On November 19th, a certain KeyBanc Market Analyst stated that the Star Wars Battlefront 2’s players uproar as “overreacting” and stated “Gamers aren't overcharged, they're undercharged.” The analyst reinforce this fact as it’s the cheapest form of entertainment at 40 cents per hour as compared to $3 per hour like a movie... like that upcoming Star Wars movie…
Okay, Breathe.
Walk it off.
Composed?
Okay… let’s begin.
So, let’s face the facts. Numbers and statistics don’t lie but when you omit certain numbers, you skewer the results. So what numbers are omitted?
First, how about the cost of the hardware? Last I check, EA didn’t provide gamers with the computers or console for the privilege to partake this, “inexpensive” form of entertainment. How about power? Electricity is not free and I would love for EA to provide this, particularly to our gamers in Puerto Rico. What about the price of an internet connection? This made progress on the legislative front as I’m confident that the FCC’s Internet Neutrality laws will give EA the highest priority. After all, their Origin storefront demands it!
So now that we covered the “micro-transactions”, let’s talk macro.
Are the previously listed costs applied to each player in a multiplayer match? Should their communal gaming contribution be considered a product or service? What if there’s a disconnections, bad player’s behavior, or empty servers? And since some players would PAY to randomly gain better equipment, what would that exponential curve chart's title be? How difficult it would be to play against these players? How likely it is to get duplicate items? Or how many hours for a sense of accomplishment?
If all this is too absurd, you’re right. EA has been discounting both inside by enslaving their developers and outside by destroying intellectual properties. They won “Worst Company in America” two years in a row in 2012 and 2013 and it appears they are going for a third win.
With Star Wars: The Last Jedi opening soon, Disney was wise to protect their brand and reputation from being hijacked and dragged into the mud. Meanwhile, the EU is also stepping up to review if there are laws broken regarding the loot crate system as a form of gambling. All eyes are now on EA to see if they will change the system back later or implement them on their own properties such as Need for Speed Payback. This has industry wide ramifications and investors should seriously count the cost of doing business with EA because the numbers aren’t adding up.