Star Wars: Battlefront II should teach publishers to drop the sales pitch

Electronic Arts has an authenticity problem, and, in my opinion, it stems from how it talks to us about its games. Star Wars: Battlefront II’s launch was a calamity, and I think EA made it worse with how it communicated to angry fans. Maybe it’s corporate policy or culture (or some other issue), but most of EA’s communications to fans come in the form of a sales pitch. Even when the company attempts to address player concerns or apologize, it comes across like you’re talking to Lionel Hutz.

I get that publishers are afraid of saying too much. Gamers are loud and remember everything, and they will take whatever a company says as a promise. That requires a difficult balance of saying enough to get people excited without giving away too much. Like Alec Baldwin in Glengarry Glen Ross, you can describe EA’s strategy as “Always Be Closing.” That’s understandable, because it has a product to sell. But that type of communication can often make things worse — especially in a crisis. If people are mad because you covered them in mud, you will only make them angrier if you try to tell them you’re actually serving them chocolate cake.