DICE Slams Activision In Bad Company 2 Update
"Avoid “mapathy” without paying," apparently.
With Battlefield: Bad Company 2 just out of the door and selling quite well indeed, DICE has announced an upcoming Map Pack for the game - while taking a shot at Activision's "nickel-and-diming" at the same time.
Revealed on the studio's blog, the downloadable content will be free for 'VIP members' and includes two new multiplayer modes. The VIP initiative is a system by EA to encourage new game sales - each new copy of Bad Company 2 includes a VIP code to access bonus material. For those who have bought the game second hand, access can be purchased for an additional fee.
So it's free-but-only-sort-of. That didn't stop DICE from proudly differentiating itself from Activision and its approach to Modern Warfare 2's DLC. "The free DLC] plays a vital part in making sure you, the players get proper value for the money you’ve invested in Battlefield: Bad Company 2," writes Bazajaytee on the company blog.
"This is why these map packs are available at no extra cost, contradicting the industry standard and what our direct competitors are doing. We’re dedicated to taking care of this product for a long time – helping you avoid “mapathy” without getting nickel-and-dimed." Ouch.
That doesn't mean to say that all future updates will be free. Paid DLC is also planned, but for now you get to enjoy free - if you purchase the game brand new - bonus material. Marvellous.
Revealed on the studio's blog, the downloadable content will be free for 'VIP members' and includes two new multiplayer modes. The VIP initiative is a system by EA to encourage new game sales - each new copy of Bad Company 2 includes a VIP code to access bonus material. For those who have bought the game second hand, access can be purchased for an additional fee.
So it's free-but-only-sort-of. That didn't stop DICE from proudly differentiating itself from Activision and its approach to Modern Warfare 2's DLC. "The free DLC] plays a vital part in making sure you, the players get proper value for the money you’ve invested in Battlefield: Bad Company 2," writes Bazajaytee on the company blog.
"This is why these map packs are available at no extra cost, contradicting the industry standard and what our direct competitors are doing. We’re dedicated to taking care of this product for a long time – helping you avoid “mapathy” without getting nickel-and-dimed." Ouch.
That doesn't mean to say that all future updates will be free. Paid DLC is also planned, but for now you get to enjoy free - if you purchase the game brand new - bonus material. Marvellous.
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Comments
Are you stupid? 11 Mar 2010 15:12
1/14
Are you kidding me? Does anyone believe this bullshit? The reason why Battlefield isn't charging is because their game blows and they are trying to catch up to MWF2, if they ever do become popular they will charge more just like everyone else. BF2 has went down hill ever since their modern combat game, bye bye crappy company maybe next time youll listen to your users
Not as stupid as you! 11 Mar 2010 16:03
2/14
@Are_you_stupid? What are you, an Activision shill? If you're comparing DICE/EA to IW/Activision negatively over "listening to their users" you're even more disconnected from reality than Bobby Kotick. If that name's not ringing a bell consider A) Googling a bit and B) not posting your useless comments on the state of Gaming anywhere.
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The Word 11 Mar 2010 16:30
3/14
@Not as stupid as you! This game does blow, and their just trying to have some competitive edge on MWF2.
he is really stupid 11 Mar 2010 16:34
4/14
BF owns MW2 i thought i wouldnt ever say that but IW have turned there back on the pc community and have made a very bad online game, as for BF online is mint cant fault it i dont get kicked from games, dont see hackers every round, dont get shuffled like a pack of cards between servers you think MW2 is doing that good http://www.infinityward.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=24&t=200500&start=1540 go have a look on there and try find me a nice comment about MW2 if you can ill eat my pc over 300pages of hate mail to them
WOW 11 Mar 2010 16:36
5/14
Has it ever occurred to anyone that as CEO Kotick's first and foremost responsibility is to act on behalf of his SHAREHOLDERS not GAMERS. If he can charge for map packs and make money off of it then he should be doing it because his LEGAL interest is not in line with what the gamer wants, it is what value he can create for shareholders. The whole notion that he hates gamers is purported by a fringe that make up very little of the actual community, they are simply the loudest so everyone thinks they represent the community as a whole.
Idiots... 11 Mar 2010 16:59
6/14
I love how people get worked up about studios charging money for the s**t they release.
You mean everything isnt free in this perfect world of puppies and fairy dust? Games dont just magically appear without capital invested and expected returns?! Well people who try to make money off games must be EVIL. F**king idiots.
To make games, developers need to make money, to make money people have to charge. Get over it. And as far as whining about s**t Activision pumps out? Have you ever heard of Madden 2089? No? Well you will because its the only s**t that EA will have left once Activision steal their market share because their studio is s**t, it isnt profitable and its shareholders hate it.
Wake up kiddies. MW2 made more money than any entertainment launch in history. Of any media. EA is f**kin jealous. Google their stock prices. They are a s**t-canning studio that produces terrible games.
You mean everything isnt free in this perfect world of puppies and fairy dust? Games dont just magically appear without capital invested and expected returns?! Well people who try to make money off games must be EVIL. F**king idiots.
