - based gameplay, specific character classes, and «
Loot Box» reward
system.
so, GotY won
by an exclusivity (proper one) of weakest console on the market, no white gloves, no 4K abiliies, no MP card /
loot boxes progression
system, no MP at all... it is just an observation aft...
By the mid-point of Payback, I felt deeply familiar with its
loot box system.
The multiplayer has odd balance issues and of course, the progression
system is led
by the worst
loot box structure in a premium game to date.
The car rarity
system also plugs into another, less welcome addition in Forza 7: prize crates, or to call them
by their true name,
loot boxes.
However, the title was so affected
by loot -
box mechanics that followers loudly voice their displeasure, EA revamped the
system, and it served as a tipping level for a number of representatives throughout the United States to start investigations into potential
loot -
box laws.
For instance some
loot box systems do allow for players to work towards acquiring what they want
by buying / selling from a user marketplace using in - game currency, Madden's Ultimate Team model with their auction house comes to mind.
Some
loot box systems go even further than that, from the aforementioned advantages gained from Battlefront II's
loot boxes to Call of Duty: WWII turning
loot boxes into a public spectacle
by having them descend from the sky in the game's social spaces as Eurogamer reported.
The Dutch gambling commission took things a step further
by conducting a study on 10 of the most popular games featuring
loot boxes, and the study found that four of the 10 games featured monetary
systems that violated the Betting and Gambling Act, which centers around the concept of betting and gambling real money on items that can be traded outside of the game.
Forza Motorsport 7 is a great racing game that's ultimately hampered
by missing modes and a flawed
loot box system.
While Middle - earth: Shadow of War mostly escaped the intense scrutiny and anger directed at two of 2017's biggest
loot box / microtransaction cautionary tales, those being the much - maligned Destiny 2 and the even - more - widely - detested Star Wars: Battlefront II, the game was nonetheless «review bombed» on platforms such as Steam and Metacritic
by gamers who were unhappy about Middle - earth: Shadow of War's monetization
system, and it thus went on to become a popular example among pundits of the dangers behind poor implementation of microtransactions and
loot box economies in triple - A video game releases.
EA has responded
by toning the
system down a bit as Heavy reported such as taking certain weapons out of
loot boxes and instead having them be unlockable
by playing the weapon's specific class, having to be at a certain level to equip and upgrade higher level Star Cards, and removing Epic Star Cards from Crates.
It's a
system that's differentiated itself from other multiplayer games that rely on
loot boxes and one - time transaction items only, and
by tying it to gameplay, the transition from totally free to optional microtransactions hasn't received nearly the same sort of negativity amongst its community.
Today, the Entertainment Software Rating Board (ESRB), the self - regulatory association responsible for rating the content of video games, responded to the mounting controversy around the industry's shift toward microtransactions, specifically the gambling - style
loot box systems favored
by the world's most popular competitive multiplayer titles.
In a statement received
by GameSpot, EA says that the
loot box system for «Battlefront II» is not gambling.