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

Instead, PS3 owners will be getting 'early access' to downloadable content. Oh, that's much better!

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.

No Caption Provided

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.

Alex Navarro on Google+

273 Comments

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bigchief

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Edited By bigchief

EA has gotten so weird lately. Like, everything they do is surrounded by an air of creepy desperation, not to mention PR disasters like this. It's getting kind of offputting.

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cassus

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Edited By cassus

Funny thing about it is.. No one cares about the game that comes with your brand new game.. I mean, I've gotten freebies with games before, like on steam, say you buy oblivion and you get elder scrolls II for free, or whatever. No one ever plays the free one, cause you just bought the next game, often times a better one in the same franchise. What's completely fucked up about this is the fact that they said you'd get it and didn't say "nah, aint gettin it" until after people bought it. And then giving people early access to their buggy ass dlc AKA the right to pay to beta test that shit. Good stuff, good stuff.

Dice and EA need to stop botching releases. They've been doing this for a fricken decade. Server Browsers haven't worked on day 1 in any of their fricken games, and disconnects and texture flickering have been as common as awesome gun sounds. I got mine in the mail today, and I'm just glad I'm hooked on Dungeon Defenders at the moment, so I don't have to play that heap of shit until they polish it with a couple of patches. Once it's a gleaming glittering pile of shit, though, I'll play the shit out of it until little else than gleam and glitter remains, cause they do make fantastic games.

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Zimbo

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Edited By Zimbo

@Kesselrun said:

The subject of the story itself is a perfectly reasonable thing, but it's so weird seeing commenters conflate the money grubbing business stuff with the actual game itself. Unless you personally wanted to get 1943 with your PS3 copy, joining in the chorus of "Oh man, never playing this game! Hope it fails!" is weird as hell.

Exactly. Baffling to say the least.

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thebunnyhunter

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Edited By thebunnyhunter

I really did want that free Battlefield 1943, too bad though.

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tangmcgame

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Edited By tangmcgame

It's crooked, backwards failure to communicate, and it's par for the course for this industry.

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MachoFantastico

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Edited By MachoFantastico

Ouch! EA have really put their foot in it this time round. Can't say I'm shocked though. Wonder how DICE generally feel about all this.

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drjota

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Edited By drjota

So the quality of Battlefield's release cycle is working about as well as the cameras in Battlefield?EA really needs to invest in some better PR and some Super 8s...

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deactivated-5eca34e37141a

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@TrueEnglishGent said:

Ouch! EA have really put their foot in it this time round. Can't say I'm shocked though. Wonder how DICE generally feel about all this.

I'm sure they love it! How do you think they feel?!

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Ben99

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Edited By Ben99

Like I'm gonna buy the game itself. MW3 is where it's at for me. Can't get enough of killstreaks and awesome weapons.

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Winternet

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Edited By Winternet
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CaLe

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Edited By CaLe

This just proves that BF3 is not a good game.

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Wiseblood

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Edited By Wiseblood

My favorite part of that gif is the one guy coming back to open the door for you.

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redbliss

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Edited By redbliss

With every new piece of information on Battlefield 3 I just cant help but feel that this game was rushed just a bit.

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HeroicDrinkingSong

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I feel bad for DICE in all of this. Here they went and did all the right things making this game and EA has gone out of there way to generate as much bad feeling as they possibly can. From broken promises to shit talking that made them look like complete douche bags they fucked it all up. They should have let the game stand on it's own considerable merits, instead of trying to shoot down COD with it. It ends up making the whole the project reek of desperation and jealousy. Congratulations EA! You actually managed to make Activision of all companies, look like the white knights of the fight.

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TiE23

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Edited By TiE23

Weird... A really dumb fuck up by EA... but then again, who the hell would want to play BF1943 today? It's one of those "I wouldn't play it if it was free" situations.

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Shakezula84

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Edited By Shakezula84

I had forgotten about the bonus since I already own 1943. Its still messed up and considering how often the give that game away, im a little surprised.

On a side note to any comments I didn't read, yes people still play it.

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AlexanderSheen

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Edited By AlexanderSheen

It's kind of entertaining to see EA screw up everything possible.

