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People online are really, reallynot happy about the pay-to-win loot box situation in the upcoming Star Wars Battlefront II.And they're not standing down.
For the people upset with EA, it's not enough that gamers are rallying together in bigger droves than we've maybe ever seen to voice their concerns, and to do so with their wallets. They're now looking to convince parents who may not be in the thick of the drama.
A Redditor who goes by MichaelHawkisbig created a compact, image-based PSA packing in all these gamers' feelings into a more digestible, shareable format.
It's not one hundred percent representative of the situation, choosing to focus on particular word choices that are potentially more affecting, if not slightly inaccurate.
But the idea is a relatively genius one: To get parents to pay attention, minus the confusing game mechanic lingo and plus the format of the kind of other outrage campaigns you might see floating around Facebook and the rest of the internet.
SEE ALSO:YouTuber spends $90 in 'Star Wars: Battlefront 2' and proves that it's still basically pay-to-winHere is the PSA -- complete with all the trappings of any of those internet campaigns (the bolding and highlighting of words, the hashtag, the general vibe and call to action) -- and it's already making the rounds on Reddit and Twitter:
CARD ID: 291857, CARD TYPE: Imgur
The image doesn't put the onus squarely on EA, the publisher of the game that is responsible for its production and the decisions on microtransactions. Instead, the viral-hopeful creator decided to target a more recognizable (especially to parents) brand: Disney.
"Redditors were complaining about the Star Wars game and loot boxes in general, when one person pointed out that complaining to EA is pointless," MichaelHawkisbig said in an exchange of messages. "EA has a long history of pushing boundaries like this and ignoring their fan's criticisms. That redditor suggested we complain to Disney instead, who has a long history of protecting its brand image."
Outside of sharing its IP, Disney didn't have anything to do with the development of Star Wars Battlefront II.So the PSA isn't exactlyaccurate but it probably has the desired effect of share-ability because of it.
MichaelHawkisbig, like many other gamers, said he has been getting frustrated with loot boxes in games, especially ones that give advantages to players in multiplayer. It's a particular issue for him when it involves games that children will probably be playing.
Some people liken loot boxes like this to gambling, because you pay money to unlock something with unknown contents in the hopes that you get something you want. Like a slot machine. The ESRB, on the other hand, has come outright to discredit this connection.
These general frustration is, apparently, mostly what inspired the PSA in the first place.
"The narrow goal is to remove/reform the progression system in 'Battlefront II,'" he said. "The broader goal is making it clear that gamers have had enough of predatory systems like this."
We'll just have to see if this kind of messaging works on parents, and spreads across social media as it was intended. For now one thing is clear: Gamers aren't taking this one sitting down.
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TopicsGamingStar WarsReddit