EA denied anyone wearing an Activision affiliated badge from thei

Looks like Activision actually did something nice for people and had a bunch of "VIP" gamers that they invited and gave E3 badges to. Most of these people are regular folks who just like to play FPS games and happen to be fans of the Battlefield series as well so taking up the rare chance to go to E3 without being a part of the industry a lot of these people accepted the badge and made their trip to L.A. only to be turned away at the EA booth and being treated like a rival "gang member" while having EA security punk them out of line for wearing an Activision affiliated badge.

EA erased the post from their forums (You can see the cached version here  http://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search?q=cache:Vu8tGtgARTEJ:forums.electronicarts.co.uk/battlefield-3/1404091-gamer-not-allowed-play-bf3-e3-because-he-wore-activision-badge-3.html+ea+denies+activision+badges+e3&cd=1&hl=en&ct=clnk&gl=us&client=firefox-a&source=www.google.com and a day later the story was changed where they didn't want to look bad and said that it was Bobby Kotick that was turned away.

Let's see the real story unfold and discuss. Let's be honest if you had a chance to go to E3 would you care who it was that gave you the badge?
 

Hey everyone,

Zeroy contacted me on Twitter and brought this thread to my attention.

I thought I'd give you the rundown and the full story from my POV.

First off, this was a public demo, meaning that it wasn't restricted to the press or anything like that.

As my Twitter profile says, I am a PC gamer. I am purely a PC community guy and am not employed by Activision in any way. I am also a huge Battlefield fan.

I was invited down to LA by Activision for a Call of Duty event the day before and they were nice enough to provide me with a pass to E3 as well. I honestly couldn't wait to try out BF3. Like most of you I'm sure, I had been going crazy over what I had seen regarding the game and I can't put into words how excited I was at the opportunity to try out the game on my platform of choice.

By the time I was able to make it to the booth, the line was already winding around it but I had told myself that I wasn't going to leave until I played BF3. Several of the other community guys that were also invited to the Call of Duty event, and were also wearing Activision badges, were ahead of me and waited about an hour before they were told at the front of the line that they weren't going to be allowed in. Even after they told me this, I waited in the line for approximately 3 hours, hoping that either there would be an exception or the that the policy would be dropped, until a couple of EA reps policing the line told me that they were almost 100% sure that I wasn't going to be allowed in and repeated the fact that all Activision guys were being turned away. I explained to them that I was just a CoD community guy and that Activision had only provided my pass. During the diologue, I said something like "I know that my pass says Activision on it..." and then one of the reps cut me off and said verbatim: "yeah, and this is EA!" At that point, I saw the situation was hopeless and decided to leave the line. It was shortly after that I made the Tweets that the OP referenced.

I think it is important to note that nowhere during the duologue was I disrespectful or discourteous to anyone at EA or did I ever raise my voice from an audible level that could be heard above the noise of the show.

This is my side of the story... Whether you choose to believe it, or disbelieve it, for whatever reason is up to you.

When I contacted zh1nt0 on Twitter regarding this issue, he responded (props to one of the best CM's around IMO): LINK

-H4WKE

P.S. Here is a link to my Twitter if you want to read more of the stuff I have been saying about this: Philip Thatcher (H4WKE) on Twitter

the EA booth was shit

couldn't play BF3 since it was behind a 2-4 hour line, while they had stacks of tvs just for sims pets and ipad games. I tried to wait it out only to get turned down since a "VIP" came and took the rest of the days spots. was behind one of the screwattack.com guys and he was like "yeah I really want to see this but shitt.."

a really poor showing compared to sony and Nintendo that had whole new systems and a smooth process to go see them, as well as have separate places for vip to play so they didn't take up the line.

@PufferFiz said:

the EA booth was shit

couldn't play BF3 since it was behind a 2-4 hour line, while they had stacks of tvs just for sims pets and ipad games. I tried to wait it out only to get turned down since a "VIP" came and took the rest of the days spots. was behind one of the screwattack.com guys and he was like "yeah I really want to see this but shitt.."

a really poor showing compared to sony and Nintendo that had whole new systems and a smooth process to go see them, as well as have separate places for vip to play so they didn't take up the line.

Did you seriously just compare EA to sony and nintendo? Oh dear...

@emergency said:

@PufferFiz said:

the EA booth was shit

couldn't play BF3 since it was behind a 2-4 hour line, while they had stacks of tvs just for sims pets and ipad games. I tried to wait it out only to get turned down since a "VIP" came and took the rest of the days spots. was behind one of the screwattack.com guys and he was like "yeah I really want to see this but shitt.."

a really poor showing compared to sony and Nintendo that had whole new systems and a smooth process to go see them, as well as have separate places for vip to play so they didn't take up the line.

Did you seriously just compare EA to sony and nintendo? Oh dear...

I compared their booths.

They didn't let Kotick play BF3 either.

Non-industry people should not be at E3, and they certainly should not complain that they didn't get to play the games on display for journalists on the trade show floor. Boo-hoo, etc.

