BF 3 - Good News

[Batwing~SPARTA~]

from BF 3 site:

 

Physical Warfare Pack available to all Battlefield 3 players later this year

 

A point of clarification for all of our Battlefield fans. We will unlock the contents of the Physical Warfare Pack to all Battlefield 3 players later this year ? for free. Read on for more details on this and Back to Karkand.

 

 

 

 

So maybe this is stating the obvious, but all of us at DICE are here because of our passion for games and the passion to bring you the games we too love to play. I always knew our pre-order offers for Battlefield 3 would be open to misunderstandings. This post is an attempt by me to answer any questions you have.

 

 

 

I would like to start by clarifying that the Physical Warfare Pack is a time-based exclusive. If you do not pre-order Battlefield 3 at a retailer carrying the Physical Warfare Pack, don?t worry. We will unlock the contents of the Physical Warfare Pack for free to all Battlefield 3 players later this year.

 

 

 

 

The Physical Warfare Pack will be available as a pre-order bonus all over the globe. Right now, the UK is the only country where it has been announced, but stay tuned to get constant updates on where you can pick this up in your country. And remember, if you do not pre-order, you will still get access to this content at a later date, free of charge. If you do pre-order, you will get access to it from day one.

 

 

 

For Battlefield: Bad Company 2, many in the Battlefield community were very vocal about wanting additional, new maps to expand the multiplayer experience. With Battlefield 3, we want to make sure we can increase your library of maps quicker than we did for Battlefield: Bad Company 2. We also want to give you something special for pre-ordering, as pre-ordering is basically your way of saying you believe in DICE and Battlefield 3. When we announced that everybody who pre-orders Battlefield 3 would get an entire future expansion pack at no extra charge, I knew we had created a very generous pre-order offer.

 

 

 

Back to Karkand is a massive, themed expansion pack available a period of time after the base game, developed by a separate team here at DICE -- the same team that brought you Battlefield: Bad Company 2 Vietnam. If you played Battlefield: Bad Company 2 Vietnam, you have a pretty good idea about the scope and ambition of our expansion packs. This is so much more than just four remixed maps.

 

 

 

If you pre-order Battlefield 3, you will be able to play Back to Karkand at no extra charge as soon as it is released, but it is not day one DLC and it is not on the base game disc. We think it?s a sweet deal, and it?s available to everyone everywhere. If you do not pre-order Battlefield 3, you can still buy Back to Karkand separately and play it as soon as it is released, the very same date as anyone who pre-ordered. In other words, there is no segmentation of the community when we launch the base game.

 

 

 

There are more pre-order offers for Battlefield 3 out there, and in order to try and avoid any confusion we will return within the next couple of weeks to detail all of them as well.

 

 

 

As always, post any questions you have here, in our forums, on Facebook, or Twitter. We are listening and value your opinion.

 

 

 

Cheers,

Karl Magnus Troedsson

General Manager, DICE

[Rooster90]

That was the least of my concerns. EA or DICE has yet to confirm whether BF3 will be available on Steam or be an Origin exclusive. That's the real deal-breaker for me. Considering Crysis 2 was removed from Steam and has now been labelled an Origin exclusive and they already have stated that SW:TOR will also be exclusive, I worry that BF3 will be as well. Any hopes of BF3 dominating the PC market will go down the drain if there isn't a Steam release.

Edited June 16, 2011 by Rooster90

[Hajimoto]

To add to this concern and possible non Steam distribution I read that there is a special campaign that will offer limited in game items to purchasers of the game from certain retail stores. Read the article HERE.

I am seriously not digging the marketing strategies that are being employed by distributors lately and it seems to be where they are all headed. I find it hard to believe that they are going to offer special in game content for digital distribution sources as the retailers would be up in arms over the non exclusivity.

[MedicSN6]

 

[Steel~Sparta~]

 

 

So True and so full of win

[Rooster90]

I doubt they'd offer actual exclusive content to certain retailers. When BF:BC2 came out there were lots of the same "pre-order specials", but all of it ended up in the game free to everyone in the end. I remember having early access to the "Squad Rush" and "Squad Deathmatch" modes, as well as having a bunch of weapons and equipment earned right off the bat because of my pre-order. Same thing going on here.

 

It's not a strategy that will last. Physical retail is going the way of the dinosaur, and for the better. Pandering to publishers to sell exclusive content to them to keep their video game sections alive is their last breath of hope. I jsut hope developers and publishers see this ruse and get rid of the middleman and all the extra cash needed to distribute hard copies. Digital is the way of the future, and until that concept is fully embraced we're probably going to see a slew of dick moves from the old dogs in the industry until they give up. It happened in the music distribution industry, it's slowly happening in the film distribution industry, only a matter of time before it happens in the games industry as well.

