Today In Battlefield 3 Screw-Ups: Battlefield 1943 Not Included With PS3 Copies as Promised

You have to hand it to Electronic Arts on Battlefield 3's launch: when EA borks something up, they really go for the gusto. As if botched Betas, shadily dealt-out review code, broken Xbox 360 servers on launch day, and hilariously bonkers nonsense like this weren't enough, now we can go ahead and add randomly missing console-exclusive bonuses to the endlessly burning tire fire of rage that EA refuses to stop pouring gasoline on.

You may remember waaaaayyyyyy back in June at a little industry get-together called E3, that EA, by way of Sony's Jack Tretton, announced that all PlayStation 3 copies of Battlefield 3 would come with an extra-special bonus game packed onto the Blu-ray disc in the form of Battlefield 1943. Up until the game's launch yesterday, no one had any reason to believe that Battlefield 1943 wouldn't be appearing as a bonus in the PS3 version. Then yesterday happened, and suddenly it was not there.

Responding to this understandable query by the confused masses, EA's poor, unfortunate community manager in charge of Battlefield 3 was forced to take to Twitter and announce that...no, I can't re-type it. It's too painful.

In lieu of 1943 being available on disk for PS3 customers, EA has made all BF3 expansions available early to PS3 customers.

Right.

So, just to recap, instead of a free game that had been previously promised to be included on the disc, PlayStation 3 owners will be granted the first opportunity to buy more Battlefield 3. Is anyone else feeling a little like Will Ferrell at the end of Zoolander right now?

The issue is less that EA had to go back on including Battlefield 1943 as part of the package--dumb things happen during development, and it's understood that sometimes things don't work out as you expect--but the fact that nobody notified consumers of this fact prior to the game's launch is straight-up horrendous. At any time, any time, during the PR cycle for Battlefield 3, someone at EA could have piped up and said, "Oh, that was just craaaaaaazy uncle Jack at Sony getting loose of his bed straps again and talking crazy talk! We don't have Battlefield 1943 on this disc!" Instead, they let people continue to believe that a console-exclusive bonus existed when, in fact, it did not.

If you can't see something deeply, deeply wrong with that, I think you may be beyond help.

Damn you EA!

YADADA

That's nasty.

.... Totally forgot about it....

And considering EA tends to favor PS3 anyway, this doesn't feel like a deal.

Wasn't the PS3 getting stuff early announced weeks ago?

Above and beyond the call indeed. :/

Wow, that's pretty pathetic.

That is super shitty of them. They really are cocking this one up big time so far.

The opportunity to buy more stuff early. How nice of them..

EA "it's in the game" yeah you know where this is going ,great work EA.

I tweeted about this earlier. Quite disgusting to say the least. I would have thought they would at least have tried to replace the free BF:1943 promise with another game, maybe even said the first batch of BF3 DLC for PS3 owners would be free or something.

Is it just me, or does Battlefield 3 have a lot of jacked up shit surrounding it for such a high profile release?

Disappointment of the year and it just gets worse.

Yes EA wants to dethrone Actimilktion from the evil corporate bs ladder and with style it seems

To be honest I forgot about 1943 but yeah this is some fucked up bait and switch tactics.

EA is doing a damn fine job of absolutely butchering the release of Battlefield 3.

I don't know who in their right mind would want to play 1943 while owning BF3, but a broken promise is a broken promise. Not surprised though, they've probably been neck-deep in the shit storm following the release of this game.

@Vextroid said:

Wasn't the PS3 getting stuff early announced weeks ago?

You're right. They did announce previously that PS3 players would get early access to BF3 DLC. So them now saying it again makes this new announcement all that more bitter tasting for PS3 players. Genuinely don't understand why they didn't make the first DLC free for PS3 players as way of an apology for not providing a free copy of the game they said would be included with BF3 on PS3.

Battlefield 3 was just not done. Unfinished. Should have been delayed. Been Elite'd.

*deleted*

@SpartanAmbrose said:

EA is doing a damn fine job of absolutely butchering the release of Battlefield 3.

Then again, who is going to be worried about playing 1943 when they have battlefield 3?

Yikes.

Lying to your customers is perhaps not the best way to make money.

I already don't buy Activision games anymore. Maybe EA will make the list post-Mass Effect 3.

