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Windows BF3 boycott due to preorder DLC in Full swing

Discussion in 'Gaming' started by AcidJiles, 13 Jun 2011.

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  1. AcidJiles

    AcidJiles Minimodder

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    A Battlefield 3 pre-order boycott has been launched and coordinated (yeah maybe that's pushing it a bit :) ) from Reddit see : http://www.reddit.com/r/gaming/comments/hy24b/battlefield_3_preorder_dlc_boycott_coordination/.

    I have emailed EA and relevant gaming media, although couldn't find any bit-tech email addresses to contact. I hope everyone who feels strongly about the situation will cancel their pre-order and email the relevant people.

    The reasoning for the boycott is that BF3 pre-order comes with a map pack and a guns pack http://www.battlefield.com/uk/battlefield3/blog/battlefield-3-limited-edition-physical-warfare-pack-available. Now map packs themselves are a very unfortunate trend and for a game such as BF2 that had a a long life due to not being cauterized it is a great shame to see BF3 have this happen especially with some of the loved maps that were in BF2. This is an opportunity to push for at the very least reasonable prices for map packs with BF3 even if I acknowledge getting them all for free is unlikely.

    The more worrying concern is the purchasable weapons which screw balance for those without the correct version of the game. Anything that means one player will have a leg up over another that is bought is wrong within a game such as this (eg it might work if free to play games etc but completely unacceptable otherwise). Now all those within the boycott know this is EA's doing not DICE's and our disappointment and anger is directed towards EA not DICE.

    I hope you all get behind this and follow the links on the reddit link. To bit-tech staff if you could do a news story on this boycott (On reddit etc, I am just reposting their stuff) that would be cool also and bring it to the attention of more people and more media as well. Thanks
     
    Last edited: 13 Jun 2011
  2. mrbungle

    mrbungle Undercooked chicken giver

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    Thats quite sad.

    Was looking forward to this but i HATE paying for a game twice.

    map packs i can just about handle but the weapons thing skews everything.
     
  3. AcidJiles

    AcidJiles Minimodder

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    That's what caught my attention and why I decided to act. Could be start of something really wrong which I don't want to happen to the game I was most looking forward too.

    BTW all the EA emails seem to have been closed off for now. I can only hope this is due to overwhelming traffic to them.
     
  4. Dwarfer

    Dwarfer What's a Dremel?

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    This is just fail. It happened with BF2 and special forces but boycotting won't achieve anything. Most people i know aswell as myself are already set in stone on purchasing this masterpiece so personally, you're wasting your time. However i am hoping the extra guns can be unlocked at a later time i.e. with points as unlocks.
     
  5. Ph4ZeD

    Ph4ZeD What's a Dremel?

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    I'm assuming this will turn out like every other boycott where every boycotter purchases the boycotted game on day one?
     
  6. wyx087

    wyx087 Homeworld 3 is happening!!

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    *looks at MW2 steam boycott group*
    also, how did CoD get into the thread tags?


    i thought it would work similar way as BFBC2's VIP map packs after the game has been released.
     
  7. BRAWL

    BRAWL Dead and buried.

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    *sighs* 0.1% of people will boycott... that's no where close to enough people for EA to give a damn.

    Just buy the damn game already.
     
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  8. smc8788

    smc8788 Multimodder

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    I'm the other way round, I don't really care about the extra weapons because the ones you got with the BC2 VIP system weren't that good anyway and they certainly didn't affect the overall balance of the game. Map packs however only serve to divide the community, though hopefully most of the decent servers will choose to opt out of running the paid/exclusive DLC maps.
     
  9. EvilMerc

    EvilMerc Minimodder

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    Bear in mind that BC2 got all its extra maps for free. Sure, we had to pay for Vietnam but it was a sizeable expansion. Sure, we had to pay for the SPECACT kit, but it was only skins for characters and four weapons.

    I'm not too worried. Everything points towards EA and Dice being more realistic with pricing than Activision with CoD, their map packs were complete rip offs. I doubt this'll be one of those games that remains at £30-40 for months because of pure greed.

    I pre-ordered BC2 and got the early unlocks, gave me no advantage save having the M1911 which I still use.
     
  10. Pete J

    Pete J Employed scum

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    Exactly the points I was going to raise.

    Internet boycotts/petitions = waste of time.

    Edit: why not add this infamous picture?

