@demoskinos: You bring up a lot of good points. Especially about the longevity of the gaming industry with the rising costs of development. I often think it is tragic that a well made game that I enjoy, and hope to see more of, fails to meet sales expectations and results in layoffs or sequels getting scrapped. Craft is often in tension with profit. It sucks but it's the way is is right now. Was the game's budget out of control? Were expectations from investors unfair and unrealistic? Who can say?
You also make me think about how I might need to step back and ask myself if my disappointment with BF2 as a product is related to a chip on my shoulder against EA. Many people might just want to see the "mighty fall" just for the sake of the spectacle.
Again, hopefully it works out for Star Wars. The little boy in me refuses to stop dreaming.
@demoskinos: Sorry if I misspoke. I'm glad they enjoy the game. What matters to me is EA giving audiences less but expecting more from them. I worry that the problems that persist in the economy and direction of BF2 are taking the Star Wars franchise, and gaming in general, in a bad direction. I don't want my friends to somehow get taken advantage of. So hopefully if BF2 really is a negative experience overall then the market will reflect that and we will see better games down the road.
@andyrazzer: You certainly bring up a fair point and I will concede that me not purchasing the game prevents me from having a personal opinion on it as they do. Thanks from bringing that up, as "confirmation bias" sounds unfair to them and was probably not the right way to express what I meant.
I am glad that my friends are enjoying the game, but for how long that is remains to be seen. Ultimately I chose to vote with my dollar and felt that EA's design choices are trying to steer the future of Star Wars games in a direction that I can't support. I did talk to my friends about this before the game was released. Their responses were (paraphrasing) "I like Star Wars, a new Star Wars game is cool to me. Oh, I heard EA took back all that stuff about micro transactions or something anyways. Who cares?"
Totally looking forward to see if this game qualifies alongside Mass Effect Andromeda for "Hottest Mess."
I fear that EA's love of money is a root of all kinds of evil. What frustrates me the most is I really, truly want a good new Star Wars game, but now I am forced to wait until by some miracle a more capable publisher and team has the couth to make one.
I will say that many of my friends DID buy this game at launch. They seem to be thoroughly enjoying it. And while I am glad they are happy, I think it's more due to confirmation bias and nostalgia, the later of which is what makes this such a bummer for me!
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