EA Confirms No Battlefield 3 on Steam

[Xanadu84]

BF3 looks pretty great, but at the end of the day, it's another Military shooter in a market full of them. Put another hurdle between me and the game, and I cease to case. If it comes to Steam, Ill buy it. If not, hey, Modern Warfare is inevitably just around the corner.

Also the Steam criticisms just don't make sense. Not only are other games on Steam where the DLC is handled by the publisher, other EA titles on Steam have DLC handled by EA. I own DLC for Dragon Age, and Mass Effect. And actually, I would have bought them sooner if they were handled by Steam. You wanna release your game on your own DD service? You have that right. You have the right to make me decide that I don't want to buy the game. Sorry to the Devs, Battlefield is usually a great series.

I really want to hear Valve chime in here.

 

[Yureina]

Well, that's one less game i'll bother to buy this year. Nice job EA.

 

[KingsGambit_v1legacy]

Wasn't gonna get it anyway, but seriously, who didn't see this coming? I hope ME3 isn't affected but it's not looking good for it to make an appearance on Steam. Will prob end up buying disc version and No-DVD cracking it.

 

[Shamanic Rhythm]

"Battlefield 3 will not be available on Steam as the service restricts our ability to directly support players," a rep said. "The service limits our ability to deliver patches and downloadable content directly to players. No other download service has adopted these practices. At EA, supporting our players is a top priority, and we are happy to partner with any download service that does not restrict our ability to connect directly with our own consumers."

OK, this might be a bit trollish, but... I laughed at the bolded part.

Yes, supporting players is EA's top priority. That's why the players have to go and finish fixing their games when EA stops making patches after a year or two... like with Command & Conquer: The First Decade and the long promised 1.03 patch, which didn't come about until the players created it.

A fucking men. I wanted to patch the notoriously buggy SimCity 4 the other day, which I picked up from a bargain table a few weeks ago. EA no longer even have the patch for the game on their site, instead they basically gave permission to a fan site to host the patches after they took it off their own server. They really don't give a shit about anything that's older than a couple of months.

 

[Andy Chalk]

It's not often that you see a clash of arcane profit-sharing policies arouse this much passion and anger among consumers.

 

[Pandabearparade]

But eh, fuck EA and stuff because anger for no apparent reason.

You say that sarcastically, but honestly... sure, why not? EA has built nothing but bad feelings from the community over the years. Valve has done the opposite. In any issue, the default position (for me, at least), is to side with Valve and tell EA to go die.

Yup. Biased post is biased. At least I admit it.

 

[42]

Why the hell am I not reading News about "Diablo 3 not on Steam" or "Minecraft not on Steam" (or any of the other dozen/hundred of games out there that don't appear on Steam) which should be getting the same kind of baseless vitriol as this?

Because Blizzard doesn't need a digital distributor because it's Blizzard. Ok it WoW subs might be going down, but let me state this is the company that made WoW, and as for Diablo not being on Steam, it really does't matter that much, and it's better to buy their games from a store like us cavemen used to to do back in the stone age, because it makes loading it onto a computer much easiers. Minecraft isn't on their because it's not released yet, It's in BETA. i've never seen any game on steam thats in BETA. no Left 4 Dead levels do not count.

OT: EA it seems have tried to put the blame on Valve but where it states that Valve's terms restrict DLC "The service limits our ability to deliver patches and downloadable content directly to players. No other download service has adopted these practices. At EA, supporting our players is a top priority, and we are happy to partner with any download service that does not restrict our ability to connect directly with our own consumers."

I thought the whole point of Steam was to be an easy way for patches to find their way to consumers and an equally easy way for DLC.

EA are fully of trollop

 

[GeorgW]

So, let me get this straight. EA want to release the game on Origin, a few other DD services, and on Steam. Steam says no, only on our platform or not at all. And EAs pulling the dick move here? Right.

But let me guess, you didnt read the article, checked the comments section and saw that all the cool kids were hating on EA so you decided to do the same. Yep, that must be it. Because if you actually had read the article before making a reply, you would have noticed that BF3 does not need Origin installed to run.

I'm guessing you didn't read the article too well yourself, because the reason BF3 isn't showing up on Steam is not because Steam said "our platform or not at all." It's because of issues regarding how they get DLC to customers. Or, as another poster explained quite well, Steam now has a requirement that all DLC offered for games must also be purchasable through Steam as well. This is likely because of a previous issue with Mirror's Edge (an EA game) where the DLC didn't work with Steam versions of the game.

Other online retailers may be offering the game because they don't have this restriction, but looking back on the history of this particular issue between EA and Steam I'd be weary of buying BF3 on these other stores and expecting the DLC to be compatible with any non-Origins version.

Really, your "steam said just our service or it won't be on ours at all" comment made no sense. You do realize that Steam if full of games that are available on other online services as well, right? It doesn't even match up with what EA said the reason was; if Steam said "only our service or none at all" then EA would have said that, not "The service limits our ability to deliver patches and downloadable content directly to players."

