EA Cites "Human Error" as National Broadcaster Drops Battlefield 3 Coverage

There's some uproar in Norway at the moment with the country's equivalent to the BBC, the Norwegian Broadcasting Corporation (aka NRK) refusing to report on Battlefield 3 due to what it sees as unfair practices by Electronic Arts.

In an article entitled, "An obvious attempt to manipulate the media", the NRK site reports that, "Electronic Arts creates a stir with the launch strategy for upcoming blockbusters", and outlines its concerns.

Possibly most important in what it describes as EA's "unusual release strategy" is the fact that the game's publisher is only offering exclusives (strange concept) to outlets whose reviewers complete a questionnaire. That document asks, among other things, "Is he a fan of Battlefield?" and - as reported by Gameranx, "Is he a fan of Call of Duty?".

The NRK report quotes Mr Snorre Bryne, the gaming manager in the Dagbladet (Norway's second best-selling tabloid) which was sent the form, as saying:

"Our first reaction was to call up EA and say that this was completely behind the goal. It is a sad situation for both EA and game journalism that it appears that this is normal. For so it is not and should not be that way."

It also quotes EA's local rep, Oliver Sveen, as stating in rather tired form, "This should not have been sent out. We have made ​​a mistake and we apologize. This is not something that neither should have happened earlier or what we intend to continue, says marketing manager."

Well, of course it shouldn't have been sent out. As yet we've received no such document and we'd be surprised and disappointed if EA in the UK were to make such an amateurish and brutal attempt to control coverage.

Sources:

NRK
Gameranx