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deactivated-5eca34e37141a

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@TiE23 said:

Weird... A really dumb fuck up by EA... but then again, who the hell would want to play BF1943 today? It's one of those "I wouldn't play it if it was free" situations.

Alot of people still play 1943, because it's a great fucking game.

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MormonWarrior

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Edited By MormonWarrior

That gif is...unspeakably insane. I just love how the guy comes back for you and kicks the door in, as if to say: "Oh yeah! You're not a computer player and have to follow the rules! Here, let me get that for you! We're Oscar Mike."

I actually kinda wish somebody would make a game that deliberately utilized glitches like that in a story context. Like, fourth-wall breaking stuff. It could be funny and kinda cool if done right.

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tourgen

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Edited By tourgen

pretty much the definition of a bait and switch

Also, BF 1943 is pretty awesome. I got it with my 360 version of bad company 2. Got over 100hrs into it, and like 15 total into BC2.

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ma_rc_01

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Edited By ma_rc_01

Can't they just let you download it for free or something?

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TadThuggish

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Edited By TadThuggish

2011 has been EA's year to take over Activision.

No, not in sales or success. In being dicks! They have grabbed that trophy with pride.

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DarthB

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Edited By DarthB

That's pretty fucking shady

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originalgman

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Edited By originalgman

I'll buy this game when it's $7 on Steam. If that never happens, oh well.

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jayjonesjunior

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Edited By jayjonesjunior

@Kesselrun said:

The subject of the story is a perfectly reasonable thing to write about (even if I agree with the people who said it came across as a bit emotional), but it's so weird seeing commenters conflate the money grubbing business stuff with the actual game itself. Unless you personally wanted to get 1943 with your PS3 copy, joining in the chorus of "Oh man, never playing this game! Hope it fails!" is weird as hell.

How can you make a stand against the money grubbing business if you buy their goddamn game?

and you wonder how EA can get away with this...

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Green_Incarnate

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Edited By Green_Incarnate

To all the people saying who would play 1943 over B3:

1943 is a simpler game, but it's still pretty awesome. I boot it up now and again when I want to relax and need something to do. I've only played the B3 beta at this point, but 1943 still felt a lot more fun. There's also the bonus of not having to put in a disk.

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Gav47

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Edited By Gav47

BF 1943 isn't that great of a game and I'm certainly not going to play it over BF3. The free shotgun and LMG are pretty good from what I hear.

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kahjah

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Edited By kahjah

I would much rather free dlc instead of the game, giving you a game that no one is going to play doesn't really do anything for most people.

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probablytuna

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Edited By probablytuna

Another day, another major screw up from another major publisher.

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Thor_Molecules

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Edited By Thor_Molecules
"So, to make it up to all the PS3 owners out there, we'll give you the privilege of giving us your money even earlier! Hooraay!"

Thanks EA, you guys are the best!

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gabeq224

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Edited By gabeq224

Nope, just Chuck Testa

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gregoryc

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Edited By gregoryc

EA continues to outdo themselves (in terms of bad PR).

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fattony12000

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Edited By fattony12000

Why are they doing this? EA have a great game on their hands yet they keep finding even more ways to fuck it up, make themselves look shitty, act shitty, and appear shitty in light of MW3. There is absolutely no need for this shit, EA should know how to release a game by now.

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Gatz

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Edited By Gatz

They should have at least thrown in one of those dogtags.

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SleepyDoughnut

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Edited By SleepyDoughnut

What the fuck man, besides having a hunch (that might not be true) that the PS3 community would be more fun to play with, this is totally the reason I bought the PS3 version. This is total bullshit.

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Foggen

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Edited By Foggen

Sounds like that "No class action lawsuits" business is starting to sound real handy right about now.

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deactivated-5e49e9175da37

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Oh Alex. I wonder if you're physically capable of writing a news story without being snarky.

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subyman

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Edited By subyman

To be honest, I bet most BF fans would rather have early access to BF3 content than an old game they have already played. Still sucks when the ole' bait and switch is done though. Seems like companies get away with it more and more these days.

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iamjohn

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Edited By iamjohn

@Seppli said:

@vonFlampanker said:

@MattyFTM: @MattyFTM said:

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

My thoughts exactly. What would have been the problem with getting a code out to people? Not like they're making a mint off of 1943 at this point anyway.

