Battlefield 1942 Goes Free

[Andy Chalk]

Battlefield 1942 Goes Free

Electronic Arts is marking ten years of Battlefield 1942 by giving it away.

Has it really been ten years since Battlefield 1942 went online? Time flies when you're shooting guys in the face, but a full decade? Wow.

But so it is, and EA is celebrating the tin anniversary by giving the game away to anyone who wants it. "Since the beginning, the reception to the Battlefield series has been incredible thanks to our amazing fans," said DICE General Manager Karl Magnus Troedsson. "We wanted to thank our fans who have supported us throughout the years by restoring Battlefield 1942 for a digital re-release and give everyone a chance to play the game that started it all."

EA isn't exactly giving away the farm on this one. Battlefield 1942 has been out for ten years, after all - I may have mentioned that - so anybody who really wanted to play it very likely already has. My understanding is that the community remains relatively strong but the vast majority of newcomers are going to approach it as a curiosity item, not something in which they're going to invest a lot of time and effort. On the other hand, free is free.

There are two catches to this Battlefield freebie. First, according to the fine print, the offer expires on March 1, 2013, so you've only got about five months to get on it. Second, and probably far more relevant to some of you, is that the game requires Origin, EA's Steam-style online service that gamers love to hate. No Origin, no Battlefield.

If you don't find that particular restriction too onerous to live with, then you can your very own free copy of the classic shooter than started it all from Battlefield.com [http://www.battlefield.com/battlefield-1942].


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[Kopikatsu]

Sounds reasonable.

Now if only we could get them to give Battlefield 2142 away...

 

[Agent Larkin]

As much as I do like this idea I have to say that with Origin it has no chance of me downloading it.

 

[VladG]

Well, this is mildly interesting, I never really got into the Battlefield games

the game requires Origin, EA's Steam-style online service that gamers love to hate. No Origin, no Battlefield.

Aaand it's gone.

 

[Nihlus2]

I did not even have to read beyond the title to figure out there was a catch when EA is involved. Nice try though, plus points for effort.

I will just sit here with my Origin free physical copy that can be bought in most retail stores for less than the price of a hamburger and enjoy that - thank you very much.

 

[Not G. Ivingname]

EA: We are giving away something... FOR FREE! *Has heart attack*

DICE: WAIT! We are using it as a trick to get more people onto Origin.

EA: Oh thank god... you had me going there for a minute.

 

[XandNobody]

My thought process reading this.

"Oh, hey, the FPS I started my multiplayer FPS career on, oh lord the memories. So many good times and kills that should not have been possible." *Reads on* "EA, giving me something for free, like for reals free?" *Thinks* "Oh God it's been ten years? Wait, there has to be a catch."

Origin.

"Peace out."

OT with less theatrics: Origin is a deal breaker, nostalgia or not, free or not.

 

[Slash2x]

No Origin, no Battlefield.

Sorry you had a typo I think you ment to type "know Origin, NO Battlefield"

I for one like keeping my computer clean of spyware, and I could not justify installing some on purpose.... So I will just have to stick with my first copy of 1942 that was spyware clean.

 

[Somethingfake]

I thought "Ohh sound interesting I'll get it no-....they want you to use origin. Well, fuck you very much.

 

[Xan Krieger]

Not only do you have to use origin but they're not giving away the expansions as well. That sucks.

 

[Qitz]

A cool offer, I won't take them up on it as I still have the original and Secret Weapons of WW2 next to me to pop in and play whenever I fancy but still, free games never hurt.

 

[Callate]

Well, I have to say, it's nice to actually hear something pleasant from EA once in a-

Second, and probably far more relevant to some of you, is that the game requires Origin, EA's Steam-style online service that gamers love to hate. No Origin, no Battlefield.

...piss.

All right, I already have BF1942 (...somewhere...) so it doesn't really effect me one way or another. But still... for pity's sake. There were about a hundred ways they could have gone about this without poisoning the peace offering.

 

[spookydom]

No Origin, no Battlefield, No thanks.

 

[charge52]

So... I forget, why does everyone hate origin exactly? I mean yeah, the interface isn't the best but that doesn't sound like it justifies all this hate. I haven't used it for a multiplayer game yet, so is that the problem, does it fuck with multiplayer?

OT:
Cool, guess I'll check it out, I remember one of my friends still plays it a lot so maybe I'll play a few games with him.

 

[Mojo]

So... I forget, why does everyone hate origin exactly? I mean yeah, the interface isn't the best but that doesn't sound like it justifies all this hate. I haven't used it for a multiplayer game yet, so is that the problem, does it fuck with multiplayer?

OT:
Cool, guess I'll check it out, I remember one of my friends still plays it a lot so maybe I'll play a few games with him.

Nope, it doesn't. Using Origin for BF3, BC2 and ME3 multilayer for about a year now and never had any problems. Even had a problem with my veteran status and the live chat cleared that up right quick, so no complaints here. I think the hate is coming from the whole TOS/EULA fiasco a while ago, the client itself is fine, even better then steam in some ways.

 

[Soviet Heavy]

so how long before it changes to Pay 2 Win, like they did with Battlefield Heroes?

 

[jollybarracuda]

so how long before it changes to Pay 2 Win, like they did with Battlefield Heroes?

I dont think ever, since they aren't changing the business model of the game, it's going back to being a purchasable game in March, they're literally just giving the game away at this point.

And yah, im not seeing all the Origin hate, i think at this point EA has just built up a reputation of gaining hate on principle, which I can pretty easily get behind. But to be fair, Origin has been fairly simple to use and doesn't really get in the way, honestly.

 

[Irridium]

Does this include the expansions, or the base game? Because if it's just the main game, I'll just dig out my old disks.

1942 is a fine game. The first game I ever played online. Think I'll re-install.

As for Origin, eh. It just doesn't have anything to offer me. Pretty much the only reason I don't use it. From what I saw when I tried it out, it wasn't that bad. Used it to get Dragon Age Awakening for free when they messed up that promotion. What's sweet about it is that I apparently don't need Origin running to play it, so that's awesome.