Battlefield 3's Pre-Order Firepower Upsets Gamers

[Jamash]

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.

That's not strictly true (although you can be forgiven for thinking that because of the way this 'scandal' has been spun), as it doesn't cost anything extra to pre-order the "Physical Warfare Pack", which is still priced the RRP.

Have gamers become such cheapskates that anyone who buys a game new at it's launch price is considered to "spend a little bit more money"? They're not paying extra for the bonuses, they're paying the normal RRP and shouldn't be made pariahs of for exhibiting normal consumer behaviour.

I really don't see what the big deal is.

The guns can be unlocked through normal gameplay anyway and the "Limited Edition" Physical Warfare Pack isn't any more expensive than RRP.

It doesn't cost you anything to pre-order it, and you don't even need to leave your house if your pre-order it online, it'll get delivered to your house a day before the release date at no extra cost.

The only people who should be upset by this are people who want to save a few pounds by buying it pre-owned after it's released, or a lot later when it's discounted, yet feel entitled to all the content without paying the full price for the game or without playing to level up.

 

[DrEmo]

This is nothing. If EA adopts the free to play weapon purchasing method (where REALLY overpowered and unbalanced weapons are given to paying players like they do in Battlefield Heroes and Battlefield Play for Free.) then we should get up in arms and start throwing tantrums.

 

[AngryMongoose]

Not that much worse than the entire concept of unlocking weapons in general. So yeah, it's a very bad thing.

 

[Baneat]

Pay for stats?

Pass on game.

 

[Captain Pirate]

Yeah, bullshit 'news' thread much.
1) Most places I've seen that have that pack for pre-order cost no extra charge, so there is no matter of 'richest player wins'.
2) It DOES say 'unlocked on day one', so that means everyone can get them. You seriously expect them to make armour-piercing rounds for one gun and pre-order only?
3) These will hardly be game breaking. DICE know what they're doing, and have done for years. As far as I recall there were no overpowered guns in Bad Company 1 or 2, and I highly doubt there will be in 4.

All in all, stupid gamers are stupid. Quit hating something for no logical reason. Sure, the pre-order pack suggest that the only way to get the flash hider and fleschette rounds is by pre-ordering, but that just won't happen. This will just let you get it on day one.

Fuck's sake, I was hoping BF3 would be winning the fight against MW3, now bullshit news threads like this come up creating stupid doubt, just because bad news gets people more interested than good.

Fuck, I expected more from the Escapist to at least present a counter argument: The fact that DICE won't fuck it up by giving you uber-weapons in pre-order. Frankly, I wouldn't expect such a dick move from Activision, let alone DICE.

 

[Ca3zar416]

Damn it EA not again..... Stop being stupid. I really don't care about the quality of the guns it's the fact that I believe that all mechanical benefits should be available to everyone simply through game play. They should not be something you buy.

 

[Kathinka]

3) These will hardly be game breaking. DICE know what they're doing, and have done for years. As far as I recall there were no overpowered guns in Bad Company 1 or 2, and I highly doubt there will be in 4.

whatever you are taking, i want some. did you ever play bc2?

magnum m60, 1911, bolt action sniper rifles in hc (pre-nerf), the abakan before it was toned down..the whole thing was an utter clusterfuck, balance wise.

 

[Sonic Doctor]

-Snip

Wow, I didn't know about the extra maps... That is quite unfair unless they introduced some sort of pre-order price increase. But I guess it would get more copies sold on release. To be honest most of my post was just kidding around, and I guess guns that are already in the game are better than pre-order specific ones that you can only get through DLC after it's released.

Well somebody already posted this link in this thread but I will do it in a less conspicuous way.

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B002I0HJZO/ref=cm_sw_r_tw_dp_AmI9nb1DBMH2V

It is a free expansion pack that has four legendary maps form Battlefield 2 that have been re-imagined with the frostbite 2 engine, and weapons and vehicles and such from Battlefield 2.

There isn't a price increase, it is set at $59.95.

 

[Sonic Doctor]

Pay for stats?

Pass on game.

Not really, it would be if people that pre-order were paying extra money compared to people that are buying a regular copy after launch. Preorder the limited edition costs the same as buying the regular edition a few days later.

It's kind of silly to pass on the game(if your were going to get it in the first place) because of something so inconsequential as this.

 

[TheRealCJ]

Er... How is this any different to, say, CoD WAWs "Double XP" and LMG in their special edition?

Or the Machine shotgun in Metro 2099, or just about every other preorder bonus?

 

[SergejH]

I`m afraid, that we can`t blame EA nor DICE, we can only blame those, who BOUGHT every smallest piece of DLC even for 10$ for any game or preorder. Just look at those self-selling little pieces in SW:FU 1 and 2 (for as low as only 5$ each!!!), lets enjoy "5 all-new exceptionally varied maps" for only 15$ (which is almost a price of some discounted full AAA titles not older than 1 year), 4 packs of 4 new heroes (only different look), each for just 1.50$ (ok, im guilty of that one ), preorder price mostly higher, than first week on release, mostly because when it is out, everybody realizes, what a p... of s... it is (hail to the new king, baby for probably worst damage to any ip EVER) and so on. So don`t blame them, but rather think, when you see a bag with 50k $ before you, will you just go away, or pick it up???

 

[Captain Pirate]

magnum m60, 1911, bolt action sniper rifles in hc (pre-nerf), the abakan before it was toned down..the whole thing was an utter clusterfuck, balance wise.

