Battlefield 3 Premium Enlists 800,000 in 14 Days

[Timothy Chang]

Battlefield 3 Premium Enlists 800,000 in 14 Days

EA considers the Premium model for other games.


Would you pay the price of a new game for a supplementary service? Battlefield 3 players seem happy to do so; EA's Battlefield 3 Premium service now has 800,000 subscribers since its launch two weeks ago.

EA executive Patrick Soderlund stated that the package's demand surpassed the company's initial expectations, saying that EA is "very pleased with the performance so far." For an additional $50, gamers can receive early access to every future DLC planned for the game, as well as exclusive in-game items, more detailed statistics, and "Premium-only" double XP events and competitions. Some functions of the service, such as Premium-limited servers and Premium server queue jumping, have been met with some contention in the community, but the rapid uptake shows that gamers are keen on these privileges.

Soderlund believes that it is too early to tell if Battlefield 3 Premium is going to pay off in the end, but other EA execs are more optimistic. Frank Gibeau, President of EA Labels, thinks that the Call of Duty Elite-inspired service model can be applied to other games in EA's portfolio. "It's something we'd always been considering and we had been looking at," he says. "We didn't have it ready for launch and it took us some time to get it prepped...if your competitor does something innovative and you think it applies to what you can do, then there's no harm in doing that.

"We actually think our Premium service exceeds what Elite does," he continues. "Longer term we think that we can bring more properties into that offering and that'll be great for the business."

It seems like other companies are thinking the same way. Services like Elite, Premium, and Rockstar Pass [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/news/view/117030-Rockstar-Reveals-Extensive-Max-Payne-3-DLC-Schedule] may be the key to keeping modern day titles profitable.



Source: Games Industry [http://content.usatoday.com/communities/gamehunters/post/2012/06/battlefield-3-premium-tops-800000-within-first-2-weeks/1#.T_Ex_Ylhic0]

Permalink

 

[Gearhead mk2]

Everything this company does makes me hate them more.

 

[9thRequiem]

Everything this company does makes me hate them more.

Yeah ... But it's clearly working for them. Which means not only will other EA games follow suit, but other companies will get ideas.
This can't end well, for anyone.

 

[itsthesheppy]

I think it's time we admit defeat, gents. We lost the culture war.

 

[kajinking]

I'm a little worried about where this might lead considering it's EA but at least this time the content seems worth it. Personally I didn't bother with premium since I tend to play for a month or two then uninstall so I can play something else but for a serious player I can see the value. An estimated 75$ worth of DLC for 50$, getting the DLC early for those ultra competitive players who really want an edge, some events to keep things interesting, and some rather lackluster custimization options (Don't get the point of the gun camo personally). That being said for a casual player like me probably not worth it and I pray EA or anyone else doesn't take this type of system too far. I can see things going bad quickly if they decide to start offering substancial content for these type of accounts only or if an game does poorly enough that they have to cancel any future DLC (Not likely but if start applying this system to any game it could happen). In all a nice deal here but I truly am worried someone's gonna take it too far and basically make paying double for a game required to get all the content that game has to offer.

 

[anian]

What are you people talking about? Pioneers and leaders in legitimate way of taking money from fools!

Hi, EA, can I come and work for you? I see you got a lot more money rolling in, I'm really good at counting money and other stuff. I'm a hard worker and I can even do some 3d work etc., seriously just give me a call.

 

[Ov3rdose]

This is not bad. Why shouldn't you pay 50$ for 75$ worth of dlc? People who would buy the DLC separately are sheep they are giving more money to EA then they should. This is optional, you don't have to do it. You can still play the original maps. People can't say this is the worst thing to happen so far. COD Elite is evil, you have to pay a monthly fee but with BF Premium is only once a lifetime pay, which isn't bad.

 

[Rooster Cogburn]

What a joke. It would be bad enough if this were just a case of 800,000 idiots wasting money on shit that used to be included in the cost of a game. Insanely overpriced DLC sucks, but "more detailed statistics"? What the fuck. This bullshit package even makes the game worse for people who don't pay $50 on top of the original purchase! I just cannot for the life of me understand why people want to play this shit. I could not stand this treatment if it were me.

 

[Mister K]

Everything this company does makes me hate them more.

Yeah ... But it's clearly working for them. Which means not only will other EA games follow suit, but other companies will get ideas.
This can't end well, for anyone.

Well, it WILL end up well for the companies, moneywise.

 

[Neonit]

if people are willing to pay, let them - its their money.
yes, i agree, it seems stupid to me, but who am i to judge?

 

[felbot]

and que other publishers doing the exact same shit and people going "why are everybody doing this?"
its because you people are sheep.

 

[Woodsey]

'It seems like other companies are thinking the same way. Services like Elite, Premium, and Rockstar Pass may be the key to keeping modern day titles profitable.'

Please, if this were the only thing keeping them profitable they'd stop making them.

OT: The price of a new game for something you have no idea of the quality of. Smart, chaps - smart.

 

[ShockValue]

I fail to see the problem here. Oh wait I forgot EA is worse than cancer or something to you people.
Cue nerd rage over nothing.

 

[FantomOmega]

'It seems like other companies are thinking the same way. Services like Elite, Premium, and Rockstar Pass may be the key to keeping modern day titles profitable.'

Please, if this were the only thing keeping them profitable they'd stop making them.

OT: The price of a new game for something you have no idea of the quality of. Smart, chaps - smart.

I can think of other things that keeps games profitable. Creativity, Dedication and Talent!
The moment the bastard start mentioning PROFIT I can no longer believe he's talking about a better "game experience" for gamers and more like a hook to draw extra cash from the sheep people that doesn't know any better

They'll set a even worse trend, its bad enough that if I buy a used game of battlefield i have to pay for the multilayer when the previous owner already paid for the servers. two people pay but only ONE plays online...

 

[Kungfu_Teddybear]

Everything this company does makes me hate them more.

I know right? How dare they offer up a service that's actually a good deal. Not only does the premium get you the DLC early but it also gives you some unique assignments and dogtags to unlock, prioritises you in server queues and few other things. Not to mention that it actually works out cheaper than buying all the DLC's separately, so for anyone planning to buy all the DLC's it's a great deal. But go ahead, continue using the fact that it's EA just to have a moan about something you probably never used or even know anything about.

 

[Gearhead mk2]

Everything this company does makes me hate them more.

I know right? How dare they offer up a service that's actually a good deal. Not only does the premium get you the DLC early but it also gives you some unique assignments and dogtags to unlock, prioritises you in server queues and few other things. Not to mention that it actually works out cheaper than buying all the DLC's separately. But go ahead, continue using the fact that it's EA just to have a moan about something you probably never used or even know anything about.

Imagne you've paid the retail $60 or £40 or whatever for a hot new game. You get on it, jump into the multiplayer, and find in entierly filled with people who splashed out more and now have tons of game-breaking gear. I don't think a premium or a subscirption is a bad idea. You pay a bit extra when you get it, and you get DLC free for life, I got nothing against that. My problem is when it costs too much or it gives too many bonuses. Gears 3 did it right, free maps and one extra skin, but BF3's premium thing is giving away too much. It reeks of bad, segregated "free to play" games that force you to pay up if you want any real progress.