November 17, 2017 - News Post
When Disney purchased Lucasfilm a few years back, I was cautiously optimistic about the future of Star Wars. The franchise desperately needed someone to breathe new life into old concepts, and they have accomplished this with some degree of success.
One thing that struck me as weird, though, was the decision to grant Electronic Arts (EA) exclusive rights to produce Star Wars video games. I seem to recall EA having a reputation of overcharging and underdelivering.
Oh well. Those are just rumors and internet comments. I'm sure today's launch of Star Wars: Battlefront II is working out fine.
Edit on 2017-11-21:
Hm... It seems as though this little comic has generated more hatred and vitriol towards me than usual. I’ve done comics about politics, race, and gender, but apparently, jokes about Star Wars and EA are where you draw the line.
A great number of you complained that this comic is a “false comparison”, saying that selling toys isn’t the same as EA gouging customers and giving wealthy players a huge advantage in multi-player combat.
I don’t mind you hating me or the comic. I feed on that sort of thing. But what I do mind is you misinterpreting my message. Here’s what I was attempting to say:
- EA is a predatory, sleazy company that knew exactly what they were doing when they programmed a pay-to-win game. They weren’t expecting an internet backlash, so they’ve backpedaled a bit, removing microtransactions for now. Rest assured, all of the worst features will be quietly restored as soon as the internet is looking the other way.
- As bad as this is, don’t worry about it tainting the image of Star Wars. That brand has been after our money for decades, and it will for generations to come.
It was not my intention to compare the two... merely to complain about the two.
So many of you were angry over the wrong thing, that I think it might be somehow my fault. In the rushed creation of a comic to address a breaking news story, I didn’t think things through. I didn’t make my message clear. I apologize for any grief I may have caused.
I can’t say that I won’t make the same mistake again, but I’ve looked the comic over thoroughly, and I think I’ve discovered the problem:
I added new art.
Lesson learned, people. Lesson learned.
-Jeff