[MedicSN6]

I doubt they'd offer actual exclusive content to certain retailers. When BF:BC2 came out there were lots of the same "pre-order specials", but all of it ended up in the game free to everyone in the end. I remember having early access to the "Squad Rush" and "Squad Deathmatch" modes, as well as having a bunch of weapons and equipment earned right off the bat because of my pre-order. Same thing going on here.

 

It's not a strategy that will last. Physical retail is going the way of the dinosaur, and for the better. Pandering to publishers to sell exclusive content to them to keep their video game sections alive is their last breath of hope. I jsut hope developers and publishers see this ruse and get rid of the middleman and all the extra cash needed to distribute hard copies. Digital is the way of the future, and until that concept is fully embraced we're probably going to see a slew of dick moves from the old dogs in the industry until they give up. It happened in the music distribution industry, it's slowly happening in the film distribution industry, only a matter of time before it happens in the games industry as well.

 

 

Gamestop regularly has exclusive DLC for pre-ordering or just buying the game from them. Dragon Age and Mass Effect titles are examples.

[Rooster90]

I've yet to see exclusive DLC that has been game-breaking though, especially MP games. Sometimes SP content is released that is a little "broken", but rarely MP content.

[Batwing~SPARTA~]

I am sorry to see if this game is not a "Steam distribution" then is gonna be a deal breaker for you.

 

I do understand Steam seems to be very diffused among many of us, but I personally never limited "IF" buying a game on "HOW" is that distributed.

I do believe in open market, in competition. The more ways out there for me to buy something, the more fight between competition to give me a good price and win my business.

 

However, you may also want to take a look at this article:

http://multiplayerblog.mtv.com/2011/06/15/crysis-2-and-battlefield-3-disappear-from-steam/

 

and a quick extract from it:

I can't say it's entirely surprising that EA would pull their titles from Steam. If the company is looking to push their own digital distribution client, it's completely plausible that they want to see those sales coming in-house directly. Well, that would have made sense, except "Crysis 2" is still available on other digital distributor sites like Amazon and Direct2Drive. Strangely, EA is now claiming that their titles were not removed from Valve's service by their own hand. Talking to Giant Bomb, the publisher claims that the games were removed due to new Steam store policies.

 

And more about this controversial subject on the article. So, what Steam is doing? Is that a monouver to consolidate their supremacy as Digital distributor just giving hard time to their loyal customers?

 

Also, similar article here:

http://www.1up.com/news/crysis-2-pulled-from-steam-ea-says-valve-to-blame

 

I mean, really Steam is so strong for your enjoyment to put you on the conditional decision "If is not Steam, I don t buy it" ? Really?

Edited June 17, 2011 by Batwing~SPARTA~

[Rooster90]

If it aint broke, don't fix it. If it works, and works exceptionally well, why not use it? You can't possibly think EA's "alternative" to Steam is, or will ever be, superior (or even competitive). They are a decade behind the game, they missed the boat. All Origin is is a re-skinned EA Store, which was atrocious. Over 25 million PC gamers use Steam and the number only grows. Why would you deny yourself such a huge market for such a huge game? I'm not even asking for the game to include Steamworks. After a few months of patching BFBC2 worked fine without it.

 

It's more principal than anything else. The only reason Origin will become "popular" won't be from a consumer's decision or because it's a good service, it will be because EA, the largest games publisher on earth, has forced PC gamers to use it as the only place to receive their games. Buying a disc version won't matter either because you'll still need an Origin account for it to run. You can argue that Valve does the same thing, but the difference lies in that Steam actually works. Valve has earned the respect of PC gamers worldwide, we didn't just hand it to them overnight. Steam was heavily criticized for years, but they've proven that they serve the customer and they genuinely support the PC platform. There's a reason an increasing number of third-party developers, including Relic, are making Steam (and Steamworks) an important part of their PC games. We love it, the devs love it, Valve is incredibly supportive and helpful, and it works far better on day 1 releases than any other platform. EA has done nothing in the past decade to show that they even notice the PC as a legitimate platform until now. And they're out for our money, not our loyal service.

 

I never said I wouldn't purchase BF3, but man does it look a lot less appealing without Steam in the picture. It's going to be worlds harder for it to compete with Activision. Even THEY use Steamworks for their CoD franchise. BF3 is destined for an even tougher uphill battle, and possibly failure, with EA at the reigns and the denial of Steam.

[Batwing~SPARTA~]

Some misunderstanding is going on

 

First of all

You can't possibly think EA's "alternative" to Steam is, or will ever be, superior (or even competitive).

