A.K.A. Star Wars Battlefront 2 Controversy, Episode 6: Revenge of the Jedi.
Well, we all know EA pulled the microtransactions from Star Wars Battlefront 2. “Temporarily“. That’s not the interesting part, though. No, the interesting part is why they did it.
The night before they announced that decision, they had apparently been called by someone at Disney. Venture Beat contends that it was a call from Disney CEO Bob Iger to EA’s Andrew Wilson. The Wall Street Journal, however says that the Disney representative to place the call was Jimmy Pitaro, head of Disney’s Consumer Products and Interactive Media division. One thing is certain, however, and that is that Disney is not happy with how the debacle has reflected on the Star Wars property. Even Lucasfilm weighed in on the matter:
Star Wars has always been about the fans — and whether it’s ‘Battlefront’ or any other Star Wars experience, they come first […] That’s why we support EA’s decision to temporarily remove in-game payments to address fan concerns.
Not only have the rights holders been onto EA, so has Wall Street. This entire mess has not only affected predictions of the game’s sales figures, either. EA’s stocks have dropped thanks to the controversy. Many of their investors are significantly worried about the end result of all the heat the company has gotten.
Disney’s response to the Star Wars Battlefront 2 controversy isn’t all that surprising, after all. Star Wars Episode IX: The Last Jedi is launching mid December this year. Negative press in regards to the franchise is the absolute last thing they want.
About Author
