EA’s Star Wars Battlefront 2 took a beating at retail, thanks to the controversy surrounding its egregious lootboxes and microtransactions, that managed to percolate even to the larger, mainstream, disengaged gaming audience. The lower than expected performance of the game caused EA’s stock to fall- a reaction that Wedbush Securities analyst Michael Pachter feels is premature, because he feels the game will bounce back from its initial underperformance.
“Although Star Wars Battlefront II had a weaker-than-expected debut in terms of its domestic physical sell-through, we believe that the loyalty of the Star Wars fan base, the game’s appeal as a holiday gift, and the release of Star Wars: The Last Jedi on December 15 will result in sales of the game bouncing back in the December retail month,” Pachter said, per CNBC.
Of course, it remains to be seen how right he is- the long term association between the new game and gambling to the larger gaming public is probably more damaging and permanent than he thinks; conversely, people’s memories have proven to be far shorter in the past, and maybe Pachter is right, and the new game ens up doing well for itself after all.
Star Wars Battlefront 2 is available on PS4, Xbox One, and PC.