European Gambling Commission To Investigate "Star Wars Battlefront II"

The end of the year is upon us and is the massive marketing machine behind Star Wars. Not only is there a new movie, The Last Jedi, coming out which is predicted to once again break box office records, there is also a new video game, called Star Wars Battlefront II.

But critics have been harsh to the game, which introduces a new feature which long-time gamers find hideous. Instead of spending all those hours on long-term gameplay to develop your character with better abilities or with in-game purchases.

First, there was anger about the fact that you can only unlock the most important characters if you pay a hefty sum, with one Twitter commenter saying that $60 for the game and $80 on top to unlock Darth Vader would prove to be a costly Christmas. And now, as players are getting more and more informed about the features, there is furor about the ‘loot crates’, a feature that some say is essentially a gambling tool built into the game.

These crates are purchased and contain mystery bonuses. But because of the fact that you do not know beforehand what you are buying, this could judicially be seen as gambling, and some hardcore fans have already complained to the European gambling commission because of this. Knowing that gambling is illegal for youngsters under 18, the commission said it would investigate.

Furthermore, reviews are damning the purchasing aspect that comes with it. In his review for Game Informer, Mr Andrew Reiner wrote: "The most damning show of the game basically saying, 'We want you to pay to win' is a limit being put on the number of credits a player can earn in Arcade mode."

"After finishing five Arcade challenges, the player is told to come back in 14 hours to earn more."

Entertainment analyst Mr Ed Barton agreed with him: "The Star Wars experience without Luke Skywalker or Darth Vader strikes me as not the experience people would look for. The controversy is, 'I've paid $60, let me have the experience.'"

Source:

http://www.bbc.com/news/technology-41997252