Looks like Battlefield Premium is really real, and details are surfacing.

What do duders think about this? Personally, I'm likely to buy all of the expansion packs anyways, so this seems like a win/win. I'm also a fan of running towards danger in hopes of knife kills, so the fancy knife is a silly-but-fun addition.

The other perks seem useful for those who are more "serious" about BF: ability to reset your stats, early access to the expansions, etc. I think that the "priority server queue" stuff is likely to be the most contentious, though I'm not sure why. Premium purchasers are, apparently, willing to pay a bit extra to not wait in line to get into a server.

I'm sure this will continue the EA Is The Devil / All Expansions Are Bad / They're Using CIA Tactics To Make You Buy Games, Maaaan complaints, but I'm on-board for paying up front to save a bit, and get things early.

So it's Call of Duty Elite for BF3. I'm good, thanks.

Yeah, I was planning to buy all the expansions, so I get to save some money! I don't think I'll ever reset my stats and I don't have any servers I like to wait in line for, so that stuff doesn't really matter to me.

I think I'm pretty much done with BF3 at this point, I'm definitely not about to spend £30+ on the game.

Battlefield Premium...You mean the part where I paid a £80 premium to get a 360 and PC copy of the game?

Motherfuckers should be paying me.

i wasn't going to get it but its really cheap for me so it would be dumb not to get it and i'm going to get the map packs regardless and i'm saving money on them.

As a huge Battlefield fan who is into the completive side, and a level 101 in BF, I say no thanks.

Its a season pass, so yes I will be getting it.

It lacks value and offers nothing interesting to me. I am also part of the "EA has poor business practices" bandwagon.

I will not be getting this. I disliked BF3. So now I play BF2 instead when the servers let me.

I'll continue playing TF2, Tribes, and SMNC and just get that sort of thing for free, TYVM.

Well, I went ahead and got it, despite saying I wouldn't. So it was 50 bucks, and if I was going to buy the remaining four packs individually at $15 each, I would have spent $60. I really wasn't planning on getting the CQC pack, which would have made my total $45. But since spending only $5 more gets me the CQC pack and the Battlelog perks, I said fuckit and took the dive.
 
One thing I hate about Origin is that it adds tax on to the price, unlike Steam. But whatever, I'd have to end up paying tax if I bought individually as well.

Personally, if I'm going to spend 50 dollars on gaming, I'd rather buy a whole new game, not commit to spending 50 dollars on add-on packs that I can't even enjoy for several months.

A season pass does not bother me love the game. At least they are just supporting a main game and charging for map packs instead of resetting to Battlefield 4 and charging another $60.

@Thumbrunner said:

A season pass does not bother me love the game. At least they are just supporting a main game and charging for map packs instead of resetting to Battlefield 4 and charging another $60.

Battlefield 3 map packs: Pay 50 dollars, have to wait for content that you already paid for, splits the community.

Battlefield 4 retail release: Pay 60 dollars, could likely find the game for 40 or 30 shortly after release, get all content upfront, creates new community, would likely feature a new campaign (that maybe wouldn't suck so much this time), would almost certainly feature better graphics, physics, and overall game engine tech.

I'm not saying Battlefield Premium is any sort of robbery or anything--it's a good deal for those who know that they will end up buying all of the maps--but the argument you're making seems like a Call of Duty fan saying that they'd rather have the MW3 DLC instead of Black Ops 2.

In the end, I feel that all these massive DLC runs benefit the developers and publishers far more than the customers. It's less content for more money.

I payed for BF3. I payed for B2K. Now I basically buy B2K again when I buy premium? No thank you!

• B2K - Own it for free
• Close Quarters - Fuck Close Quarters
• Armored Kill - WANT IT - $15
• Aftermath - Not sure - Possible $15 
• Endgame - Not sure - Possible $15

i think i'm going to wait till armored kill comes out and see if they fuck that up or not. we all could just buy Arma 3 when it comes out for the $50 instead of this lol

@SpaceInsomniac: I agree with most of your points... except that I really like BF3! Rather than hoping that a BF4 continues to be what I like, I'll get more of what I know I like.

