EA confirms Bad Company weapon purchases

by Dustin Burg { Mar 24th 2008 at 4:00PM }

It's true. Today, EA confirmed that Battlefield: Bad Company will feature micro-transactions surrounding a few of the game's weapons. Crap.

Discovered via the Bad Company beta menus, a few of the game's weapons mentioned the fact that they could only be unlocked via an XBLM purchase. In an effort to clarify the rumors, EA confirmed with IGN that Bad Company will feature five unlockable weapons which will be a part of a promotional period prior to the game's launch and will eventually end up being free downloads after the retail launch. But the game will also sport five other weapons which will be exclusively included in Bad Company's Gold Edition or as a purchase off the XBLM for a "small individualized price". EA wanted to make it clear that the purchasable weapons do not give players any significant edge, rather they'll give players more variety. And that's supposed to make us okay with it? Pssht, micro-transactions suck.

Tags: bad-company, battlefield, battlefield-bad-company, dice, ea

Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)

Alex C. @ Mar 24th 2008 4:06PM

rip off...

sifer2400 @ Mar 24th 2008 4:07PM

lol deff rip off whats next they make you pay to respawn

Tony @ Mar 24th 2008 4:09PM

Promotional period? Why pay money for promotional anything?

Every time EA makes some steps forward, they do crap like this again.

Joe @ Mar 24th 2008 4:12PM

You DON'T have to buy the guns its just if you want more of them so stop moaning and it will be like call of duty 4 all the first guns will be the best

Big Filth @ Mar 24th 2008 4:12PM

"whats next they make you pay to respawn"

lmao

wow. this is some BS. I mean, Im not too mad because I got the beta for free and dont see myself buying these weapons, but now I am pretty much against this game, unless the beta knocks my socks off..

judging by the footage they show you when you load it up, thats not a very good possibility.

Tony @ Mar 24th 2008 4:16PM

At some point the "you don't have to buy it" excuse wears thin. It's still ridiculous and something that should be reconsidered by all three hardware providers.

RudyHuxtable @ Mar 24th 2008 4:16PM

I may have purchased the game when it came out had this idiotic business model not been employed. So now EA misses out on both $2 for a sub-machine gun AND $60 for a video game. Way to go, idiot.

Horse armor anyone?

ZEBRA NINER @ Mar 24th 2008 4:21PM

Wow! That sucks. I guess you get extras when you buy limited edition games or preorder somewhere. So it's basically pay up front(limited edition) or pay later(XBLM).

Nickel and dimes... You'll be paying $10 per MP map soon, mark my words!

Josh @ Mar 24th 2008 4:24PM

variety? what's that supposed to mean. f that. if ever there was a micro-transaction to boycott, this would be it

Chem242 @ Mar 24th 2008 4:27PM

Wow. Don't you people realize almost every game does this? All DLC is a micro-transaction. If the price is comparable to the quality of the content then what is the big deal? What if each gun is 80 points? People paid that for Spell tomes in Oblivion. And really calling this stuff Horse Armor all the time is really dumb. Horse armor was a decent addition to Oblivion and the price was low enough to be justifiable.

Gone are the days of buy a game for x dollars and that is it. If you want your games to expand past release and remain fun to play over time then get used to DLC and micro-transactions. If I can spend $20 on a few maps and add-ons to expand my $60 game rather than bore of it and go buy another $60 game then that seems alright to me.

But no one ever sees the positive sides cause it is easier to blindly complain about the negative.

iRoy @ Mar 24th 2008 4:34PM

You know all these games where you need to buy health items from vending machines?

Bet EA are first to take payments...

Dante Sparda @ Mar 24th 2008 4:36PM

People for gods sake! Its just five bonus weapons included to people who buy a Special Edition version of the game. Its not EA trying to get more money its just giving people who choose to buy a Special Edition a better reason to get one instead of some case. How would you perfer a special edition? With a behind the scenes video or with five guns and a behind the scenes video? I would choose the one with the guns. They are giving people the option if you don't want to buy the game for $10 to buy the guns off the MP as well.

UNSCleric @ Mar 24th 2008 4:54PM

EA is a cancer to the gaming industry.

Neuromancer @ Mar 24th 2008 4:54PM

This is absolutely ridiculous. Every time EA makes one step forward (a push for new IPs for example), they do something like this and take two steps back. Man I remember when EA used to make some of the best games for the Sega Genesis (Road Rash, The Immortal, Mutant League Football). It's really sad to see them taking over the video game world and driving it straight into the ground.

Prophestus @ Mar 24th 2008 4:56PM

Corporate greed combined with DLC will be part of the cancer killing gaming. DLC should be noteworthy (i.e. full expansion packs like Oblivion that add 20+ hours to a game), not bullshit like upgraded weapons or guns. If the gun is just another color or purely cosmetic, then let retards buy it. But if it has the ability to effect gameplay or is unattainable in game, then this is bullshit. The more momentum this DLC shit gains in the gaming industry, the more worrisome I become..Pretty soon multiplayer games will ship with 2 maps, then you'll have to pay $5 each month to get a "new" map they release...
Consumers see DLC as means to expand their experience, but most companies see it as a way to increase profits at the expense of the consumer..

sorry for the long diatribe. Just had to vent.

Gemini Ace @ Mar 24th 2008 4:58PM

The issue with this entire thing is that this is content that should be included on the game disc and available to anyone who buys it. It's purposefully being withheld in order to be placed on the XBLM.

And the argument that EA is giving us extra options is complete and total b.s. The only option they are interested in is the one that takes more money out of our pockets.

I really thought EA had changed. Obviously not.