It still makes sense. Steam is still working against having the game on their platform, and are just as much "at fault" here as EA. That was the gist of my statement, and its still right.

I'm still calling bullshit on what EA is saying. As I recall, I had to download an expansion pack directly from EA for Mass Effect 2. It was really annoying, but I did it.

Yeah, im by no means arguing against that. This kind of stuff nearly always ends up making the experience more complicated and annoying for the user. And I think theres a lot more in it than EA are saying here. What I was saying was just that I can guarantee that Valve isnt completely innocent in this, and EA getting all the hate is unjustified.

If I may say something. I think Steam is entirely justified in their decision. Why should steam advertise EA's games, give them server space and so on if they're gonna be completely cut out of the DLC profits? I think EA is being stubborn and stupid, possibly because they want publicity for Origin. Sure it's entirely Steam's decision to pull it, but EA had it coming and I respect that Steam's willing to lose out on the massive profits that BF3 is gonna make for its principles.

You may say so, and I would agree to an extent. As I said, I think its just unfair to give all the hate to EA and act like its entirely their fault, and as if they had absolutely no half way good reason to make the decision. It would be just as stupid to give the entire blame to Steam.

At the end of the day all of this is trivial stuff anyway, anybody who was wanted to play it will still play it. The only people that will "miss out" are those that may have purchased when it went on some crazy sale in the summer sale or something, but the people who planned on a purchase will still make it. I flat out dont believe anyone who says they will now not get the game even though they wanted to before hand just because a piece of DRM is not included.

(although one must say that it speaks volumes about how nice Steam is when people will actually praise and call for what is at its core just a DRM)

You're right, it's not just EA's fault, but I still side with Valve on this one. Once again, their terms are very reasonable, why should they have a game on their platform when the publisher refuses to let them sell the DLC via steam. DLC has become just as important as the game itself and cutting Steam out was a dick move by EA. Once again, I think this whole thing is justto get publicity for Origin, good or bad.

Meh, I cant really say this is important enough to me to take sides. I really dont care all that much so I cant say who im siding with. I can live without Steam as I use Xfire for my in game needs (have used it forever and its one of the first things I install on a clean windows) and I have no problem with applying patches or driver updates manually. Steam is nice and all, and you cant top the sales, but as long as Origin isnt akin to GFWL in terms of buggyness, harsh interface, etc etc, I dont mind.

The problem I have with it is not with Origin, I'll be getting it on disc either way. I'm talking about what this means for the future, and I don't like it. I love that Steam is getting some competition, monopolies are never good, even though I think Steam has always been good. The problem is that this isn't competition, this is publishers forcing monopolies by pulling their games on every service except their own, where they can charge whatever they want since there's no competition. This is the future, and I don't like it.

Well, thats another way to look at it, and certainly a valid concern. Another one for you: I believe Jim Sterling actually did a whole Jimquisition episode on it, actually; I dont want to register with a different service for every fucking different game out there. I currently have accounts with Origin, Steam, GFWL, GoG, Gamespy, and im sure theres more but you get the idea. Its fucking annoying as hell. The worst part is that pirates are having a better experience than me, while im paying money for the bad version.

That was more a complaint on DRM and such in general, but eh, it kind of fits.

Back to what you said anyway, to be perfectly honest I cant say for sure but I dont think its going that way. As gamers, and humans beings in general, we always look at the future and say it looks bleak, but gaming is stronger and better than ever (please dont flame me, sorry you belong to the 1% that still swears Battletoads was the pinnacle of video gaming even though you havent played it in decades). Sure, we have problems, DRM and DLC being two big ones, but companies are beginning to see you can make more money and sales if you are reasonable. Skyrim, for instance, massive title, wont have DLC, only Shivering Isles like expansion packs. The DLC for the Witcher 2 is free. Both of these games have or will sold/sell incredibly well, and its not going to be a long time before EA looks and says "Wow, I bet we could increase profit if we did that! And we could increase profit if we allowed other stores to sell our games too!".

I went off topic so much in that post, sorry, but the gist of it is just that the future probably wont end up being as bad as it looks now.

See, I'm not sure about that. I realised when you said it that I actually do tend to be very pessimistic when it comes to the future and that it's usually unjustified, I admit that.

That said, EA isn't Bethesda or CD project, and they have a lot to prove to me before I start to think about them in the same regard. Bethesda and CD project are marvellous devs and smart marketers. Let's see what EA has done the last few years.

Pandemic, one of my favourite developers of all time, probably the favourite, got canned, they added project ten dollers, DA:O became DA2 (I actually haven't played DA, so this part is based on hearsay), they announced season pass last week, they forced DICE, another of my favourite, to can mirror's edge 2, they stole their engine, forced them to add pre-order super weapons (which DICE changed to time exclusive semi-super weapons) and a campaign to BF3. Now they're gonna take on the biggest force in PC gaming, Steam, and the biggest force on the consoles, CoD, at the same time.

