Bered jer på pay-to-win i UFC 3

Støvet har nærmest ikke engang lagt sig for EA efter Star Wars Battlefront II-skandalen, og nu lader den til at være gal igen. For nylig blev en lille, begrænset beta-test for det kommende UFC 3 skudt i gang af EA, og mange fans er allerede vrede og en angiveligvis uhyre aggressiv pay-to-win struktur. Serien har indeholdt mikrotransaktioner tidligere, men ifølge en længere rapport ovre hos Astute Gaming er det værre end nogensinde før.

Noget tyder på, at der endnu en gang er implementeret et Loot Box-system, der dikterer hele progressionen. Det er sågar muligt at købe boosts til online-kampe, der angiveligvis skaber en enorm ubalance.

"Every single technique, ability, fighter, and stat roll, is entirely acquired and upgraded through the loot box system. A brand-new player fresh out of the tutorials, can dump $1,000 into the game, acquire the rarest loot drops and immediately jump into online competition with a beastly custom fighter that has an exceedingly large health pool, vastly improved endurance, and substantially stronger strikes than the average player who simply pays the $60 price of admission. The higher the rarity of the item, the more significant the improvement overall."

"Pressing the square button to throw a punch at an opponent, quite literally the simplest and most obvious mechanic in an MMA game, perfectly exemplifies the absurdity of the microtransactions in question. A base level jab will do minimal damage to online opponents, however a fighter that purchases a loot box and acquires a five-star rarity level jab, will not only have a more efficient and powerful technique in combat, but will also be treated to a host of stat increases in all regards, making their player undeniably better in every scenario."

At Ultimate Team-delen er pay-to-win er nærmest at forvente fra EA, men noget tyder ikke rigtig på at firmaet har i sinde at bakke væk fra denne slags strategier, Star Wars-skandalen til trods...