Wouldn't it be Sony who has to apologize? It's their fucking bonus deal. At E3 they said it's going to be BF1943 and then they change it for a 1 week exclusivity deal on DLC, without informing the public about the omission of BF1943.

Sony's at least as guilty as EA, though I feel like it's Sony who's broken promises here and not EA.

How did Sony break their promise? They obviously made a deal with EA to give them exclusive content in the same way they made the deal for Medal of Honor and Dead Space 2, and EA didn't deliver. How is that Sony's fault?

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williamhenry

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Edited By williamhenry

@Brodehouse said:

Oh Alex. I wonder if you're physically capable of writing a news story without being snarky.

What would be the point? If its not snarky then they might as well get anyone else to write up these stories.

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Hailinel

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Edited By Hailinel

@WilliamHenry said:

@Brodehouse said:

Oh Alex. I wonder if you're physically capable of writing a news story without being snarky.

What would be the point? If its not snarky then they might as well get anyone else to write up these stories.

The point would be better writing. A little snark goes a hell of a long way.

I do appreciate Alex's Zoolander reference, however.

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Nate

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Edited By Nate

Proabably wasn't going to buy BF3, but now I'm definitely not going to. EA can keep it. Man, I hate bad business!

EDIT: I was holding this in: AAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!! Sorry for spamming the post with caps, but dang I had to let it out.

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vancealmighty

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Edited By vancealmighty

This entire fiasco has had a lot of key instances where me canceling my pre-order sounds like the greatest idea ever:

That "Beta" that didn't fucking work; people from DICE openly insulting gamers who didn't like it, or the fact that they used a decidedly un-Battlefield map to show off their horrendously unfinished code; the fact that the servers, for the FOURTH BATTLEFIELD RELEASE IN A ROW are broken as all hell on consoles. Am I missing anything?

Oh, yeah. The fact that all the PR and advertising have been doing nothing but trying to make Call of Duty look bad. "Above and Beyond the Call?" Are you serious, EA?

Kudos to Activision for not taking the bait. This whole thing just strikes me as shocking, to say the least.

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nightriff

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Edited By nightriff

Man EA can't fuck this up much more (they probably will). I was rooting for them to beat CoD but now I just want both to go away, never imagined that Activision would look like the good guy compared to EA

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tearhead

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Edited By tearhead

This is all the way fucked up! Especially since my ps3 copy from Amazon just showed up.

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Sander

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Edited By Sander

Alex should be writing more articles. Thousands more.

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Edited By Draxyle

It really makes me sad that people will still buy this game in droves.

Despite having the word "art" in their name, they've done everything in their power to obliterate the "art" of videogaming with lies, online passes, abusive preorder and overpriced dlc, atrocious and often despicable advertising, constantly broken and rushed games on release, review manipulations, and almost everything else you could think of. This isn't anything new, they've been at this for the last ten years.

I was almost interested in BF3, but every single piece of news since it was announced has made me horrified towards the industry.

EA isn't run by people who respect videogames in any way. I really can't wait until the gaming public grows up a little more and ousts these people who have no sense of customer respect.

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coryrx8

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Edited By coryrx8

This business of announcing a feature and then quietly dropping it with little to no mention of it is becoming a disturbing trend. First we had Criterion announcing 3D support in Need for Speed: Hot Pursuit and never delivering, then all the fanfare about LittleBigPlanet 2 supporting 3D and quietly shipping without it, and now this. Apparently our false advertising laws just aren't strict enough, because there's a whole lot of baiting and switching going on.

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Beaudacious

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Edited By Beaudacious

Honestly i think Alex was the only one who even remembered this factoid. Secondly game is good on pc, and that's all i care about. Who cares about PR and Marketing, Marketing people are always going to be douche bags.

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WJist

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Edited By WJist

You know, all I want from EA at this point is a new Road Rash game and ME3, after that I'm kinda done with them as a company. They have a terrible history with setting up servers (and subsequently shutting them down) and their communication/straightforwardness has always been dodgy at best. They have backed many fantastic games that might not have otherwise existed, but it is broken promises like this that really poison the well.