Fans attack EA over exclusive Battlefield 3 content

[Matthew DeCarlo]

EA has been working overtime to capture the hearts and wallets of PC gamers with its upcoming Battlefield title, and we've seen nothing but overwhelming enthusiasm for its arrival -- until now. Over the weekend, the company announced that it will offer the "Battlefield 3: Physical Warfare Pack" with an exclusive gun, an early unlockable, a weapon mod and ammunition through select retailers around the globe.

Gamers who buy the Physical Warfare Pack will receive exclusive access to the Type 88 light machine gun with a bipod, Battlefield 3's only sniper rifle flash suppressor (for the SKS rifle), as well as armor piercing flechette shells for the DAO-12 semi-automatic shotgun. Physical Warfare Pack customers will also get day-one access to the DAO-12 shotgun, whereas everyone else will have to unlock it via gameplay.

There is a lot of confusion surrounding the "Back to Karkand" expansion pack, which contains remastered versions of four Battlefield 2 maps including Strike at Karkand, Gulf of Oman and the Sharqi Peninsula. All Limited Edition pre-orders (even non-Physical Warfare Packs) will receive the "Back to Karkand" DLC. Everyone else will be able to buy the DLC separately, though pricing and availability are unknown.

After learning about the exclusive content and its limited availability, gamers besieged EA's forum -- many of them threatening to cancel their preorder. One thread has 64 pages of posts and a poll that shows 93% of visitors disapprove of the exclusive content. Even Minecraft creator "Notch" chimed in: "When I make a movie, it will have different exclusive scenes added to it depending on what cinema you go to."

EA has responded to the angry mob with a FAQ squelching concerns about unfair multiplayer action. The publisher said Battlefield 3's exclusive content has been "specifically chosen not to be overpowered or imbalanced or break the game in any way." Although company said it believes in rewarding its loyal customers with special offers, many gamers disagree with "dividing" the playerbase. Where do you stand?

Permalink to story.

https://www.techspot.com/news/44229-fans-attack-ea-over-exclusive-battlefield-3-content.html

 

[Kralnor]

How is EA "rewarding its loyal customers with special offers" by offering Physical Warfare Pack through select retailers?

Regardless, I don't play any of the Battlefield titles, so I really couldn't care less

 

[princeton]

Cancelled my pre-order just based on the fact that they tried it in the first place. I don't care if they reverse it. Back to karkand and that physical warfare pack should have been free in the first place, if Valve can turn a profit making games without charging for maps and weapons than EA can make a profit giving them away free as well.

The gaming industry is going to collapse when consumers start voting with their wallets. Also what Notch said was pretty damn funny.

 

[Cota]

About time us gamers notice how stupid is this exclusive content system, even if its not "overpowered or imbalanced" the fact is that they are giving that content to a single part of gamers, what i would had done whit that tracer on BFBC2 the day it came up online wich btw it was OP at early unlock.

Reminds me to WoW and those people who could get in game items just by paying or buying those cards and going to their overpriced conventions.

 

[pcnthuziast]

Honestly I'm not as put off as many are. Seems pretty trivial really and I won't let it stop me from getting in the game from jump. Will I pay for said content? No. Do I care that others will have it early? No.

 

[Anshrew]

pcnthuziast said:
Honestly I'm not as put off as many are. Seems pretty trivial really and I won't let it stop me from getting in the game from jump. Will I pay for said content? No. Do I care that others will have it early? No.

It's not that you get the content early, it's that the stuff in the physical warfare pack, with the exception of the DAO-12 shotgun is ONLY obtainable through the physical warfare pack.
This isn't just a thing where you have to wait to get access to the items, if you don't get the physical warfare pack, you will never have those items.

 

[Guest]

I approve of Notch's message. *Thumbs up

 

[Guest]

It's just a game people, geez. There are better things to do with your time and money. It's especially not worth getting pissed off about..

 

[pcnthuziast]

Even so, I can live without a few guns/items. I think the game will have enough to offer that they won't be missed.