 

In my reply I do not imply in any way I think Origin can be better than Steam. I do onestly don t care not even a bit about Origin, Steam, Direct2Drive and whoever else is on the market to sell my games. I DO REALLY LOVE THEY ARE ALL OUT THERE :) I thank God there is some choice, because someone may wanna open a sale now, while another doesnt

 

I am a Customer, I am no loyal to anyone. What I care is watching big brands competing because from their competition will come my victory

 

Then, is not even fully true, I am loyal to a very little number of dealers out there, but once again, I want to see them fight for my money.

 

In my reply I gave you a chance to take a look around and read some recent news (out just within 48 hours ago) to have a balanced opinion on who is doing what. I am not sure you took a moment to read those articles. Is not to "convince" you about anything, I thouoght you might be interested to read news, that s it

[Rooster90]

Oh, I know the other side of the story. It has more to do with some dispute between how Crytek is being distributed and Steam's Terms and Conditions. At least that's what we're told. I'll still trust Valve's word over EA's any day. And that still has nothing to do with SW:TOR or BF3 or any other big name future EA title being exclusive to Origin.

 

And of course I support competition. I've purchased a few games from D2D before simply because they had better day 1 deals. I pre-ordered Black Ops for 40 bucks (really glad I didn't spend the full price too, lol). But can't you see what EA is doing is the opposite of competitive? They're denying select distributors and competition from their games to funnel players to their service. That isn't being competitive, that's a forced purchase.

[Yankee~SPARTA~]

[Halli~SPARTA~]

Nice, I can Picture Viiiper in the Recon Mode.

[Rooster90]

I was just going to put up an updated image of this yesterday, lol.

 

Those aren't the actual classes though. The guy on the far right is actually the medic. They combined the Medic and Assault classes, but took away the ammo. The guy on the far left is just Support, and gives ammo.

[GySgt~SPARTA~]

what no air support!!!! when are they going to learn

[Rooster90]

?

 

air support?

[custard~SPARTA~]

No mod tools at launch just like OFPDR I'd wager dedi server will be next, I was going to get game at launch not now.

[NoScream~SPARTA~]

Nice, I can Picture Viiiper in the Recon Mode.

 

 

I know it's a big poohy for all the STEAM fans, but I personally HATE STEAM and think this is great...

Someone needs to take the lead and kill STEAM and it's global crap shop.

 

I'm all for digital downloads versions but not at the cost of having to LOG IN to a sellers honey pot to verify your product every time or to loose all if your account is hacks or misused. Each product stands on it's own merit except at STEAM when all your products stand together and fall together.

 

So +1 to EA Dice.

 

I support digital delivered content as long as it stands on it's own and not linked to other products.

I support variety in the market & SALE time, but not for the sake of selling.

I support choice but not thought a portal system that seems to have no other competition...

 

I just bought Corel Video studio X4 pro from the online digital download shop @ COREL USA for $50.00 + $10 tax that translates to £40 UK

The UK corel shop sells the same thing for £80.00 or $130, NOW that is choice, it is not linked to any other product or any other COREL product.

I could of gone to a 3rd party supplier too or bought it BOXED.

 

USA

http://www.corel.com/servlet/Satellite/us/en/Product/1175714228541#tabview=tab0

 

UK

http://www.corel.com/servlet/Satellite/gb/en/Product/1175714228541#tabview=tab0

 

 

 

 

On a different note... I like the pic too Halli, I have pre-ordered as it's the only game I have pre ordered this year....

[Rooster90]

Except EA is involved, and nothing good can come out of that. The ones responsible for the horrible game-breaking DRM of games like C&C 4. At least with Steam, it auto-logins at start-up (if you choose), you only have to verify your product and library once and you can then run it in Offline mode. Some games I don't even need Steam running at all, such as Company of Heroes and ArmA 2.

 

Every beef you have with Steam is the exact same things that you'll find on EA's Origin, only Origin is horribly coded, designed and buggy. And having another service to login to for certain games defeats the point of Steam, which is to have all your games in one, convenient place. Permanently accessible from anywhere in the world using their cloud service. Unlike EA, where you have a finite amount of downloads (2-3) for a product before you are required to purchase it again.

 

The whole worry of getting "hacked" excuse is completely absurd as well. You're no more at risk on Steam than you are anywhere else you may have entered information, an account, or profile. In the decade I've had it I've had nary a problem, let alone a security problem. In fact, Steam is probably the most safe place I feel on the web. If Gabe Newell posted his account info and purposely tempted hackers to try and access it to brag about Steam's top-of-the line security service, I feel pretty safe being average joe.

 

And by the sounds of it, BF3 will be coming to Steam, but likely close to, or at, launch. They just may not get the pre-order deals that EA is offering through Origin or physical copies. Just means I'll probably pre-order it in-store and play it through Steam anyways, lol.