According to Patrick Söderlund, a long-time EA executive who just yesterday was made the company's chief design officer, the last six months post-release have been an important learning experience for the company. And it's been an experience that will help shape how EA operates moving forward. "I'd be lying to you if I said that what's happened with Battlefront and what's happened with everything surrounding loot boxes and these things haven't had an effect on EA as a company and an effect on us as management," he explains. "We can shy away from it and pretend like it didn't happen, or we can act responsibly and realize that we made some mistakes, and try to rectify those mistakes and learn from them."
"We had the intent that was designed for us to have more people play it over a longer period of time," explains Söderlund of the decision to include loot boxes. "And like a lot of other games on the market, to be able to afford to do that we had an idea of getting returns from that. But at the same time, we got it wrong. And as a result, we had to take very quick and drastic actions to turn everything off, and we've since worked and redesigned the progression system. People seem to appreciate what we've done, players are coming back, and we're seeing stronger engagement numbers. People seem to think that for the most part, we got it right. It doesn't mean we will stop. We'll continue to improve the game, we'll continue to push on these things, and we'll have to be very cautious with what this means for future products."
"We have taken significant steps as a company to review and understand the mechanics around monetization, loot boxes, and other things in our games before they go to market," he says. "For games that come next, for Battlefield or for Anthem, [players have] made it very clear that we can't afford to make similar mistakes. And we won't." Microtransactions will be added back to Battlefront II starting next week, but will only include cosmetic items.
Söderlund started his career as a developer at Battlefield studio DICE before it was acquired by EA, and when speaking to him it's very clear he's passionate about the games the company makes, Battlefront II included. And he sees the process of changing that public perception as something of a personal mission.
"It's clear to us that players see the company differently than we do," he says. "And in that situation, as a member of the executive team, as the guy who runs all of the studios, I have to take that seriously. And we have to continue to listen and understand what's triggering that. We have to be very cautious of what we do." But Söderlund acknowledges that only the company's actions, not its words, will make a true difference.
More of the interview at the link below
https://www.theverge.com/2018/4/13/...efront-2-loot-box-patrick-soderlund-interview
