Battlefield 3 Premium Enlists 800,000 in 14 Days

[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. 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.

It doesn't give any new gear that unbalances the game. The only thing gear-wise that's unique to the premium service that it gives you is a new knife, and it's only a skin, it's not even more powerful than the original knife. All the unlockable guns are guns that will be in the game when the expansions are out for everyone else and the new unlockable guns aren't any more powerful than the guns in the vanilla game or the Back to karkand expansion. So people who splashed out on the premium service do not get an unfair advantage over non-premiums.

EDIT: And I'll also add that the M16A3, a gun that you start off with, is still one of the best and most used guns in the game, even among people who bought premium.

 

[Gearhead mk2]

It doesn't give any new gear that unbalances the game. The only thing gear-wise that's unique to the premium service that it gives you is a new knife, and it's only a skin, it's not even more powerful than the original knife. All the unlockable guns are guns that will be in the game when the expansions are out for everyone else and the new unlockable guns aren't any more powerful than the guns in the vanilla game or the Back to karkand expansion. So people who splashed out on the premium service do not get an unfair advantage over non-premiums.

Ok, I admit I dun goofed there. Still, EA being EA, it's only a matter of time. Remember that guy who said he was think about a $1=1 clip game? We need to establish a line before they push bullshit like tah onto their major games.

And on the subject of that one gun, if everyone is using it, then it's obviously OP. They need to focus on MAKING A GOOD GAME, not wrining every last penny out of people.

 

[Kungfu_Teddybear]

It doesn't give any new gear that unbalances the game. The only thing gear-wise that's unique to the premium service that it gives you is a new knife, and it's only a skin, it's not even more powerful than the original knife. All the unlockable guns are guns that will be in the game when the expansions are out for everyone else and the new unlockable guns aren't any more powerful than the guns in the vanilla game or the Back to karkand expansion. So people who splashed out on the premium service do not get an unfair advantage over non-premiums.

Ok, I admit I dun goofed there. Still, Ea being EA, it's only a matter of time. Remember that guy who said he was think about a $1=1 clip game? We need to establish a line before they push bullshit like tah onto their major games.

I'll clarify something, because I suppose defending the premium service makes me look like a fan of EA. I'm not. But I'm not going to use the fact that it's EA just to hate on something they've released even when it's a good deal. Also, that $1 - 1 clip thing, yeah that's bullshit and I doubt it will ever happen. But if it did...

EDIT: The M16A3 is a really good gun. But not so good that it's totally OP and unbalances the game. Now the USAS 12 before it was nerfed...

 

[Gearhead mk2]

snip

I admit I may have overacted because I saw EA in the title. My bad.

 

[vfn4i83]

I just wonder how much of those whom bought BF Premium as a full package, really know they were entering into a new service inside the already existence origin service, and how is measure that success EA think they had.

Thats messed up.

 

[Formahult]

i couldn't care less about the other premium junk, but bf3 prem gets me access to all DLC for $50AUD, while each of the five DLC alone are around $20AUD totaling $100AUD.

why would i not get prem?

i understand if people don't want all or none of the DLC, or the costing is different elsewhere. but as far as i'm concerned it wasn't a terrible deal. i'm already bound by Origin and other EA shit, so why should i pay more just so i can say 'i'm not a sheep and i refuse to pay for stupid "premium" services'?

 

[ASnogarD]

The issue isnt really about BF3 premium , if thats where it stopped no problem you can select to participate or not... no issue.

The issue is that EA will take this to the next step, and push for making it a none choice ... or shall we just say it will make it too attractive to not bother with by shrinking the core game even more and adding the rest of the game as premium content which none members can buy as DLC.
You could buy a reduced core game for your $60 and pay $50 annually for $80 worth of DLC, or buy the game for $60 and pay $80 for the rest of the game... you dont think EA will actually add more content, it will simply with hold more content from the core.

Now, imagine if that annual fee included other games, all Dead Space 3 DLC , all Simcity DLC , etc etc... wouldnt it be worth paying $50 for all that... especially when EA takes more out the core game and turns that to DLC , artificially increasing the DLC amount for the same effort.

You will end up basically choosing to boycott EA, or participating in the premium subscription model...

...or do you think I should ditch the tin foil hat ?

 

[Meight08]

The issue isnt really about BF3 premium , if thats where it stopped no problem you can select to participate or not... no issue.

The issue is that EA will take this to the next step, and push for making it a none choice ... or shall we just say it will make it too attractive to not bother with by shrinking the core game even more and adding the rest of the game as premium content which none members can buy as DLC.
You could buy a reduced core game for your $60 and pay $50 annually for $80 worth of DLC, or buy the game for $60 and pay $80 for the rest of the game... you dont think EA will actually add more content, it will simply with hold more content from the core.

Now, imagine if that annual fee included other games, all Dead Space 3 DLC , all Simcity DLC , etc etc... wouldnt it be worth paying $50 for all that... especially when EA takes more out the core game and turtns that to DLC , artificially increasing the DLC amount for the same effort.

