Battlefield 3's Pre-Order Firepower Upsets Gamers

[Logan Westbrook]

Battlefield 3's Pre-Order Firepower Upsets Gamers

EA is trading guns for cash with Battlefield 3 [http://www.amazon.com/Battlefield-3-Limited-Xbox-360/dp/B003O6G5TW/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1307971295&sr=8-1] pre-orders.

Most pre-order bonuses are something fun but trivial, like the extra costumes [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/news/view/110466-Mortal-Kombat-Klassic-Skin-DLC-Brings-Back-Toasty-Arcade-Days] in Mortal Kombat or your very own villager [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/news/view/102533-Pre-Order-Fable-3-Receive-a-Person] in Fable 3. But the pre-order bonuses for the limited edition of Battlefield 3 are potential game changers, and that has more than a few people upset

Players who pre-order the limited edition set at GAME or Gamestation in the UK, will gain exclusive access to the Type 88 Light Machine gun, and will be able to unlock the DAO-12, an automatic shotgun that was rather popular in Battlefield 2, on day one. They will also get an exclusive flash suppressor for the SKS sniper rifle, and exclusive armor piercing flechette ammo for the DAO-12. This might not seem like a big deal, but the new weapons will give anyone willing to spend a little bit more money an advantage in the game's multiplayer.

A Reddit thread [http://www.reddit.com/r/gaming/comments/hxtjy/if_you_are_tired_of_exclusive_dlcs_butchering/] about the "Physical Warfare Pack," as it's called, telling people to protest by cancelling their pre-orders, has accumulated more than 1200 comments in 20 hours. This isn't the only protest against the pack either; another such thread [http://forum.ea.com/eaforum/posts/list/6801802.page] on the official EA forums is up to 40 pages.

It's a bit of delayed reaction - the pack was announced three weeks ago - but it doesn't make peoples' complaints any less valid. It's one thing to have an unexpected combination of weapons or equipment prove to be overpowered, but it's quite another for developers to build it into the game, and then offer it up to people as a prize. What's worse is that DICE has been making online multiplayer shooters for years, so you'd think it would know how unbalancing this bonus would be.

Battlefield 3 comes out for PC, PS3 and Xbox 360 on October 25th.

Source: Kotaku [http://kotaku.com/5811243/battlefield-3-finds-a-way-to-piss-people-off]


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[The Wykydtron]

Hmm this looks like the logical conclusion to EA's preorder bonuses... Doesn't stop it from being any less bullshit though.

I doubt it'll really affect the game too much though. DICE know what they're doing

[sub]I hope[/sub]

 

[Deofuta]

It is always a point of contention where bonus content should fall in terms of the scale between cosmetic and practical. I don't really see this being something too earth shattering, and I wouldn't be surprised if we will simply unlock the exact same features rather early in Multiplayer progression.

 

[XT inc]

That is just terrible across the boards, I usually skip out on preorders because of how dicey (get it) games can be, pedigree means nothing and I will be hot damned to waste money queing up for what turns out to be a trash game.

Game changing unlocks leads to the slippery slope of all sorts of bullshit. What is next 10 cent dlc that lets you call in attack dogs or the nuke in call of duty, or buying ranks ups?

Hell I think console games have major balls in taking the free to play model of selling you the extras and then Selling you a 80 dollar game with 30 dollar map packs on top of it all.

I am going to place my chips down that this stuff will get EA trolled by anon or lulsec given their recent history.

 

[Olorune]

They could just switch the bonuses over to the campaign mode or, if the multiplayer revolves around a level-to-unlock and then buy system, they could make it so it's already purchased, you just have to level up and unlock it. If they release it as planned, either everyone will have to preorder, or the term "imba" will be heard 'round the globe (and internets).

 

[The Sane]

I'm willing to bet that the extra guns aren't nearly as overpowered as they make it out to be. Why are they assuming that none of the 'default' guns will match (or even surpass) these in power.

 

[Cowabungaa]

I like pre-order bonuses providing they're fun extras, but I draw the line when spending more money on a game means you have an edge in multiplayer. I definitely don't like the idea of "the richest player wins."

 

[Morgan Howe]

ok, the early unlocks are nothing
its the exclusive weapon buffs, if this is usable in multiplayer, it will create a shit storm
not to mention rage against people who use them.
they should give things like golded weapons models, not something that actualy changes a gun's abilities that the none pre-orders can't get.

edit: was considering pre-ordering this, but if this goes through, i'm not even gona get it, this is as good as using mods/hacks in my book, shame.

 

[monkey jesus]

I'm going to buy it if it comes with smeared in dogshit and the sales assistant gets to kick you in the bollocks. I'll get the multiplayer unlocks in time anyway, loadouts come secondary to class support and decent tactics.

Did you hear that the support class can provide cover fire that blurs the opponents vision? I just bit a little bit of wee I'm so excited.

