Star Wars Battlefront 2 was the powderkeg that started the whole microtransaction/loot box gambling controversy we’re seeing now. While the ESRB and PEGI associations agree that the implementation is not gambling, the gambling commissions in Belgium and UK have said otherwise. Unfortunately, none of this has come out as positive for EA’s sales numbers.
Wallstreet’s Cowen reduced its price target and profit forecasts for EA’s shares, predicting poor future sales of Battlefront 2. Despite EA telling investors back in November that pulling microtransactions won’t affect earnings, this was back when the controversy was just starting to bubble over.
“We are lowering our FY18 estimates to below management’s guidance as we believe that Star Wars Battlefront 2’s performance (lower units + the indefinite delay of MTX) has been disappointing enough to more than offset any strength elsewhere in the model,” analyst Doug Creutz wrote in a note to clients Thursday titled “Cutting numbers on problematic ‘SWBF2′ performance.”
“The negative player reaction to the mishandled loot box economy has clearly impacted SWBF2 sales … we think this is evidence that the industry’s core gamer constituency is getting increasingly unhappy about the degree to which MTX is being shoehorned into core gameplay loops,” Creutz added.
Picking through the cold investor-speak, it seems that gamers’ disposition towards microtransactions is finally being felt by the financial industry. This could hopefully mean a change in more than just loot boxes.
Despite the fumble in a beloved franchise, this could potentially mean good things for the industry on the consumer side.