    [​IMG]
     
    Last edited: 13 Jun 2011
  11. AcidJiles

    AcidJiles Minimodder

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    <<replying for the 4th time today about how this is a myth. yes about 5-10% of the boycott members bought MW2 but the rest didn't so not pathetic or otherwise. The image that's been going round cleverly shows a time and selection with those playing MW2 only and not the totality of the group.

    ^^^^And the same to the above 4 posters all posting about the myth.
     
  12. AcidJiles

    AcidJiles Minimodder

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    Ah I see so the government is taking away freedoms yet only 0.1% really care enough to take action etc. I better not protest then. Some sound logic there.

    The main aim is not the direct sales from the thousands involved more the media attention this hopefully will gain which EA will want to redirect which could lead to a change of decision.

    You realise there was a boycott of BC1 and that worked and EA changed it.

    http://www.reddit.com/r/gaming/comments/hxxoy/in_case_youve_forgotten_ea_tried_this_same_crap/
     
  13. Pete J

    Pete J Employed scum

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    Source please?
     
  14. Rogan

    Rogan Not really a

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    This worked with Bad Company 1.


    The aim of the boycott is to damage pre-order sales, and show EA that ****ing the game up with exclusive pre-order **** is not going to encourage us to run out and buy the game before its even released.
     
  15. Krazeh

    Krazeh Minimodder

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    Is it even going to be possible to preorder any copy of BF3 that doesn't have access to the 'Back to Karkand' expansion? Imagine that it'll be very similar to Bad Company 2 where every copy available for preorder and iirc for months afterwards was a 'Limited Edition'. The only point people may end up getting charged for 'Back to Karkand' will be if they buy a second hand copy or buy the standard edition when it becomes available months after release and at a reduced price.

    And as for the guns I'd be suprised if they actually made that much difference in the long run. As it is one of the guns you get access to is one that everyone gets access to eventually anyway, the machine gun will no doubt have an unlockable equivalent and I can't see the ammo and flash suppressor really being all that game changing on their own.
     
  16. sp4nky

    sp4nky BF3: Aardfrith WoT: McGubbins

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    What's the government got to do with this? I thought EA were supposed to be the bad guys here.

    Anyway, if you're assuming that the direct sales aren't going to be affected, the only losers in this protest are the people who don't pre-order. They won't get the game at a discounted price and they won't have immediate access to the map/weapon packs. EA, however, will still get their sales.
     
  17. BRAWL

    BRAWL Dead and buried.

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    No it's just sarcastic nature against these things...

    Thing is the special little pre-order gizmo's really won't make that major a change. If it was a major mission half-way through a storyline so be it! I can understand that... but all this over a few accessories and a light-machine gun? maybe a map or two? seems odd to me.

    *shrugs*
     
  18. specofdust

    specofdust Banned

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    Whenever I wonder if things like this will work, I wonder, "What would Eric Cartman do?" - His mum will buy him the game no matter how much it costs, she'll buy him every add on pack if he whines enough. Would he get pissed off, or would he just whine more to his mother and beg for it, knowing that the money doesn't mean much to her?

    If I reckon Cartman would just get the game somehow, then you can be fairly sure of the standard response. Your average person is going to bitch, whine, complain, and then get the game, and then a while later the add on packs. Because your average gamer is no longer what we think of as a "gamer" - they're just normal people with a passing interest in games, who don't understand the implicit contract that us gamers have set up with the studios over many years which dictate what we pay and do not pay for. These non-gamers who game, they just see they have to pay £5 or $10 for some extra maps and just go ahead and get it because it doesn't mean much to them.

    We now live in a world where games studios no longer care about gamers. They just care about people who play games. The former group has a few people per thousand, the latter group has hundreds per thousand. Capitalism baby, we're screwed!

    edit for context: I won't be buying BF3, I thought BF2 was rubbish, and I tried one of those CoD games (MW? I dunno, something like that) and thought it was the biggest pile of FPS pish I'd set my mouse upon in many many years. FPS has really gone down hill.
     
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  19. AcidJiles

    AcidJiles Minimodder

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    Sorry if my sarcastic analogy wasn't clear for the first bit.
     
  20. Krazeh

    Krazeh Minimodder

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    Well now we've finished being sarcastic perhaps you could explain why the big fuss over some people being able to get an additional LMG, a flash supressor for one rifle and ammo for one shotgun?
     
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