Disappointment of the year and it just gets worse.

Wow. I usually side with the developer most of this issues, but this is baaad. I don't even wanna play devil advocate, I can't even think of an argument!

Not bothered in the slightest, I'll be too busy playing, y'know, Battlefield 3?

@imsh_pl said:

@Stingraymond said:

Disappointment of the year and it just gets worse.

You should really play Duke Nukem Forever.

Difference was, people knew Duke was going to be shit months in advance. BF was going to be, even to a lot of people who Know Their Shit, the greatest thing ever.

They couldn't even include Burnout Paradise or something instead? Its eight bucks on PSN while 1943 is still about $15.

I'd care about any of this hoopla if I wasn't here to play video games and if Battlefield wasn't a goddamn fun video game to play.

Well fuck you EA.

@imsh_pl said:

@Stingraymond said:

Disappointment of the year and it just gets worse.

You should really play Duke Nukem Forever. On topic: Wow, that's just fucking pathetic. I'm out of words.

DNF was not so disappointing, who was expecting anything from it? I'd say it's the surprise of the year that it came out in playable state.

I feel like I am the only person actually playing BF3 at this point.

No Battlefield 1943 or Steam, No Sale

That is pretty bad. PS3 customers should be able to get a full refund upon return.

@lordofultima said:

@imsh_pl said:

@Stingraymond said:

Disappointment of the year and it just gets worse.

You should really play Duke Nukem Forever. On topic: Wow, that's just fucking pathetic. I'm out of words.

DNF was not so disappointing, who was expecting anything from it? I'd say it's the surprise of the year that it came out in playable state.

Yeah, I don't understand why people say Duke Nukem Forever was disappointing..if you were expecting a great game, you went into the game expecting something you shouldn't have. Nobody thought it was going to be good.

They could have apologized for the mishap and gave every PS3 BF3 owner a free download copy of 1943. But nope. Oh EA.

@Stingraymond said:

Disappointment of the year and it just gets worse.

At least BF3 is conceptually fun. LA Noire turned out to be a controller vibration simulator.

EA! It's not in the game! It's in the aggressive marketing and shady DLC deals! You guys have fun with that.

As someone who had 1943 as a shared game from a friend before the first PS3 went "poof" (before fixing it) I enjoyed 1943 just enough to warrant a play once in awhile. Sure BF3 takes the cake, but what happens when I'm playing Dark Souls and need a quick break to play something else? 1943 would have been perfect. Just make 1943 $0.99 or something on the PSN store.

EA suck. Poor DICE.

Unbelievable how poorly run EA is.

I'm shocked that DICE is able to stand this. Battlefield is their child and its raped left and right by EA.

who cares. old games are old.

Two high profile game releases in two weeks with super fucked up launches. Good job video game companies.

All the bad press and shonky-shit emerging from the launch of BF3 has turned me off the product. I got a call from the store I pre-ordered at yesterday, excitedly telling me the game had broken street date a day early and was now available, but all the pre-release hype has quickly deflated from the disappointing reports appearing online and middling reception Battlefield 3 is receiving from some sectors of the gaming community. But straight up telling bare faced lies about additional incentives for buying on a particular platform only to come clean when the game has hit shelves and customers are all "Yo Goober, where's that BF1943 you promised?" after they have already parted with their cold, hard cash?

Final nail in the coffin for me. Cancelling my order and putting the deposit money towards Uncharted 3 or Skyward Sword. The only efficient thing EA appear to be doing lately is pissing away all that good will they built up over the last few years which seems kind of dumb.

lolconsoles.

@Harkat said:

@imsh_pl said:

@Stingraymond said:

Disappointment of the year and it just gets worse.

You should really play Duke Nukem Forever.

Difference was, people knew Duke was going to be shit months in advance. BF was going to be, even to a lot of people who Know Their Shit, the greatest thing ever.

You guys are fucking nuts. Do you think any of this shit matters to me, when I'm sitting in my A-10 raining death on the beaches of Kharg Island? Nuh-uh. BF3 is going to be WICKED!

As for this BF1943 SNAFU. Who gives a shit? Poor communication from both EA and Sony. It was a stupid bonus to begin with. It's a shame such shit gets in the way of what seems to me like the multiplayer game to beat this season.