My read on the "less content for more money" argument is that, games being as expensive to develop as they now are, they (to some degree) *have* to be "platforms" that can be extended for more revenue. It's built into the design. And people can say "just give us small, great, indie games that are cheap to make!", but Battlefield is the polar opposite of that: a giant, super-detailed project that just couldn't get made by an indie. It's similar to the movie market: there are big blockbusters and small art flicks, and both can coexist... just don't complain when the blockbuster has a bunch of product placement. It's part and parcel of how that sort of thing gets made.

This all could just be my perspective because I'm someone who loved BF1942, and then didn't play *any* BF until 1943, so BF3 is like finding something you loved years ago, except much improved.

I had a look last night and this was up on the EU PSN store for £39.99 which is more than I paid for the actual game. It's a shame, because I was interested in buying Premium, but not at that price; where's the value?

@AhmadMetallic said:

• B2K - Own it for free
• Close Quarters - Fuck Close Quarters
• Armored Kill - WANT IT - $15
• Aftermath - Not sure - Possible $15
• Endgame - Not sure - Possible $15

So based on whether I buy one, two or all three, I'd be paying 15 or 30 or 45 dollars. Max.
Season pass = 50 dollars.

I'd be losing money!

Don't forget about the weapons included with CQ, and that you get weapon camo with Premium

@Vestigial_Man said:

I think I'm pretty much done with BF3 at this point, I'm definitely not about to spend £30+ on the game.

shit pretty much needs a vaginal rejuvenation at this point in life.

Anyone have a list of the "20+ new guns?" There are a few that I actually really want to see so that might be one of the factors in me getting it. I particularly want to see the FN FAL and the FN FNC!

The mega-patch made me loose all interest in BF3 ... I'm very sad about that. So, I don't think Premium will be renewing my interests.

Let's not talk about Battlefield premium!

@CheapPoison: I guess one can make the argument that it represents everything that's wrong with trying to promote long-term business models for popular multiplayer first person shooters. As big of a gun nut and modern warfare fanatic I am, seeing Call of Duty Elite and Battlefield Premium emulate that business model does make me feel a little disappointed. But business is business, so I'll accept it. Not sure if I'll actually buy into it. Definitely not buying into Call of Duty Elite, at least. EDIT: Dunno how I was tired enough to make Battlefield Premium analogous to Call of Duty Elite subscription model (when it is a single lump sum of $50) but I still feel like it is very similarly grounded and that it is only the beginning for a similar model of service to be extended to future Battlefield games just like how paying for Call of Duty Elite $50 a year will probably cover one new game a year (so maybe that analogy wasn't too far off?)

It's a one-time fee for all BF3 DLC (at a discount) + extra goodies. It's fine.

I might even get it myself, as I'll probably end up getting all DLC to play with friends anyway.

It's not a subscription, and it's less than they are charging for the content contained, if bought individually.

@clstirens said:

@AhmadMetallic said:

• B2K - Own it for free
• Close Quarters - Fuck Close Quarters
• Armored Kill - WANT IT - $15
• Aftermath - Not sure - Possible $15
• Endgame - Not sure - Possible $15

So based on whether I buy one, two or all three, I'd be paying 15 or 30 or 45 dollars. Max.
Season pass = 50 dollars.

I'd be losing money!

Don't forget about the weapons included with CQ, and that you get weapon camo with Premium

I don't play Battlefield for weapons or camo

@Mnemoidian: Ah you're right. Man it was a long day and it technically isn't even the first day of E3 and it was so exhausting to overlook that the Battlefield 3 Premium "Service" isn't a subscription! Maybe they should've named it and presented it otherwise.

