After initially seeing EA's explanation about its pay-to-play DLC weaponry in Battlefield: Bad Company on MTV's Multiplayer, it was time for a nice walk around the block to inhale some crisp spring air and exhale some vexation before sitting down to write about it. The publisher states that five of the DLC weapons in its upcoming FPS will be "free," and the other five will be bundled with the game's "Gold Edition." For gamers who don't want to buy the "Gold Edition," the weapons will be available to purchase through PSN and XBM -- no prices are currently attached to the weapons.
EA states that the pay-to-play weaponry in B:BC will not unbalance the game and that "more weapons offer players more choices but do not create an advantage/disadvantage for players who do not opt to buy new item." Wait, what? Paying extra money for weapons other players don't have doesn't change the game experience? We had hoped EA had given up on its dubious microtransactions, but we're sure consumers will vote using their wallets if they agree with EA's tactic.
Reader Comments (104)
Posted: Mar 24th 2008 11:10PM (Unverified) said
While you sit there with your mouth shut the rest of us will voice our opinion on the matter. This micro transaction stuff is getting out of hand.
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Posted: Mar 25th 2008 11:03AM Streeks1984 said
What is sad is that idiots will actually do this. I cant believe they are gonna charge for guns to be played in the game......WOW! Anything to make a buck, I dont support EA for many reasons and this one just adds to the long list.
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Posted: Mar 29th 2008 3:51PM (Unverified) said
I will not be buying Battlefield: Bad Company. I would rather not encourage companies, like EA, to continue exploiting us gamers with these dubious microtransactions.
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Posted: Mar 24th 2008 9:40PM AoE said
Thank you for pointing out that at the end of the day... it's whether this stuff sells or not that encourages EA to continue their microtransaction experimentation.
So seriously, if you don't want to see EA doing more and more of this in the future? Don't encourage them! Writing angry comments in response to blog posts about their shenanigans is all fine and well, but EA's not looking at blog backlash, they're looking at the money rolling in.... Please keep this in mind the next time you're thinking about purchasing a bit of cruddy DLC like this from EA... and remember if you make the purchase, you're just encouraging them.
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So seriously, if you don't want to see EA doing more and more of this in the future? Don't encourage them! Writing angry comments in response to blog posts about their shenanigans is all fine and well, but EA's not looking at blog backlash, they're looking at the money rolling in.... Please keep this in mind the next time you're thinking about purchasing a bit of cruddy DLC like this from EA... and remember if you make the purchase, you're just encouraging them.
Posted: Mar 24th 2008 11:02PM (Unverified) said
I'd go even further- if you buy the game itself, you're contributing to the mindset that it's okay to not ship a game with a complete feature set.
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Posted: Mar 25th 2008 1:00PM ludwigk said
Wait up, Matt, you shouldn't talk about 'a complete feature set', because a game with DLC ships (whether you feel entitled to it or not), is shipping with more features than the same game without. DLC is a feature, requiring additional development time and resources. Its just not one that you like.
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Posted: Mar 24th 2008 10:49PM (Unverified) said
You act like you didn't see this coming. But it's true EA is a money whore and i am afraid of what they will do to beloved franchises they have now bought with their fucking house of gold.
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Posted: Mar 24th 2008 9:46PM Eugimon said
It's obvious that the crew behind Lumines had some sort of communicable mental disease, first it spread to the team behind the latest Ace Combat and now these guys have it. I heard this is actually a very old and ancient disease that goes by the name of greed.
The only cure, for people to ignore and boycott their schemes.
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The only cure, for people to ignore and boycott their schemes.
Posted: Mar 24th 2008 10:10PM Premature ejaculation man said
These guns will most likely be included on the actual disc. You pay to unlock them. These maps from Halo 3 or these cars from Forza are developed after the game is released.
The poor thing by EA is that they are going to earn money by simply locking out users who didn't shell out to buy an extra edition beforehand.
If Halo 3 or any other game for that matter released a special edition which gave people more content than your disc and allowed them to use it against you unless you paid up, you'd be pissed.