 

[Guest]

Cancelled my pre-order just based on the fact that they tried it in the first place. I don't care if they reverse it. Back to karkand and that physical warfare pack should have been free in the first place, if Valve can turn a profit making games without charging for maps and weapons than EA can make a profit giving them away free as well.

Ever heard of the Team Fortress 2 store? Yes it is true... Valve does it too.

I also disagree with EA and/or DICE's decision to make this move. This type of stuff is exactly what turned me away from the Call of Duty series in the first place.

Having said that, it will probably not prevent me from buying the game, but I can honestly say that I am no longer excited about it, and I have lost respect for EA & DICE.

I am more concerned about Battlefield 3 never appearing on Steam. EA just released the Origin, which is basically a direct competitor to Steam. I am fine with EA releasing a product that is a direct competitor to Steam, but I have already chosen Steam has my digital store of choice, and I do not want to have to download Origin JUST for Battlefield 3.
Thats like having Microsoft Office 2010, and OpenOffice installed on the same machine. Makes no sense.

 

[Guest]

This may be sort of beside the point of this article, but when I read the headline, the first thought in my head was "Oh no, not another console exclusive!" I am so sick of these companies giving exclusive DLC to the consoles and not PC.

Anyways, this time it's a new flavor of dumb, isn't it? Why don't they make all the DLC available for everyone and for all possible platforms? It might, oh, I dunno, maximize sales? Don't they know how to make money? Don't they wanna make money no more? Bah!

I don't understand why people whine about paying a little extra for DLC. I'd pay double the asking price for good DLC for my favorite games, and I'd do so with a smile on my face. I'm not rich or nothing, but I'd rather pay to extend the joy I get out of playing my favorite games than gamble that money on new games which often turn out to be a disappointment (like Darkspore, epic fail).

-RayRay

 

[Scshadow]

The gaming industry never stops trying to find ways to extract money. No longer is there companies that truly have a passion for putting out a good game and having it enjoyed by the consumers. Its about producing it as fast as possible and finding any way to nickel and dime suckers that can afford it(or not afford it but buy it anyway). Its never about making a living and always about making a stack.

 

[gwailo247]

Guest said:
I am more concerned about Battlefield 3 never appearing on Steam. EA just released the Origin, which is basically a direct competitor to Steam. I am fine with EA releasing a product that is a direct competitor to Steam, but I have already chosen Steam has my digital store of choice, and I do not want to have to download Origin JUST for Battlefield 3.

They probably won't cut off Steam yet, but I'd bet that they will offer extra stuff that they won't offer on Steam in order to get people to buy from EA directly.

EA must pay something to Steam, even if only a few percent of the price. Cut out Steam, more money to EA.

 

[Guest]

it's all going the way of the console...
one step forward... two steps back...

 

[Guest]

"One thread has 64 pages of posts and a poll that shows 93% of visitors disapprove of the exclusive content."

Ninety freakin three percent opposed, and they STILL want to tell you they won't change it? That does not make sense at all. The obvious part is, if they took out the launch day weapons and maps it would not hurt the game one bit. This news comes now, because they believe the hype is so big that nothing they do could break it, but according to those 64 pages, they are WRONG. If that's not stupidity, I don't know what is. Pretty sure the core gamers DICE speaks of are the ones that go through the trouble of expressing their feelings on their publishers' forum, so again they are dismissing everything we say.

DICE and EA = Steve Jobs' successor.

 

[Vrmithrax]

Guest said:
"One thread has 64 pages of posts and a poll that shows 93% of visitors disapprove of the exclusive content."

Ninety freakin three percent opposed, and they STILL want to tell you they won't change it? That does not make sense at all.

Well, to be fair, that's 93% of the people who were probably already mad, drawn to that particular thread. And, being mad to begin with, people are more likely to click the "you suck" option in polls - haters love to hate, and all that. The posts and poll are completely subjective and pretty much meaningless. Expecting a reaction to a single thread full of angry people is rather naive.

That said, I'm glad the clamor has occurred. Nice to see players and consumers standing up against greedy self-serving practices that are being played off as "benefits" to select customers, when it's really just all about money and giving certain "preferred" retail outlets an advantage over the rest. It's about time.

