Bad Company: Game Title or Mission Statement?


Many voices in the blogosphere are complaining over EA’s
recent decision to sell additional weapons to the upcoming multiplayer title,
Battlefield: Bad Company. Rightfully so, as they seem to be strong-arming
consumers to purchase the Gold Edition of the game at a ten dollar premium,
bringing the price of Battlefield to a hefty $69.99.

EA Damage Control quickly responded and sent out codes for a
free weapon; at Tech-Gaming we received two M-60 codes via e-mail. An EA
spokesperson told us that there will be promotional programs for players to
receive four additional weapons, as well. 
However, five weapons will only be available via purchase on the Xbox
Live Marketplace or by buying the Gold Edition of Battlefield.

Many in the gaming community have feared a situation where
players who purchase premium weapons have a distinct advantage in the multiplayer
arena. While EA stated that the weapons in the game are “carefully balanced for
gameplay”, players might feel otherwise. After all, gamers are notoriously superstitious
about in-game weapons; just look at all the M-16/red dot sights in Call of Duty
4
.

Beyond the Gold Edition backlash, we predict little success
for Battlefield for a number of reasons:  First, EA is releasing Battlefield Heroes, a
PC multiplayer game that will be advertisement supported and offered for free,
also made by developer DICE. Few gamers wanted to pony up $59.99, for America’s
Army
for the Xbox 360; even though it was significantly different from its free
PC counterpart. Sure, EA wants to develop its Battlefield IP, put releasing a
seventy dollar game alongside a similarly named free title will not garner a
positive reaction from the casual gamer. (Edit: Even the guys at Kotaku were confused.)

Secondly, many who have played the beta have had mixed
reactions. When Frontlines: Fuel of Water was pitted against the active
communities of Halo 3 and Call of Duty 4, it failed miserably. While Bad
Company is still two months out, the title need to be polished and compelling
enough for players to leave their pre-established communities.

Will two months be enough time for EA to quell the backlash,
polish Battlefield and move it beyond average status? If not, Bad Company may
be more than a just a game title, it may become EA’s new nickname.

Find the review of Battlefield: Bad Company here.

About Robert Allen

Since being a toddler, Robert Allen has been immersed in video games, anime, and tokusatsu. Currently, his days are spent teaching at two southern California colleges. But his evenings and weekends are filled with STGs, RPGs, and action titles and well at writing for Tech-Gaming since 2007.

16 comments

  1. I’ve seen this posted on many sites, but you guys are the first to call EA a “bad company”. Brilliant!

  2. Nice pic; is that the real cover? it looks kinda amateurish.

  3. How do I get a free code for a weapon? Not that I’m going to buy the game, especially at $70

  4. I will definitely not be buying this game until it drops to $29.99. I think the site is right, it will fail.

  5. Aks for power M16s for distance, although some people prefer the M4 with the grenade launcher.

  6. I refuse to support EA in their attempts at buying smaller developers, and rehashing game over and over.

    I wont be buying Bad Company.

  7. If my significant other, drops a couple more “Jacksons” on a game this month, I will be on the brink of INSANITY!

  8. EA’s got to keep the bucks rolling in somehow. They have to pay for those small companies they are acquiring and Take 2

  9. They’ve been doing this type of shit for years on MMOGs like Ultima Online and Evercrack. Only it’s the players selling the “+7 Broadsword of Ultimate Nerdiness” and the “Plate Armor of the (porcelain) Gods”.

    What the corporations are doing in this new world of digital downloading is becoming the ultimate gatekeepers where hacking and cracking is impossible.

  10. I hate EA’s business methods; they are always pushing the envelope in corporate favor, and away from consumers.

    This is just a test if We will bite on a $70 game. Don’t do it, people.

  11. Man, if Kotaku’s confused, imgine Joe Six-Pack…. Wow, they really seemed to like the game.

  12. You know back in the late 90’s/early 2000’s when I was playing Ultima Online it was EA who purchased the company and made the game start to suck. So, EA knows all about the power of purchasing extra crap for a game.

    I remember when I was going to finally quit I sold my ‘castle’ for like 400 bucks on Ebay!!

  13. wow its pretty amazing how 3/4 of you who are bad-mouthing the game are so and completely wrong about the game, and yeah so what if they add some sick ass weapons in there for the gold edition at a whopping price of 69.99 lol. You guys have no idea what you are talking about! First off did you read what comes with the GOLD EDITION of BATTLEFIELD BAD COMPANY? The basics of any collectors edition game, the making DVD or whatever and the collectors case. Are you gonna start badmouthing Halo 3 and every other game for selling collectors edition, because they include a collectors case and making dvd? Honestly all EA did was add in some sick ass weapons into the gaming experience as an extra fun factor for wanting to get the Gold Edition with the included “Collectors case” and “Making Dvd”! Oh and by the way, have any of you even played the demo, you should probably play it before calling it “Battlefield Bad-Decision” lmao.

  14. you guys are ridiculous the only comment i agree with is the last one and like who cares if its $70 in australia i had to hand over $110 for the gold edition its not exactly a making dvd but they do have extra features on it like behind the scenes and online tips for 2 level’s and the guns you get with it arent all that great but its definately worth the extra $10! and COD 4 has lost so many gamers because of its last update its not funny halo 3 will always be fun but bad company name 3 other games where you can blow the crap of just about everything you see, i dare you! have you thought of any? didn’t think so, if you really think it’s so bad then why not try it instead go to EB games and buy it, they’ll let you return it in the first 7 days so if its really that bad you’ll be returning it wont you?

  15. I’ve been playing it. It’s good, but gets a bit repeatative at the end. Trent; sorry, but the multiplayer isn’t as good as either of those two game.

  16. i love this game at £39,99 it was cheap they gameplay is fun i think the story is a bit weak but its playable and i love the multiplayer, spawn campers only really ever exist when one team dominates so dont buy the gold edition just get to the max rank and unlock them for free!!