EG: Imagine if the gravity hammer was locked unless you got the legendary halo pack? Leaving 80%+ users without the ability to wield it while rich people smack you around with it. The game should be enjoyed by all, not simply because someone had enough cash to get limited edition copies
EA is dividing people by who has the most money to use features that were already developed and people who don't.
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The poor thing by EA is that they are going to earn money by simply locking out users who didn't shell out to buy an extra edition beforehand.
If Halo 3 or any other game for that matter released a special edition which gave people more content than your disc and allowed them to use it against you unless you paid up, you'd be pissed.
EG: Imagine if the gravity hammer was locked unless you got the legendary halo pack? Leaving 80%+ users without the ability to wield it while rich people smack you around with it. The game should be enjoyed by all, not simply because someone had enough cash to get limited edition copies
EA is dividing people by who has the most money to use features that were already developed and people who don't.
Posted: Mar 24th 2008 10:20PM Premature ejaculation man said
hmmm there may be wholes in my argument I'm thinking >_>
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Posted: Mar 24th 2008 10:49PM (Unverified) said
I'm not familiar with Battlefield games, but can you pick up the enemy's weapon? What happens if you haven't purchased that weapon? Do they ask you if you want to buy it before proceeding?
Or is it like the other games with DLC maps, where you can't play on servers with these weapons enabled if you don't have them?
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Or is it like the other games with DLC maps, where you can't play on servers with these weapons enabled if you don't have them?
Posted: Mar 24th 2008 11:00PM (Unverified) said
In the PC Battlefield games you could pick up weapons you hadn't unlocked yet and use them for as long as you could stay alive or run out of ammo.
But like most FPS online games the life expectancy of a player is very short. So you had to quickly revel in the fact you've found a secret gun, then fire off a few shots, maybe kill 1 or 2 guys, then die.
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But like most FPS online games the life expectancy of a player is very short. So you had to quickly revel in the fact you've found a secret gun, then fire off a few shots, maybe kill 1 or 2 guys, then die.
Posted: Mar 25th 2008 2:32PM (Unverified) said
And here ladies and gentlemen, is the reason why they'll NEVER abandon microtransactions. Fucking people who support this shit by buying it should be beaten to death with their consoles.
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Posted: Mar 25th 2008 2:50AM (Unverified) said
I just watched a movie that pissed me off more than this oh and there was a guy that was pissed on in that movie so yes is better to be pissed off than pissed on.
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Posted: Mar 24th 2008 10:03PM In A World said
Wha... oh right because EA is a Company... who is Bad... they do Bad things as a Company... they are, in fact, a Bad Company... El Oh El! That's puntastic!
P.S. FUCK EA!!!
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P.S. FUCK EA!!!
Posted: Mar 25th 2008 5:32AM (Unverified) said
It appears to be Gunslinger Girl (I'm not sure). 12 episodes.
And I was about to give EA a chance.
http://www.eurogamer.net/article.php?article_id=94076&page=2
Saddens me.
The only thing that is sure, is that whoever is going to buy this "extra" is a moron.
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And I was about to give EA a chance.
http://www.eurogamer.net/article.php?article_id=94076&page=2
Saddens me.
The only thing that is sure, is that whoever is going to buy this "extra" is a moron.
Posted: Mar 24th 2008 10:03PM The Artist Formerly known as Jes said
Can I buy a nuclear strike? I really want to see if everything really is destructible.
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Posted: Mar 24th 2008 10:42PM einhanderkiller said
It isn't. From what I've seen, the game uses pre-determined breakpoints; the game just uses more than what most games use.
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Posted: Mar 24th 2008 10:04PM ChooChooCharlie said
The fact that the guns are already on the "Gold Edition" makes me wonder if this is another one of those "it's already coded into the game, but were gonna have you pay to unlock it" sort of things.
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Posted: Mar 25th 2008 1:36AM modifiedbears said
Whether the weapons are on the disc or not is pointless. The fact is they are trying to charge a premium for what should be included with the price of the game. If you actually had to download the data this would somehow be alright with you? You can't be serious.
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