EA Accused of Gaming Battlefield 3 Review Scores

[Sizzle Montyjing]

Right now... i just want Battlefield to crash SO hard...
I just really don't agree with EA's way of going about things.
Competing and poking a bit of fun with COD?
Fine by me.

But when you begin to just piss people off in order to pursue some childish grudge-match?
Not cool.

Hopefully EA will screw the pooch so very hard on this one, that they might learn a lesson.
I'm just hoping to god it doesn't do well...
Would not be a good message to the industry.

Anyway, as for this particular incident?
Not suprising in the least, and just fuels more hate towards EA.

 

[GameMaNiAC]

I find it hilarious how EA and Dice are trying so, so hard to compete with CoD, going as far as insulting the franchise, yet IW and Sledgehammer just shrug it off and do not mention Battlefield at all. Oh, and remember when Robert Bowling (developer of MW3) said on reddit that both games (Battlefield 3 and MW3) are going to be great games? Now that's honor.

 

[The Lost Big Boss]

Wait, I thought that everyone knew that advanced copies were given to companies that will most likely give a positive review? It's like the advanced screening, except only to the people you want. Fucked, yes, but I thought we all knew this.

I find it hilarious how EA and Dice are trying so, so hard to compete with CoD, going as far as insulting the franchise, yet IW and Sledgehammer just shrug it off and do not mention Battlefield at all. Oh, and remember when Robert Bowling (developer of MW3) said on reddit that both games (Battlefield 3 and MW3) are going to be great games? Now that's honor.

That's not really honor. I read into what he said as almost a way to say that BF3 is going to be better, but it doesn't matter because CoD is going to sell more no matter what. He is acting like the nice guy because they can see the demise of CoD coming, and only the intervention of god is going to stop it. However, that's my interpretation of it, I may be reading into it and seeing things that may not be there.

 

[bbad89]

Battlefield 3 felt like CoD except with a more of a "indigenous people living in bushes" simulator feel, so I don't care much for it.

 

[Croaker42]

If this action was taken by a independent or small publisher, it would be viewed as a calculated marketing move meant to get the "good" word out to those who you know will love your product.

That this was done by a T ripple A publisher, just makes it seem sneaky and dishonest. But at the moment, I just cant critically judge EA due to my bias against them and what they are doing with digital distribution. I have always been a BF fan and was looking forward to 3. But until they at least fix their digital distribution issue, I can't let myself go their. (Perhaps if someone handed me a PS3)

 

[Formica Archonis]

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I am greatly offended by this. What ever happened to just handing out bribes as is tradition?

In this economy even the bribes suck [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/news/view/113329-Blockbuster-Offers-Journalists-Bribes-For-Anti-Netflix-Tweets].

 

[somonels]

Boy are they sorry for getting caught.

 

[GaltarDude1138]

Oh dear, oh dear...

The question was

when it asks about whether or not the reviewer in question had covered either Call of Duty: Black Ops [http://www.amazon.com/Battlefield-Bad-Company-2-Xbox-360/dp/B001QXNBJM/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1318959403&sr=8-1],

I would think if a person hadn't reviewed either game they'd be in a poor position to form a professional opinion on a game like Battlefield 3. I wouldn't want someone reviewing a game if they hadn't reviewed popular FPS's before.

That wasn't the only question though. The other questions were

what scores he awarded them. It goes on to ask if the reviewer is a fan of either the Battlefield or Call of Duty franchises, if he's expressed any concerns about Battlefield 3, if he played the beta and what his feelings on it were if he did, and "What's his present view on the game?"

-Are you a fan of Battlefield or Call Of Duty?
-Have you in any way criticised Battlefield 3 in any previews you've written?
-Did you play the Beta, and did you like it? If you didn't, why the hell not?
-Do you think Battlefield 3 will be a good game? We know you haven't played the full game yet, but we'd really, really like to know.

They're obviously fishing for positive reviews. It's pretty shameful, and also does a disservice to us gamers. Many prospective buyers rely on reviews to decide whether to make a purchase or not. If EA are trying to skew everything in their favour, that's going against the entire review process.