 

[RYjet911]

I don't get why balance is an issue... The army who spends more money on better weapons has an advantage, simple as. Remember the Type 88 LMG was also in Bad Company 2, and it really wasn't that good...

Flash suppressor for one of the snipers? Doesn't mean the flash will be invisible, just less obvious, and it may be that the sniper is made less powerful as a result of having the attachment.

Armour piercing rounds for one auto shotty? Seriously, this is hardly the game breaker to get annoyed about, when shotguns are heavily situational guns anyway.

Also notice that it says the Type 88 and DAO-12 are unlocked ON DAY ONE for pre orders, which means that it may be unlockable by other means, such as leveling up. The upgrades may also be released as extra DLC along the line to make up for the supposed loss of balance.

 

[Kleatus]

Except that where I'm from pre-ordering doesn't cost any extra, you just have to put a deposit down sooner as a sign of interest in the game. I find it hard to imagine this works differently anywhere else.

Fact: Developers like pre-orders because it's guaranteed sales.

Fact: Retailers like pre-orders because it's guaranteed sales.

Gamers hate pre-orders because it requires them to leave their house and pre-order the game. Discuss.

IMO, sounds like sensationalist BS to me. Want the weapons, go put a deposit down. Don't care? Don't. It's not the end of the world.

 

[repeating integers]

*action hero voice* No amount of shiny exclusive guns will stop me from fucking their shit up.

Really, I don't see this affecting my enjoyment too much. Maybe because I've never cared all that much about winning.

 

[Elomin Sha]

Actually working for one of those company's in question. The customers aren't paying more for early access. There is a deposit but that comes right off the price when they buy it so they pay the normal price.

 

[RedBeta22]

I really want to like BF3 but this pre-order bollocks is making it really hard. And while we're on the topic of BF3: EA, would you please stop talking about Call of Duty? Please? Thank you.

 

[42]

I'd say it was more of EA's decision and DICE had to role with it. Dev's make the game and do everything that effects the game, but the publisher EA, are the ones who make these kind of calls. It's purely advertising and at anything i don't think DICE would have much of a choice. anyway the amount of people who pre-order only make up a small majority of people who will buy the game, as most people will buy after it's released. so you're looking at a small percentage of people with the DLC guns. it wont impact on multiplayer that much.


EDIT: and plus none of you have played the bloody thing yet, so no you don't know what it's going to be like, so stop being so bloody pretentious and dont cancel your pre-order because of crap like this. you can't pass judgement on a game that hasn't come out yet i mean look at Duke Nukem Forever, that game was going to be the bloody manifestation of Christ, but it didnt meet people's expectations. Complaining about something so trivial like this is like getting upset over well, Duke Nukem not meeting your expectations. Look in all seriousness boycotting something over something like this is just stupid, i mean look how well the L4D2 boycott went. Valve definitely blasted those guys out of the water.

 

[Owlslayer]

Well, i for one am hoping that the preorder guns will be just really shiny and pretty, but as useless as a bow in a gunfight ( Expert when you're the Sniper with the Huntsman, duh! That's like a one-hit-kill, OP much?!/TF2). But if they are game-changers then that's just sad.
Oh well, I guess we'll see what happens.

 

[ProfessorLayton]

The funny thing is? Battlefield 3 is going to sell like crazy and no more than a week into it will everything balance out.

If you preordered Bad Company 2, you got that one submachine gun in multiplayer and some other things. But if you didn't preorder, you could unlock them by playing. And what about Crysis 2 (I think Crysis 2 did it... or at least another game did) where if you preordered you were immediately bumped to level 5 in multiplayer.

Basically, if people are seriously that upset about a slight temporary advantage, let them complain and miss out on what's going to be one of the biggest shooters of 2011. I'm getting really sick of these half-assed "boycotts" because a developer is trying to market the game. Go ahead, I can guarantee that in a year no one will even remember the preorder bonuses and we'll forget all about the fact that some people tried to boycott it.

Actually working for one of those company's in question. The customers aren't paying more for early access. There is a deposit but that comes right off the price when they buy it so they pay the normal price.

Yeah, I was going to mention that as well. When you preorder, you pay the same exact amount of money as everyone else does. It's just paying for it early and I actually find it a lot easier.

 

[Hristo Tzonkov]

Wait this shit will be released in 3-4 months as a dlc for some small price with OTHER WEAPONS on top.Why are people bitching.Why would you even want to preorder if all you'll get is a weapon that looks goldenly shitty.

 

[Xyphon]

As long as they aren't game breakers, I really don't see the point in these protests. The T88 in Bad Company 2 wasn't all that good.

Nobody bitched about the Gold version of Bad Company 1 nor the VIP for Bad Company 2, why start now when what's being offered isn't even all that good in the first place?