According to numbers released by NPD, the impact of Star Wars Battlefront 2 loot boxes has significantly hit sales numbers.
NPD says it has been a “disappointing month for Electronic Arts” with research firm estimating sales of around 882,000 units for Star Wars Battlefront 2. It’s biggest rival Call of Duty: WWII has sold 4.4 million units but released two weeks earlier.
Despite the lower than expected sales, analysts Wedbush says they expect sales to “rebound” this month thanks to the release of the Last Jedi film and holiday gifts.
Analysts appear to be in agreement that the loot box controversy has caused damage to EA’s brand but their impact on earnings could be less than the recent share price drop indicates. $3.1 billion was wiped from EA’s stock value due to the lot box controversy.
With government bodies now looking to formulate lot box legislation in the US and Europe, EA and other publishers will be concerned about carrying on the loot box practice to such an extreme in 2018. EA has still to decide what to do with the loot boxes in Star Wars Battlefront 2 and appear to be reticent to put them back into the game.