 

[ramonsterns]

Not like complaining about it will do anything. Most gamers are too stupid to understand that you vote with your wallets, not your spirit. More than likely it will end up with people buying the game anyways just like they did with MW2.

Had gamers actually boycotted MW2 for being the casualized, cashcow that it was, gaming would be rather different today and the idea of $60 PC games and pay per month extra bullshit would be non-existent.

 

[Guest]

Call it being blown out of proportion, call it a viral misunderstanding, call it what you wish - however, I believe there is a sound argument from the 'angry customer' side regarding the Vanilla BF3 DLC exclusivity issue.

The reason why BF2 was so successful was because BF2 Vanilla had all DLC FREE FOR EVERYONE - it was a massive community where everyone fought hard to level up and there were NO exclusive weapons- everyone was after the same ball so to speak. Then, MUCH later, they released mods with special content that costed money: (Special Forces, Armored Fury, etc.) This was generally accepted by the community simply because the Vanilla version of BF2 was getting old - people had been maxing out on unlocks, etc. There was no more surprise factor.

The fact that BF3 Vanilla is being released right off the bat with special exclusive content is absolutely ridiculous for people who do not want to spend money NOW with SPECIFIC retailers. One fan had a good comment - he said, "Why should I spend $60 and then end up not having the same amount of content of someone who paid the same price."

I strongly believe this little trick that EA is pulling is degrading to the customer - "buy now, and also buy from this retailer if you want to see and utilize extra content." removes the customer's sense of freedom and fairness on the battlefield.

In my opinion, I agree with the Boycott until something is done about this. At least allowing people to unlock the exclusive content when leveling up. Even if it were level 50 before I could obtain the 'non-advantageous' weapons, I would still be happy. The fact they are unobtainable if I order from someone else is unfortunately frustrating and heartbreaking.

 

[jetkami]

ramonsterns said:
Not like complaining about it will do anything. Most gamers are too stupid to understand that you vote with your wallets, not your spirit. More than likely it will end up with people buying the game anyways just like they did with MW2.

Had gamers actually boycotted MW2 for being the casualized, cashcow that it was, gaming would be rather different today and the idea of $60 PC games and pay per month extra bullshit would be non-existent.

AMEN!

 

[Guest]

I don't understand, why cancel the preorder if it comes with the dlc? Forgive me if I missed something.

 

[Guest]

I don't understand, why cancel the preorder if it comes with the dlc? Forgive me if I missed something.

Because the PWP preorder is only available at two retail stores. If you preordered with some other store you will not be able to get those items, ever, even for money.

 

[Guest]

At guest above me..

$60 BF3 (pre-ordered) at one store
includes Back to Karkand

$60 BF3 (pre-ordered) at another store
includes Back to Karkand
and
exclusive content


unfair to the eyes of the 93% who disagreed with this exclusivity. for some it won't matter because they get the semi-auto shotty via gameplay. i think the the flash suppressor is exclusive? don't know about the T88 LMG w/ bipod? (somebody correct me)

for some it's saddening to the eyes that they're are splitting the community by store exclusivity.

 

[Guest]

You ask why complain if you are getting the DLC? Simple, it isn't fair. There are people who are not so egocentric that they only worry about one upping everyone else. The battlefield community (for the most part) seems to be more interested in balance and equality. Who can think that is a bad thing? We need more people concerned about their neighbor in this world than less. Your comment about not complaining since you are getting the DLC disheartens me.

 

[Guest]

Cancelled my pre-order for reasons I'm sure you know or can find easily online, here is the link to cancel your pre-order:

http://support.ea.com/app/ask/accountType/1

If you use the live chat system just tell them you want to cancel your pre-order. Just tell them you're cancelling it so you can get the Physical Warfare Pack later, this way the support person can cover his own *** and help you get your refund.

 

[Guest]

It's because most if not all DLC is purposely taken out of games to be sold later as "add on bonuses". Its extreme BS that is only prevalent today because of console tards putting up with it for so long. PC gamers would have never stood for that sh*t back when consoles didnt saturate the market. Every single DLC should just be part of the original game.