Console makers jockeying for DLC exclusivity is pretty much the norm these days, so odds are you won't be terribly shocked to learn that Sony has gone ahead and put in a winning bid for an exclusivity window on all future DLC entries for EA and DICE's upcoming first-person shooting behemoth, Battlefield 3.

Now, before any of you Xbox 360 or PC owners start constructing your elaborate death poems to be scrawled on the flaming bricks you plan to toss through EA's windows, you probably should know that the exclusivity period will only last a week. One. As in, singular. That is decidedly less time to wait than, say, a month, which is how long Modern Warfare DLC typically takes to get from the Xbox 360 (where it exclusively debuts) to other platforms.

The first official DLC for Battlefield 3 will be the "Back to Karkland" set, which includes four Battlefield 2 maps reworked for the new Frostbite engine. That pack will come free with all first-run copies of the game, though you won't be able to download it until "later this year."

That short period of exclusivity might still only be cold comfort to some. If you're such a person I simply propose that you consider what you could do with a whole week not playing Battlefield 3 maps. You could catch up on your backlog of other games, which is sure to only grow larger as this insane fourth quarter of the year rolls on. You could spend some time reading through that great novel everyone's been telling you about that you haven't had time to read yet. You could spend that time with family and friends. Or you could spend a week angrily cursing at an elaborately staged wall filled with the faces of Sony, Electronic Arts, and the many others who have wronged you over the years, while lit only by a single, red-tinted bulb, listening to "In A Gadda Da Vida" on repeat, and menacingly sharpening a blade still encrusted with blood from the last time someone made the mistake of crossing you, the master of your domain.

You know, whatever works for you.

Console makers jockeying for DLC exclusivity is pretty much the norm these days, so odds are you won't be terribly shocked to learn that Sony has gone ahead and put in a winning bid for an exclusivity window on all future DLC entries for EA and DICE's upcoming first-person shooting behemoth, Battlefield 3.

Now, before any of you Xbox 360 or PC owners start constructing your elaborate death poems to be scrawled on the flaming bricks you plan to toss through EA's windows, you probably should know that the exclusivity period will only last a week. One. As in, singular. That is decidedly less time to wait than, say, a month, which is how long Modern Warfare DLC typically takes to get from the Xbox 360 (where it exclusively debuts) to other platforms.

The first official DLC for Battlefield 3 will be the "Back to Karkland" set, which includes four Battlefield 2 maps reworked for the new Frostbite engine. That pack will come free with all first-run copies of the game, though you won't be able to download it until "later this year."

That short period of exclusivity might still only be cold comfort to some. If you're such a person I simply propose that you consider what you could do with a whole week not playing Battlefield 3 maps. You could catch up on your backlog of other games, which is sure to only grow larger as this insane fourth quarter of the year rolls on. You could spend some time reading through that great novel everyone's been telling you about that you haven't had time to read yet. You could spend that time with family and friends. Or you could spend a week angrily cursing at an elaborately staged wall filled with the faces of Sony, Electronic Arts, and the many others who have wronged you over the years, while lit only by a single, red-tinted bulb, listening to "In A Gadda Da Vida" on repeat, and menacingly sharpening a blade still encrusted with blood from the last time someone made the mistake of crossing you, the master of your domain.

You know, whatever works for you.

Ughh

pretty dumb for one week.

Doesn't shock me in the least really. In the end, you just wait a week. You either think this is unacceptable, in which case you just don't buy the game, or you enjoy the main game till a week after to get the extra maps.

Smart on Sony for getting on-board with this concept. Not nearly as long as the MW3 wait is, but I'm sure they'll take what they can get.

Bwhahah! 
 
A week? This is a joke right?

A week is all we have, people! Let us PS fanboys ridicule the Xbots for all the time we have!

I would be interested to find out how much money was paid for one week's exclusivity. It seems rather pointless, but you can never underestimate how great the "getting it first" advantage is in the console world. I no longer do.

I get 64 player conquest maps and cutting edge graphics, and they get a map pack early. I can deal with that trade off.

Sounds alright to me, one week is hardly the end of the world as many will make it seem.

Little to no smarm in this article? What?

E: Ok I didn't read the last sentence.

This smells of Call of Duty.

Love the way you ended this article, Alex. Keep up the great work, both here and at Screened.

A bit sad Sony gets new maps earlier before even EA's own Origin.

Oh well.

Still this is in direct conflict with microsoft's policy of: If you release it elsewhere first we don't want it.