Yes, I did. Many times. I played it last weekend. It's fine. M1911 isn't game breaking. Neither is the M60; that thing kicks like a fucking mule. The Bolt-actions are fine as well. Snipers are meant to be powerful, and I don't know about you, but they all seem to kill me the same. They all require skill and patience to get the shots right, so power be damned, if they can hit me, they deserve to kill me.
And nobody uses the bloody Abakan. As in, I've never seen it used in the game more than 5 times. 2 of which were me using it to get the gold stars.

Now, maybe you've just had worse experiences than me, but to me the only thing broken is the rocket lock-on to helicopters.

 

[bassdrum]

Pre-ordering doesn't cost extra money--at least not around here. I've never had a problem with bonuses like this because there's no reason why the average consumer planning on buying the game can't put down a little money now to get access to this stuff. It's not like you CAN'T get this stuff, it's that a lot of people seem NOT to.

However, I do understand why people would be upset and not want to put down their money this long before the release of the game, before they've seen anything for themselves. My solution for you? The game comes out on October 25th, so go in on the 22nd or 23rd and put your money down as late as possible.

 

[Bamboodpanda]

I was gonna use a Best Buy gift card to buy BF3, but now it looks like I can buy Dark Souls with it instead! Thanks EA for making my purchasing choice for me!

 

[Kathinka]

magnum m60, 1911, bolt action sniper rifles in hc (pre-nerf), the abakan before it was toned down..the whole thing was an utter clusterfuck, balance wise.

Yes, I did. Many times. I played it last weekend. It's fine. M1911 isn't game breaking. Neither is the M60; that thing kicks like a fucking mule. The Bolt-actions are fine as well. Snipers are meant to be powerful, and I don't know about you, but they all seem to kill me the same. They all require skill and patience to get the shots right, so power be damned, if they can hit me, they deserve to kill me.
And nobody uses the bloody Abakan. As in, I've never seen it used in the game more than 5 times. 2 of which were me using it to get the gold stars.

Now, maybe you've just had worse experiences than me, but to me the only thing broken is the rocket lock-on to helicopters.

it obviously isn't that bad anymore, but back in the day when the m60 was a 25-damage weapon (so on par with the semiauto snipers) it was utterly preposterous. same with the abakan in between patches , and the 1911 before that. now no gun is really overpowered, but they are all pretty much identical on the other hand (almost all assault rifles share the same damage for example).

and yes, carl gustav and helicopters remain utterly broken. a helicopter pilot with smoke/flares who knows what he's doing is virtually undefeatable.

 

[instantbenz]

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."

This because it's like fuckin warhammer. whoever can buy the most figureens wins the game. you end up hating your rich friend rather than just mooching off of him.

Anyway I'm not super opposed to this as I planned on getting it at launch anyway. I give this a big whatevz, aside from what it has the potential to become.

 

[Kathinka]

magnum m60, 1911, bolt action sniper rifles in hc (pre-nerf), the abakan before it was toned down..the whole thing was an utter clusterfuck, balance wise.

Yes, I did. Many times. I played it last weekend. It's fine. M1911 isn't game breaking. Neither is the M60; that thing kicks like a fucking mule. The Bolt-actions are fine as well. Snipers are meant to be powerful, and I don't know about you, but they all seem to kill me the same. They all require skill and patience to get the shots right, so power be damned, if they can hit me, they deserve to kill me.
And nobody uses the bloody Abakan. As in, I've never seen it used in the game more than 5 times. 2 of which were me using it to get the gold stars.

Now, maybe you've just had worse experiences than me, but to me the only thing broken is the rocket lock-on to helicopters.[/quote]

it obviously isn't that bad anymore, but back in the day when the m60 was a 25-damage weapon (so on par with the semiauto snipers) it was utterly preposterous. same with the abakan in between patches , and the 1911 before that. now no gun is really overpowered, but they are all pretty much identical on the other hand (almost all assault rifles share the same damage for example). the point is that it took them almots half a year to get this shit sorted.

and yes, carl gustav and helicopters remain utterly broken. a helicopter pilot with smoke/flares who knows what he's doing is virtually undefeatable.

edit: ah crud, i just self-quoted instead of editing. disregard first post.

 

[PettingZOOPONY]

3) These will hardly be game breaking. DICE know what they're doing, and have done for years. As far as I recall there were no overpowered guns in Bad Company 1 or 2, and I highly doubt there will be in 4.

whatever you are taking, i want some. did you ever play bc2?

magnum m60, 1911, bolt action sniper rifles in hc (pre-nerf), the abakan before it was toned down..the whole thing was an utter clusterfuck, balance wise.

Actually what you described is balance you, should of added the ump-45 to it also, but that just means every class has a good weapon not just 1 class. BC2 had some great balance but was ruined by whiny bitches that could not play properly.

 

[synobal]

I don't understand why EA would rape their game for the possibility of a few more pre orders. I mean wouldn't it be in your best interest to make a game with awesome game play, balanced mechanics and something that is genuinely fun. In the long run wouldn't that make them more money? I never understand why corporations always insist on the short term cash grab. It's a retarded business practice.

 

[Mad1Cow]

I'm sorry, but there was another recent game that had pre-order incentives thrown in (I think it was LA Noire) but they then released it as DLC afterwards attatched to the first level of DLC that was originally planned. Not to nothing but, could that not happen here to? I mean Battlefield 3 will most definately have map packs and patches right?