Battlefront: What’s next?
I promise this is my last Battlefront editorial for a while, but I
really wanted to put a satisfying cap on the whole thing. While I still haven’t
played the game myself (and I’ve officially decided it isn’t worth my time),
but I thought one last article going back on the whole saga of Battlefront II was worth writing.
Last time I talked about everything
that befell the game post-release, but today I want to talk about what happened
before the game launched, specifically when the game was shown off at Star Wars Celebration and E3 respectively.
It’s no secret that the reception to
EA’s first entry into the Battlefront series
was met with underwhelming response. Some loved it, but others found the game
slow and uninteresting. It didn’t help that the game launched with very little
content to its name, instead forcing a Season Pass on players if they wanted to
get their money’s worth. Players were undeniably disappointed and began to
leave in droves, with the game nearly empty for those who decided to stay and
dead a few short months later.
Knowing this, EA’s biggest selling
point during the earliest days of Battlefront
II was that it would be an apology for their first attempt. A Splatoon-style update system was
promised, alongside elements from the Prequel and Sequel trilogies, more maps,
and all the other stuff that was nowhere to be found in the first game.
Whether or not they delivered on those
promises is a story for another day, but let’s keep on track.
Unsurprisingly, people were feeling
pretty excited for the game after hearing these things. Good news makes people
feel good after all, and EA was keeping the more sinister elements of the game
on the down-low. The game wound up on plenty “Best of E3” lists, and was poised
to follow in Titanfall 2’s footsteps
as another successful FPS by EA.
And then the game came out.
So now that discussion of the game is
essentially over, I have one big question on my mind: what’s next for Battlefront? I have no doubt in my mind
that EA’s gonna make another one, so what will Battlefront III look like?
First off, I can tell you right now
when it’s going to come out: November 2019. I know this because Battlefront released in November 2015,
right when hype for The Force Awakens was
nearing its peak. Similarly, Battlefront
II released November 2017, just a month before The Last Jedi released.
Now what movie was it that’s coming
out in December 2019?
There’s no better time to release your
Star Wars gambling game disguised as
a multiplayer shooter than when the general public is interested in the source
material again, right?
One also has to wonder if Battlefront III will be initially
advertised as an apology for Battlefront
II. I’m sure EA would love to try to hook in previously burned customers
again, but I have to question if they really do have the balls to cut
microtransactions and loot boxes from the game to do that. The
nickel-and-diming was easily the catalyst for all the rage directed towards the
game, just as people were upset with the first game for having barely any
launch content. Discounting the possibility that loot boxes might be ruled as
illegal in the next few years, I highly doubt that EA, easily the greediest
company in gaming, will remove a way to make them extra money from the game
just to appease a few fans.
But the saddest thing for me is that
it doesn’t matter whether EA plays Battlefront
III straight or they go for the apology route. People are still gonna fall
for their trap again next time. Because Star
Wars is such a beloved and universal license, casual customers are gonna throw
money at the game without reading reviews and first impressions, giving EA
enough cash to continue their enterprise and keep making games like this.
If people keep buying the loot boxes,
why take them out of the games?
So get ready to hear about Battlefront III being Game of the Year
in 2019, only for people to be burned again when it actually releases.
Song of the Week
Comfort Zone – Sonic Mania
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