To make games, developers need to make money, to make money people have to charge. Get over it. And as far as whining about s**t Activision pumps out? Have you ever heard of Madden 2089? No? Well you will because its the only s**t that EA will have left once Activision steal their market share because their studio is s**t, it isnt profitable and its shareholders hate it.
Wake up kiddies. MW2 made more money than any entertainment launch in history. Of any media. EA is f**kin jealous. Google their stock prices. They are a s**t-canning studio that produces terrible games.
alexh2o 11 Mar 2010 17:15
7/14
The big thing with DLC and charging as far as Im concerned is more to do with what the DLC is. There is a trend now for studios to deliberately leave out content, only to release it as a chargeable download days later. This is NOT acceptable practice as far as Im concerned. If however, after release the studio puts in more work to create some DLC, which is an expansion and not 'plugging a feature gap', then I feel they are within their rights to charge for it. A perfect example is the Resident Evil mode that was included on the disc, but only unlocked with a 'kb' paid for download - this is a deliberate action designed to squeeze money from your customers unethically.
Morons 11 Mar 2010 17:17
8/14
I agree with this previous post. Ooooo Bobby Kotick is evil, he is trying to charge me money for things. THEN DON'T BUY IT! EA has slowly gone down hill and the only thing they have to hold on to is their Madden franchise. Their only chance is to break into mobile gaming before Activision. Activision has about 5 different franchises that blow the best thing EA has put out in years out of the water. This is just a marketing ploy. You think that EA thinks they can charge for maps but they aren't because they feel bad? If these companies thought they could charge $50/map and people would still buy it they would do it in a second.
Not a retarded fanboy 11 Mar 2010 20:59
9/14
Infinity Ward fanboys detected in these comments.
Never played Battlefield, but judge it anyway. Smart move.
Never played Battlefield, but judge it anyway. Smart move.
Idiots... 11 Mar 2010 21:32
10/14
@Not a retarded fanboy
Lol...said like a true EA die hard. Clinging to a sinking ship because it has nice china in the main dining room. No one said Battlefield sucked. We are just saying that retarded EA fanboys like yourself are so quick to bash Activision for being the boogey man because they like money. Enjoy playing BFBC2 in a tin shanty. Because if you hate money so much that you'll invest in EA as the publisher goes broke, be our guest. We'll play BFBC2 in style as ATVI's stock makes us mad money and eventually buys that burnout EA relic.
Lol...said like a true EA die hard. Clinging to a sinking ship because it has nice china in the main dining room. No one said Battlefield sucked. We are just saying that retarded EA fanboys like yourself are so quick to bash Activision for being the boogey man because they like money. Enjoy playing BFBC2 in a tin shanty. Because if you hate money so much that you'll invest in EA as the publisher goes broke, be our guest. We'll play BFBC2 in style as ATVI's stock makes us mad money and eventually buys that burnout EA relic.
Tamikaze 12 Mar 2010 08:10
11/14
@Idiots...
Urmm please check the first comment.
Anyways, why is everyone jumping on the band wagon about this? They are both two boring FPS games that are nothing special. I do hate how Bad Company has changed alot because to me it felt like it wanted to be Modern Warfare 2, but still its a fun game and atleast i don't have screaming little 12 year old kids bursting my ear drums on it.
Anyways why are people saying EA is going down hill now? I thought they were going down hill since some guy thought of the company.
Urmm please check the first comment.
Anyways, why is everyone jumping on the band wagon about this? They are both two boring FPS games that are nothing special. I do hate how Bad Company has changed alot because to me it felt like it wanted to be Modern Warfare 2, but still its a fun game and atleast i don't have screaming little 12 year old kids bursting my ear drums on it.
Anyways why are people saying EA is going down hill now? I thought they were going down hill since some guy thought of the company.
Words on a Shirt 22 Mar 2010 05:02
12/14
@The_Word sounds like someone has been getting their "rear end" handed to them on a plate. What's the matter, Pissed off that you don't have noob perks doing most of the work for you? BF Is a far superior game than MW2.
Dan 26 Mar 2010 13:21
13/14
This is utter rubbish. How do we know that this DLC that you get when the game is bought new wasn't already part of the free content that you'd usually get!? I know lets tell everyone that 2 out of 10 of the online maps is free DLC. This futile attempt to get more people buy the game new just won't work.
Don't care 31 Mar 2010 03:22
14/14
$15 isn't that big of a deal to me. I'd have no problem paying for the maps for MW2, but honestly, I don't play it anymore since BC2 came out. It really is MUCH better. I don't consider myself a gamer ( I play a couple hours per day) and have no loyalty to any game maker, I just play what interests me. BC2 is more realistic, requires more skill, and isn't just a "spray and pray" game.
With that said, just play what interests you. There's no point in arguing which game is better. We're human and different things will attract different people. You can't tell someone their wrong because they like something better. It's all subjective.
With that said, just play what interests you. There's no point in arguing which game is better. We're human and different things will attract different people. You can't tell someone their wrong because they like something better. It's all subjective.