This doesn't at all seem strange...

So i sometimes check metacritic for reviews (And yes i actually do read the reviews) and well i was going to check on BF3... and well now i just feel depressed.

Really EA? You put ads for Battlefield all over Metacritic, and then don't send out review copies to publications that might hurt your metacritic score?

It's not strange; it's common.

Wow what's with that MSNBC quote? It's a little early to be making those kinds of claims. Also simply showing that quote is pretty much everything I hate about BF3's marketing. So obnoxiously juvenile.

@XII_Sniper: The way it was worded felt kind of off to me too.

I'm not really surprised, I mean why wouldn't they want to advertise to people who care about video games?

OH MY GOD! How shocking!

Good thing they only just started doing stuff like that now and not decades ago, right? .. wait a minute

Yep, that sounds about right. That's what publishers always do when they have a game they're a little unsure about.

its a conspiracy! see, they're after your money! they want you to buy their game!

I think the message is pretty clear.. 
 
buy Battlefield 3 or die. There's no third option. The EA mob is fucking after you.

I was one of the ones bitching about the review copy thing and I don't see this as at all surprising. Publishers give their ad money to the sites with the most traffic. MC gets lots of hits and it prob part of a whole deal with Gamespot.

The marketing Hype is to keep you interested in the title after the 1 or 2 weeks it takes the publisher to get it running smoothly online. It's brain washing if you allow it to be.

Wait, does this mean MSNBC lives in the future?

Geez EA. I mean I wouldn't usually be wanting MW3 to seriously outsell BF3 because I don't care that much about it. But seeing the ad treatment from EA I kind of want MW3 to trounce BF3 just because I think it'd be hilarious.

I'm gonna buy BF3, but now every time I play it I'll remember MSNBC was with it first and I'll feel dirty.

The MSNBC quote reads less like something from a respected new source and more like something you'd see posted on Gamefaqs. I just can't take your game seriously if you directly call out another game in your ad campaign. If your game is good and promoted well enough then it will sell itself. You don't need to start pissing wars and taking pot shots at the competition.
 
Wait, didn't they do something just like this with Medal of Honor? Directly saying it was better than Call of Duty, I mean.

It's not strange; it's common.