Loot Boxes in 2018: is it really worth it?

Amid news of EA Games bringing microtransactions back to Star Wars Battlefront 2, a move that had long been promised, the question has to be asked: are loot boxes even worth the negative press they’ll generate among consumers in 2018?

Gamers made a significant stand over the issue in the back end of 2017. The backlash over the implementation of loot boxes in Battlefront 2 was so powerful that even the corporate overlords of Disney were forced to take notice and step in to tighten the leash on EA’s executives. This was even enough to force microtransactions to be pulled from the game entirely for a while.

The handling of the fallout from the loot box scandal on EA’s part was just as disastrous; gamers rightfully mocked and ridiculed EA’s statement that loot boxes were supposed to give ‘a sense of pride and accomplishment’, and EA have even achieved the dubious honour of having one of Reddit’s most downvoted comments of all time. Goodwill was just about exhausted when EA stated to shareholders that the decision to remove microtransactions wouldn’t affect profit estimates. This made the situation even worse as it all but outright implied that the use of loot boxes on EA’s part was just a cynical cash grab, not, as had been claimed, an unfortunate necessity to be able to fund the spiralling cost of modern games development. In one fell swoop, practically every justification for microtransactions in full-priced games was dismantled, leaving a smouldering ruin of gambling regulations and unhappy customers.

Battlefront 2, then, is not a game on a good standing in any way. In the months after release for any FPS things get difficult: care has to be taken to keep gamers coming back for more. This all begs the question: was it even worth it to bring back microtransactions to Battlefront 2 considering the inevitable PR issues it would cause?

Imagine the goodwill that EA could have recovered for their IP if instead they listened to gamers and announced that microtransactions would be removed from the game entirely? While many of the more cynical amongst us would claim to see through such an act, many would find such a move to be a positive step. In fact, arguably now would be the best time to make such an announcement, with Battlefront 2 being a few months old surely it would be in desperate need of the good PR that would be generated to revive its player base. Dropping microtransactions would be the shot in the arm to help the game continue to survive as a multiplayer FPS.

Instead, however, we have a sad, predictable and cynical move from a corporation that feels increasingly disconnected from its customers, with many gamers commenting that they will now leave the game alongside the calls of ‘told you so’ from cynics the world over. The poor PR generated from the move must be costing millions, and will undoubtedly have a knock-on effect with player engagement and could cost the company any profit generated from the game in the coming months.

So why would any game company in 2018 continue to be associated with such a maligned practice as loot boxes? Surely any short term revenue boost through such cynical means will be miniscule compared to the loss of goodwill from customers in the long run. In 2018 is it really going to be worth it for any mainstream game to implement loot boxes, knowing that with 2017’s end the microtransaction bubble has burst? Surely by now any loot box announcement will be met with such cynicism and vitriol that any small amount of revenue squeezed from such a move would be insignificant compared to the unsustainable loss of customer goodwill.

No. The ship has sailed on loot boxes and the damage is done. Gamers have proven that they will not take such moves blindly. Surely now, it is time to put the final nail into the loot box’s coffin and accept that whatever measly, cynical cash that can be grudgingly squeezed from consumer’s fingers is not worth the unsustainable loss of goodwill that will soon put AAA gaming’s future in the balance. Loot boxes are dead, it’s time to move on.

NEWS: Subnautica finally surfaces from Early Access January 24th

Unknown Worlds Entertainment’s underwater survival game, Subnautica, has finally made it out of Steam’s Early Access, available for £17.54 (£19.49 after promotion) in the UK, and for $24.99 in the US. Already highly successful and much-loved by YouTubers including Markiplier and Jacksepticeye, Subnautica promises underwater survival sandbox gameplay and base-building elements that bring a unique twist on the flooded genre of survival games.

Subnautica is a deeply beautiful game with lots of bright colours in use bringing a engaging diving and exploration experience to the player. The gameplay consists largely of collecting blueprints and adventuring around a fluorescent alien ocean while also avoiding death from the many dangers lurking in the deadly sea, from dangerous stinging plants all the way up to giant sea monsters called Leviathans. 

 

Subnautica's beautiful, but deadly luminescent ocean. Source: in-game screenshot.

Some of the more promising features of the game include the scavenging elements and the crafting elements. With a fitting sci-fi twist on the formula most common in survival games, Subnautica forges its own identity in the genre; instead of crafting recipes using benches and tables, instead useful items are Fabricated using an in-game tool that 3D-prints such goodies in front of the players eyes. From this, an extensive array of underwater machinery and tools can be constructed to make exploration easier and more satisfying, and not only that but the player can also create sprawling underwater habitats with many cool little personalisations that add to the game’s individual charm. The game offers different options to explore its oceans including the traditional Survival mode and genre mainstays Hardcore mode (giving the player only one life alongside difficulty hikes) and Creative mode (offering players freedom of exploration and crafting).

It is promising to see the game finally out of Early Access after its development period. With the many performance upgrades and features added since its initial offering, including a deep story mode, Subnautica has grown as a game and is a fine example of how to do Early Access correctly. The game joins the likes of Klei Entertainment’s Don’t Starve in its success on getting out of what, for many games, is a long and protracted beta period that is difficult to survive.

On announcing the game’s final release, Charlie Cleveland, Co-Founder and Game Director of Unknown Worlds Entertainment had this to say:

“Since the game’s beta release in 2014, Subnautica has received waves of positive and constructive feedback from our dedicated players. The team is grateful to the community for the overwhelming support. We are proud to deliver an experience that gamers of all ages will dive into and immediately feel the thrill of exploration and survival in an expansive undersea world.”

Further coverage of Subnautica will include a review and a Twitch stream at a later date. The game’s trailer is viewable below:

For more information on Subnautica, a link to the game's page can be found here.

NEWS: Surreal Horror JRPG Yume Nikki releases on Steam for free, teases further announcement with countdown

Published by indie game specialist platform PLAYISM originally in 2007, Yume Nikki is a surreal Japanese horror experience that appears not unlike contemporaries such as Undertale and a host of RPGMaker titles. It has been re-released on Steam today for free today, January 10th, 2017.

The game’s trailer hints at the game’s surreal nature and styling, evoking familiar images of many JRPG Horror titles popular on Steam, as well as the breakout hit Undertale, especially as more of the dream-like landscapes come into prominence in the trailer. The game’s premise is stated as ‘to walk through a dream world’, and so promises surreal horror.

Interestingly, it appears as if the game itself is focused mainly on the walking and exploration aspect of JRPG horror, and doubles down on this as a game mechanic. Talking to NPCs and learning more about the game’s undoubtedly unusual plot will grant players special ‘effects’ as movement options for moving about Yume Nikki’s unusual landscape.

On top of this, PLAYISM are teasing a new announcement on Yume Nikki, directing players to a website with a countdown to the reveal, which can be found at https://promo.kadokawa.co.jp/gamecountdown/.

Developed by Kikiyama, Yume Nikki is available to download and play for free on Steam, and is available in both English and Japanese. It certainly looks to promise a unique JRPG Horror experience. PLAYISM, the game’s publisher, is also of interest: the company states that it specialises in selecting indie games based on their originality. Players interested in seeing their catalogue can find their website at http://playism-games.com/.