And of course, the most obvious point is that it makes EA look like they lack faith in their own project. A good game should be able to stand on its own feet. By trying to skew reviews, it makes EA come across as not having a lot of belief in their own game.

I just said the only way I could think of a legit way this would be justifiable would be that.

...not that I necessarily believe that it's what happened. I agree with everything you said, I'm just trying to point out how hard EA will have to work to justify this.

 

[ike42]

This kind of sounds like how Apple decides who gets to go to their press events. It's such a shameless anti-competitive tactic that seems to be designed with the intent of deceiving the public.

 

[Dr. Pepper Unlimited]

It's just another notch in the long list of why I hate EA with an undying passion. I hope Battlefield 3 tanks so EA can take a good, long hard look in the mirror and realize they should have been making a better game, not trying to throw Call of Duty's name in the mud. Screw off, EA.

 

[Carnagath]

If I was Prime Minister in my country, I'd use Battlefield 3 for my own screening process. Based on shit like this and the fact that Origin makes you agree to allow them to datamine absolutely anything on your hard drive and use it for any purpose they feel like, I'd make sure that people who actually buy this game are not allowed to vote.

 

[ZeZZZZevy]

Well this is irritating. I've been excited for this game for a while and I'm sure it can stand up on its own merits, and even if this was a mistake by some idiot marketing person it's obviously bad press.

Also, this is in fact EA's fault, not the developer's. Don't hope for the game to fail because of any idiocy on the publisher's part. You wanna know what happens when a game fails? The developer gets hurt. Publisher? not so much.

 

[Carnagath]

Don't hope for the game to fail because of any idiocy on the publisher's part. You wanna know what happens when a game fails? The developer gets hurt. Publisher? not so much.

Sorry, that doesn't matter much to me, in the same way that, if I get beat up on the street by a guy, and his friend stands by and watches, I'd expect them both to go to jail.

 

[ZeZZZZevy]

Don't hope for the game to fail because of any idiocy on the publisher's part. You wanna know what happens when a game fails? The developer gets hurt. Publisher? not so much.

Sorry, that doesn't matter much to me, in the same way that, if I get beat up on the street by a guy, and his friend stands by and watches, I'd expect them both to go to jail.

that's not a very good analogy. No developer can really point to their publisher and say "you're an asshat, stop being stupid." or anything similar. At least if they still want to get their games published. All they can really do is stand by and shake their heads.

 

[OCAdam]

Don't hope for the game to fail because of any idiocy on the publisher's part. You wanna know what happens when a game fails? The developer gets hurt. Publisher? not so much.

Sorry, that doesn't matter much to me, in the same way that, if I get beat up on the street by a guy, and his friend stands by and watches, I'd expect them both to go to jail.

I think the analogy would turn into you getting beat up by that guy while his friend watches, but then only the watching guy goes to jail while the guy who beat you up leaves without penalty. Or such a small one that it's like not having one.

 

[Electric Alpaca]

We ALL know why Norway is a concern.

Has everyone forgotten a certain occurrence in Oslo already?

 

[dickywebster]

At least no one got fired this time...
And any ZP fans should know what i mean here.

 

[ASnogarD]

I dont know... sending a questionaire to ensure you aint going to give a hostile reviewer or a hard core CoD fan a advanced copy of BF 3 to review is quiet tame, we all know GT will give MW3 a higher score, so will IGN than BF3 ( IGN praising MW 2's audio but give BFBC2's audio barely a mention, instead focused on the story.. remember that ? ).

I also recall a certain publisher giving journalists a paid for trip to a fancy hotel to review MW2, all locked up and not allowed to discuss the game with others... paid for, all expenses paid but had to do the review under strict supervision.

... remember that ?

I aint saying EA is a saint, but it definetly isnt the only dirty pair of knickers in the game... and so far it hasnt really deviated much from the normal buttering up of friendly journalists to garner some more points... thats why we dont believe the review scores anymore, we play demos and / or listen to friends opinions... or grab the game and ***** like crazy afterwards.