I also like BF3 at times. But I'm not about to throw away €€ for something I can't use right away. I'll get them all once they release if I then so choose. I'm actually interested in CQC a bit.

If you are a BF3 this seems like a solid package from EA, if you are not i can see why you might not like but there is nothing wrong with what they are doing. Activision has done the same thing for their hardcore base and seems to be working out OK.

EA took a risk by investing so much into a lead-platform PC game and it looks and plays fantastic, even on console hardware. People throw money at crap all the time, such as releasing the same CoD game every year.

EA and DICE did something great, so i'll happily vote with my wallet.

@EquitasInvictus: I suspect it's the comparisons to CoD: Elite which has caused the confusion.

It's pretty great, I like that it tells you on the killcam if a player that killed you have premium or not. It's also hilarious to tell scrubs how the tank does double damage for premium players (it don't), and watch them rage out.

@AhmadMetallic: No, you're right. I was thinking from the perspective that those are nice bonuses on top of the maps, but I didn't notice how you were unsure of the other expansions as well. Instead of "well, F- CQ, but the other three are fine" like I thought (which would be $45, enough to justify the extra $5).

None the less, I'm not trying to convince you, really. If anyone knows what he wants from BF, it's the guy running the GB clan server :P

I bought it because why not?

The bleeding has begun....................................

I paid more money, for less content, getting Secret Weapons of WW2 and Road to Rome. That's all.

I'll keep my money, nice try EA.

I see the $50 price tag as MSRP and $15 price per pack as a horribly inflated CoD tax, so unless this ever goes on sale (and the if the community's still alive by then) EA isn't getting my money. Plus, I've never really been a person to pay upfront for something that I don't know the quality of yet (especially for digital goods).

@Mnemoidian said:

It's a one-time fee for all BF3 DLC (at a discount) + extra goodies. It's fine.

I might even get it myself, as I'll probably end up getting all DLC to play with friends anyway.

It's not a subscription, and it's less than they are charging for the content contained, if bought individually.

No you won't, because you hate Battlefield!

I'm shocked they didn't throw in the full unlocks as well.

Might be a good incentive to sell my PS3 copy I do not play, since I got a PC copy also...

@Wuddel said:

Might be a good incentive to sell my PS3 copy I do not play, since I got a PC copy also...

Kind of a bummer that the service is cross platform if you're in a situation where you play on multiple platforms.

@MrKlorox said:

Well, I went ahead and got it, despite saying I wouldn't. So it was 50 bucks, and if I was going to buy the remaining four packs individually at $15 each, I would have spent $60. I really wasn't planning on getting the CQC pack, which would have made my total $45. But since spending only $5 more gets me the CQC pack and the Battlelog perks, I said fuckit and took the dive.

Exactly how I'm justifying it. I'm normally not a big season pass guy, but I was going to get Armored Kill for sure, and the others looked really good as well, even if CQC isn't really what I play Battlefield for.

It's a bad deal for me because I'm only interested in the map packs with vehicle levels and that seems to be only one of them (excluding B2K) and possibly the one being released next year. Seems odd to call it "premium" when it's just a season pass really.

Code-in-a-Box version for PC confirmed, and preordered. It's going to release a little later than buying directly online (like the 20th of June), but hey - a premium subscription service is exactly what I wanted from their post release support. Hopefully I'll fall in love with one of the add-ons - but whatever, it's still Battlefield afterall, and despite my dislike for many BF3-specific features, it's a great game and value.

Go DICE!

I'm happy with it so far. The cool thing I found in regards to the early access to the DLC. I may not be able to play the new maps yet, but I get to unlock all the new weapons now, which is pretty awesome. Got my kill with the EOD bot!

These map packs are fucking overpriced to begin with, so this "deal" is hardly one at all. Rather than beat CoD's pricing, they matched it. Fuck them.

This is where I get off the BF3 train. Shame since I liked BFBC2 so much. This one never really hooked me.