Does that mean that DLC isn't coming out on 360 ever?

Also that was a sarcastic question.

A week only sounds counter-intuitive for Sony to waste hundreds of thousands(if not millions) of dollars on an exclusivity deal. Oh well, at least it's not a month.

I shall chose to occupy myself in the latter manner. I dont function below a Certain level of Completely Unjustified Rage.

Sony is doing something wrong with the industry, wrong.

I wish Microsoft caught on to this one week exclusivity thing, it's brilliant!

As if I needed another reason to skip this title. More proof Sony and EA both hate you as a gamer.

@Hamz: This is my new favorite thing.

This is good. Sony get's an exclusive week giving PS3 owners something to be happy about and 360 and PC owners just have to wait a week. Better than the months PS3 and PC owners have to wait for Call of Duty map packs.

SONY and Battlefield are both second place behind Microsoft and Call of Duty, so this makes sense.

Wow, I wonder how much Sony paid for that so-short-it-might-as-well-not-be-exclusive exclusive.

While Microsoft's use of the timed DLC exclusivity makes XBox the console to won CoD on for the most hardcore and interested players, this doesn't really change anyone's mind about anything (at least, I hope it doesn't).

OH MY GOD!!! I CAN'T FUCKING BELIEVE THIS BULLSHIT!!!!

oh wait no...

the other one..... i don't really care, cheers for the article though Alex, some of it made me laugh

Weird considering EA's still trying so hard to push Origin but OK.

I think this is awesome. Wish it was a full month like we had to wait with Call of Duty, but I'll take what we can get.

1 week is pretty ridiculous... Can't see anyone changing preference platforms over a week...not as bad as that month that MS has on the CoD series...

This is confusing. Why would EA want to handicap Origin out of the gate on DLC? Isn't EA hated enough by Battlefield players over the whole Origin thing anyway? Is a week long enough to make anyone switch platforms? The only real effect any of the pre-order exclusives, DLC timed availability exclusives, purchase point exclusives, and DRM requirements are having is that it all just makes me want to say screw it and wait for a price drop or GOTY version.

Buying games and getting the most value for your money has gotten way too complicated in the last couple years.

It's better than the CoD situation but I still think content exclusivity deals are fucking ridiculous.

Alex is still the king of articles.

They payed money for a week of exclusivity? Sounds like the worst investment ever.

Fucking EA and Sony shit.

Goddamn those last few sentences are gold.

Bahehahaah ohhh such a funny article.

Well motherfucker, Guess now I'll find out what its like to be on the wrong end of the shit stick

Good thing it is only a week. If it were a month or more it would piss off a lot of PC gamers that DICE has been trying so hard to appease and convince they are getting the superior version their platform deserves. Still, pretty silly of Sony to go after such a weak exclusivity deal. One week isn't going to make gamers on the fence about which console version to get flock to the PS3 release. Maybe they should be waving that money under Activision's nose for a better deal with MW3 or Treyarch's next offering since I'm sure MS already has the former locked.

EA's chasing of Activision will be their downfall, they really need to just stop.

So they can't relese the game on xbox 360 now then since other games can't be when they do this to microsoft. Or are the just big hypocrits again?..

One week? What'd Sony pay them, five bucks?

Despite me planning to get the game on PS3, I could not possibly care less. As long as it isn't some dumbass multiple-month wait for DLC, it doesn't really matter to me as a gamer.

This is a great idea. Giving timed exclusive content to the smallest and least dedicated Battlefield community is really gonna pay off. Almost as good as Battlelog.

Hmmm seems a bit pointless having exclusivity for a week.

This seems desperate and pathetic for both parties.

I would like to know the numbers behind this deal. How much did Sony pay? How many people will actually buy this for ps3 rather than x360? Ofcourse we will never know these numbers, but I wonder if it's worth it.

I'm cool with this. You can have it for a week, Sony. It seems like such a small bonus, I can't imagine many people will switch from their platform of choice just for this.

So straight news from Patrick and snark from Alex? I'm down with this.

Timed exclusives are fucking retarded.

Well duh. It WAS the deciding platform after all. Doesn't matter if the PC was the lead since every feature outside of player count and D3D shaders was built around console limitations; and DICE very obviously prefers PS3.

Wait wait wait, Back to Karkland wont be out until later in the year? I wasn't aware of that DAMMIT! What was the other thing? oh yeah the 1 week exclusive DLC.......err.....OK?