Drunkenshaolin @ Mar 24th 2008 5:14PM

there is always stupid people that will buy it. no matter what it is...
i hate it, theses games aint cheap, but they try to Sqweez every last penny you got, out of ya.
i can understand MMOs having to pay a fee.
but ive never paid for content, i wait until there free.
but time there free no-one is playing it anymore..lol

horngreen @ Mar 24th 2008 5:42PM

I'll just forget my BETA key and never play the game. I won't know what I'm missing if I never even play it.

Liquid Ocelot (call me Liquid) @ Mar 24th 2008 5:20PM

That's so f*king dumb with them. They were just starting to gewt me to not hate them, and they do this. I hate EA...

Josh @ Mar 24th 2008 5:21PM

Even though this is kinda of stupid, the game looks too good and I still can't wait for the beta to begin.

Jeff Tronti @ Mar 24th 2008 5:25PM

My boycott of EA continues (except for Rock Band).

nerrrrrrd @ Mar 24th 2008 5:29PM

it's one thing if it's just cheezy 'bling' to add to your gun like in Army of Two but the fact that it's totally unique guns is pretty lame. And this isn't like Horse Armor for Oblivion, this is a multiplayer game and despite that they say it won't give an advantage... that means there will be other guns with the exact specs? I doubt it. BOO THIS COMPANY!!! BAD COMPANY INDEED... lol.

Sunny @ Mar 24th 2008 5:40PM

Didn't Microsoft make a rule against this concerning Xbox Live DLC and gamerscore and all that other stuff?

It was a while ago but I distinctly remember one stating that if a piece of DLC could give any one player advantage over another, they couldn't charge for it.

Sean @ Mar 24th 2008 5:48PM

I ask anyone with access to the beta to load it up and look at the guns which require purchase/limited edition.

The stats for said weapons are significantly better than the 'free' guns we get.

EA have done this with other games regarding LE content. I think NFS Carbon had the limited edition content available on the marketplace too. I'm assuming people were dumb enough to buy it, leading EA down the same road again.

JakubK666 @ Mar 24th 2008 5:51PM

So does anybody STILL give a shit about this game?

AfroCelt @ Mar 24th 2008 6:22PM

I'll wait before commenting but this does look bad.

if it's a stiuation where you get the m16, ak, and mp5 and then have to buy the m60 we're going to have issues...

AoE @ Mar 24th 2008 6:30PM

Hey guys... instead of bitch on blogs... why not vote with your dollars? EA wouldn't do this shit if people didn't buy it... I don't even buy EA games, so I'm not to blame here... but I KNOW some of you do, and I bet you've even bought some of their crap DLC before... knock it off, and it'll go away; optionally, keep buying it and stop acting shocked when they do it again.

SadisticHam @ Mar 24th 2008 6:35PM

Agreed with RudyHuxtable, i might of considered buying this. Instead EA wont be getting my £40. ;D

I'd rather it go towards a decent dev who might actually give something back over trying to make a quick buck.

Oh..and lol @ all the morons defending this shit, eat your words in 5 years time when this becomes standard practice and we all get stuck with it.

Jayslacks @ Mar 24th 2008 6:43PM

This is just the beginning of a bad idea. Buy Rock Band tracks? Ok. Buying new Maps? Ok. But guns? Next, own the noobs by buying the kill-everybody-on-the-fucking-screen gun. Price. $60.

Mikeawesome @ Mar 24th 2008 6:57PM

This game is dead to me.

Graeme Q @ Mar 24th 2008 7:59PM

I don't see the issue with this at all. The promotional stuff prior to release is free. The gold edition comes with 5 unique weapons that standard edition people can buy later. What the hell is the fuss about?

What would you prefer, buy the standard edition and never ever get these weapons or have the option to at a later point without having to buy the whole game again.

EA are correct imo.

EmptyEnergy @ Mar 24th 2008 9:19PM

Get a PC and hush up! MS rips you off selling free flash games that are on the internet and then charging a 'fee' for you to enjoy on XBLA.

Battlefield 2 was semi-fun until they released the expansion pack Special Forces, which allowed the SF guns to be played in vanilla BF. Sadly, the guns for SF were better than the original guns, so to stay competitive, people had to get an expansion pack.

Speak with your $$$, instead of your ASCII.

C YOU 1N HELL @ Mar 24th 2008 9:36PM

GO TO HELL EA all gamers must stand up 2 the devil EA do not buy this game and LET IT FAIL do not let them profit like this. They want 2 do this with GTA 2

M TOPP @ Mar 25th 2008 8:54AM

I have seen the future,

Need For Speed 2010 - buy petrol and tyres for your cars.
Madden 2010 - buy new shoes cos yours lose grip over time.
Tiger Woods 2010 - buy new clubs cos yours have broken.
MLB 10 - yor bat has broken please purchase new one.

need I go on.

MacAarburger @ Mar 25th 2008 9:44AM

ok, i really didn't want to start boykoting a whole game provider...

but after i couldnt get 100% on bully, army of two only included 6 missions and the online servers crash frequently, command and conquer ist not playable on the console, the new battlefield games are more like a slide shows than smooth moving pictures...

i am almost there and will even not buy GTA anymore when they're really gonna buy the franchise fully.

EA made the bunny cry!

Twiggy @ May 31st 2008 6:11PM

typical EA.

hardcorekiller0 @ Jun 10th 2008 3:46PM

Are you all stupid? EA did a great job making this game and the wepons that come with gold edition you can get them when you are level 25 ( the highest level) as for the other 5 guns you can unlock you can find out how to get them at www.findallfive.com

I downloaded the demo and I love it. I'm getting the gold edition. I'll have fun playing this game while you're all still playing Call of Duty4 and Halo 3. I think you're all being stupid when you say you hate EA games.