Soo, yes, I have doubts that EA will learn from their mistakes and I don't trust that they'll better for the future. Some companies do these things right and I have no doubt that the future for those companies will be good, but EA is not one of them. For the future, I really hope that devs will continue the current trend of self-publishing in the likes of Valve, Bethesda, CD Project and Mojäng AB, it has certainly worked well for them.

 

[Draitheryn]

If it weren't for Bioware I would happily boycott EA completely. All they do is buy out decent companies and $#!@% them up. I've read quite a few horror stories about EA and when it comes down to it they aren't a well run company, they have money by buying out other companies and the only reason they could is because they got started before most other companies when the game market was still virgin. If started today they would be bankrupt in a month, and the world would be a better place.

 

[Odlus]

It still makes sense. Steam is still working against having the game on their platform, and are just as much "at fault" here as EA. That was the gist of my statement, and its still right.

Sure, if by "working against having the game on their platform" you mean "ensuring Steam customers aren't prevented from receiving patches and being able to purchase DLC." Which, I might add, is completely different from your original claim of "The game has to be available on Steam only or else we won't sell it!"

 

[Waaghpowa]

Anyone making an issue over this is stupid. I buy games where they're cheaper first, which is 80% of the time cheaper on steam when you consider taxes and currency exchange. As much as I like steam, I don't understand the crusader fervor some people have for it, it's almost like the console wars.

Lol thats why i like consoles, don't have to deal with this shit
My thoughts go ut to all you PC gamers

Uh...thanks? It really sucks that our games are generally cheaper and we don't have to buy proprietary accessories and Hard drives (Granted this is mostly on the Xbox).
E.g. Fear 3 PS3/Xbox360 69.99 CND
Fear 3 for PC 44.99 USD which is ~43 CND assuming you did the pre purchase.

 

[Deef]

"The service limits our ability to deliver patches and downloadable content directly to players."

By which they mean: "The service limits our ability to make as much money as possible from DLC sales."

 

[Robert Ewing]

I'm kinda glad it's not on steam, good for them. Even though I don't really get the reasoning behind it... Why wouldn't the most used digital distribution service in the history of humanity help online connectivity between players? Cool.

 

[Danarok]

I buy pretty much all my games of Steam now, with a few choice ones from Battle.net. The service is excellent and Valve really knows gaming. When the two sides start bashing it out, I know who I stand with. It'll be Steam or not at all, but I would be lying if I said I wasn't hoping EA will eventually relent.

 

[Macrobstar]

Anyone making an issue over this is stupid. I buy games where they're cheaper first, which is 80% of the time cheaper on steam when you consider taxes and currency exchange. As much as I like steam, I don't understand the crusader fervor some people have for it, it's almost like the console wars.

Lol thats why i like consoles, don't have to deal with this shit
My thoughts go ut to all you PC gamers

Uh...thanks? It really sucks that our games are generally cheaper and we don't have to buy proprietary accessories and Hard drives (Granted this is mostly on the Xbox).
E.g. Fear 3 PS3/Xbox360 69.99 CND
Fear 3 for PC 44.99 USD which is ~43 CND assuming you did the pre purchase.

Hey no need to get defensive just saying im glad i dont have to deal with all this
EDIT: Also fear 3 is cheaper on amazon then on steam sooo yeh

 

[Waaghpowa]

Hey no need to get defensive just saying im glad i dont have to deal with all this
EDIT: Also fear 3 is cheaper on amazon then on steam sooo yeh

Your post could be interpreted as "Ha ha, sucks to be you guys". This kind of crap has only occurred recently as well, so it's not like it's been going on for years.

Also that price was from initial release.

 

[Macrobstar]

Hey no need to get defensive just saying im glad i dont have to deal with all this
EDIT: Also fear 3 is cheaper on amazon then on steam sooo yeh

Your post could be interpreted as "Ha ha, sucks to be you guys". This kind of crap has only occurred recently as well, so it's not like it's been going on for years.

Also that price was from initial release.

It didnt mean to come out as insulting, im just saying i wouldn't wanna deal with it, its like being the child of arguing parents

 

[Doom-Slayer]

"Battlefield 3 will not be available on Steam as the service restricts our ability to directly support players," a rep said. "The service limits our ability to deliver patches and downloadable content directly to players. No other download service has adopted these practices. At EA, supporting our players is a top priority, and we are happy to partner with any download service that does not restrict our ability to connect directly with our own consumers."

What total ****.(See I censored myself so I'm not offensive, and yes I'm going to elaborate) Seriously EA? Seriously...this is so blatantly obvious to everyone of what your doing.

EA: We want to release patches, dlc and updates through our game, and not Steam, yet want to sell our product on Steam and use their publicitity/servers etc

Steam: Um no...your just blatantly trying to cut out us as the middle man so we dont make money, yet you want to use our service.

Thats childish beyond belief, EA dressing this whole thing up in "We support the players". Whether the patches/dlc/new content is delivered through steam or your own medium via the game does not affect customers AT ALL. Its so obvious all they are doing here is trying cheat Steam out of money for their service, then taking their toys and going home when Steam tells them no.