You will end up basically choosing to boycott EA, or participating in the premium subscription model...

...or do you think I should ditch the tin foil hat ?

Yes you do.
this is just a buy early for a lower price way to buy the dlc.

 

[ASnogarD]

For now...

 

[Formahult]

just because they have the potential to do something bad doesn't mean they will, and more importantly doesn't warrant us condemning them for something they only might do.

if EA raises the total price of a game in the future through 'premium' services and other underhanded means then by all means boycott and villanize them when that actually happens.

however at the moment the price of vanilla bf3 costs the same as any other game and by purchasing bf3 prem you get DLC at a reasonable price. perhaps they are shifting to a more devious business model,one can't truly say, but their current one is no less painful than any other large developer.

 

[13thforswarn]

As a person who owns BF3 Premium, the reason I bought was because if they're gonna charge $10.00-%15.00 for the last 4 DLC packs (which amounts to something between $40.00 and $60.00), I may as well get Premium since I'm paying $50.00 and I'm getting extra stuff (that isn't very important to me, but still nice to have).

 

[ASnogarD]

I never said we should boycott, I speculated we would end up in a situation we may have to elect to boycott or accept the practise.

EA doesnt have a good track record for a while now, and its clearly demonstrated a willingness to go to some lengths to increase revenue streams and often disregarding the impact on the actual IP's fanbase ( see C&C4 , Syndicate ).

The problem with a wait and see approach is that by the time it becomes an issue, its normal practise and you are pissing against the wind trying forment some discussing against it.
I spoke against DLC way back when expansions were still the norm, got told to wait and see ... now its normal practise so whats the point of shouting now I get told.
PC titles get delayed, I railed against that when it Publishers at least pretended to have an escuse for the delays... now they dely without a reason, its normal to delay PC titles and any complaints are met with a massive outcry of 'entitlement'.

Now back to this premium system, if you take some relatively logical steps one could easily see a large subscriber base paying an anual fee for extras to games, which would really require the subscriber to buy the games to get value from the subscription... garenteed buyer base no matter what the game was like...

See the adverts... XYZ game coming soon, and premium subscibers can look forward to [ exclusive items ], of course you actually have to buy the game to get those benefits, and since you already have a subscription its not too much more to get the game and those benefits.

Yes , all speculation and theory with a dose of conspiricy but not completely out there... at least I didnt mention the alie...them... oh dear.

 

[wooty]

Not even sure I'll buy this, new maps are always a nice addition and all that, but who needs more guns when I can still keep, use and wreak havoc with my bread-and-butter AK-74u?

Weapon of champions

 

[loudestmute]

I'm still struggling to see exactly what is pissing people off so much. If you like the game and want to support the developers, then you can easily justify paying twice as much to get twice the content.

If you like the game and hate the Premium service, good on you. There's still plenty of core game content for you, and plenty of people to play against. You're only "missing out" if you're one of those OCD achievement hunters.

If you hate EA, why does this concern you? You're already boycotting the product for (online pass/server rentals/skeleton key DLC allowing you to buy your way to the top), so where are you losing money on all of this again?

If you're afraid we'll never have anything to play other than big-budget multiplayer FPS games and licensed sports titles that are both designed to milk the wallets of a preteen audience, I understand your concerns. Now go to Steam/Live Arcade/PSN. Look at all the not-shooters on display. Weep openly once you see that the "niche" genres you were afraid of losing are not only bountiful, but easily accessible and reasonably priced.

 

[Zulnam]

You know, for diehard BF3 fans, this is a decent deal.

The pack offers 5 DLCs, which alone would come at about 75 euros (14.99 each). Add up with all the other minor crap (best of which the double XP events, for most players) and it's not a bad deal for 50 euros.


Probably won't get this one, myself, though. I rather buy the DLCs at my own pace, maybe when they're at an offer or something.

 

[Glademaster_v1legacy]

That's nice but I still won't touch that shit with a barge pole as it sets a bad precedent in my opinion.

 

[Saucycarpdog]

You know, for diehard BF3 fans, this is a decent deal.

The pack offers 5 DLCs, which alone would come at about 75 euros (14.99 each). Add up with all the other minor crap (best of which the double XP events, for most players) and it's not a bad deal for 50 euros.


Probably won't get this one, myself, though. I rather buy the DLCs at my own pace, maybe when they're at an offer or something.

And it actually is fair. COD Elite just lets you get the maps early but you still have to pay for them. BF3 premium lets you get maps early AND you already paid for them by getting premium.

 

[bullet_sandw1ch]

Totally worth it, you get a funky new knife!

what does the knife do thats different than the original?

 

[thisbymaster]

A fool and his money are soon parted.

 

[lacktheknack]

Oh EA, you cards.

I'm awestruck that this worked, but hey, I don't do modern war shooters, so it's not my concern.