Am I missing something? People with Activision badges got turned away from the EA booth? Since when did these companies become affiliated? No shit EA was supposedly turning away people with Activision badges.

People tend to forget that EA are pretty massive twats. 
 
I'm not sure why

sure but its a pretty douchebag thing to do. Activion wasnt denying EA affilited badges. i know you are BF fanboy but still.

@Mikemcn said:

They didn't let Kotick play BF3 either.

dude whatever, kotick would walk in with two pistols and shoot people on his way to the demo unit while kanye west's 'power' plays.

@theoldhouse said:

People tend to forget that EA are pretty massive twats. I'm not sure why

People started to treat EA like a different company once Activision grew to become comparatively worse. Sort of like saying that one rotten apple is better to eat than another because it doesn't have worms in it.

@Mikemcn said:

They didn't let Kotick play BF3 either.

dude whatever, kotick would walk in with two pistols and shoot people on his way to the demo unit while kanye west's 'power' plays.

@SethPhotopoulos said:

@jadeskye said:

@Mikemcn said:

They didn't let Kotick play BF3 either.

dude whatever, kotick would walk in with two pistols and shoot people on his way to the demo unit while kanye west's 'power' plays.

Then MW3 appears over his head and Activision has their next commercial.

Kotick wouldn't do it himself, he'd hire someone.

@SethPhotopoulos said:

@jadeskye said:

@Mikemcn said:

They didn't let Kotick play BF3 either.

dude whatever, kotick would walk in with two pistols and shoot people on his way to the demo unit while kanye west's 'power' plays.

Then MW3 appears over his head and Activision has their next commercial.

Kotick wouldn't do it himself, he'd hire someone.

@Mikemcn said:

They didn't let Kotick play BF3 either.

Now that's fair. Kotick's a dick!

@SethPhotopoulos said:

@jadeskye said:

@Mikemcn said:

They didn't let Kotick play BF3 either.

dude whatever, kotick would walk in with two pistols and shoot people on his way to the demo unit while kanye west's 'power' plays.

Then MW3 appears over his head and Activision has their next commercial.

I think it says a lot when not even that scenario would make me interested in Modern Warfare 3.

He's not industry, he shouldn't have been there anyway.

If EA want to deny someone from their booth, they can do so.

This smells like Activision trying get some negative PR on EA. Both of those companies are pathetic.

BOYCOTT EA 
 
BOYCOTT ACTIVISION 
 
BOYCOTT ALL THOSE MONEY GRABBING THIEVES 
 
BOYCOTT GAMES 
 
AAAAAARGH

I don't think this is that big of a deal. They weren't journalists or people within the industry, so they were simply holding up the professionals who were trying to do their jobs and provide content for everyone at home like us. They probably turned them away because of that. Even if it was simply because they had Activision badges, then oh well. That's their prerogative.

They didn't take them out back and beat the shit out of them. They simply said, "No."

All I care about is the games not the companies behind them.

He's not industry, he shouldn't have been there anyway.

If EA want to deny someone from their booth, they can do so.

This smells like Activision trying get some negative PR on EA. Both of those companies are pathetic.

What do you expect? You know what you get from Modern Warfare 3. EA/DICE have yet to show the big guns of BF3 and they want to keep Activision affiliated companies away as much as possible.

There's nothing douchy about it. It's just business, so stop acting like it's some outrage that they do it.

HOLD ON GUYS

a badge does not say whether you are in industry or not. there is no way of knowing, even people that work for activision that were not on the booth staff have the same badge at this person.

also this is a industry expo not some public event, the point of it is so people can look at others work.

E3 is a trade convention, not a public show.  So people who are non-press and non developers shouldn't be there in the first place.  If this happened at PAX it would be different.  Also... did activision even have a booth?

@AnimalFather said:

@GunslingerPanda said:

He's not industry, he shouldn't have been there anyway.

If EA want to deny someone from their booth, they can do so.

This smells like Activision trying get some negative PR on EA. Both of those companies are pathetic.

sounds like a bf fanboy.

Never played it. But please, continue making assumptions.

Also... did activision even have a booth?

Corporate War never changes.

@PufferFiz said:

HOLD ON GUYS

a badge does not say whether you are in industry or not. there is no way of knowing, even people that work for activision that were not on the booth staff have the same badge at this person.

also this is a industry expo not some public event, the point of it is so people can look at others work.

It's so that investors and journalists can look at games, not competitors. This is not a symposium like GDC or DICE.

Also, the guy here clearly stated that he was simply a fan. I'm sure the EA screeners could tell the difference. Besides, if they thought they were professionals, that gives them an even better reason to deny them access. This is a multibillion dollar industry with trade secrets, not a hippie commune where everyone shares everything.

@FireBurger said:

@PufferFiz said:

HOLD ON GUYS

a badge does not say whether you are in industry or not. there is no way of knowing, even people that work for activision that were not on the booth staff have the same badge at this person.

also this is a industry expo not some public event, the point of it is so people can look at others work.

It's so that investors and journalists can look at games, not competitors. This is not a symposium like GDC or DICE.

Also, the guy here clearly stated that he was simply a fan. I'm sure the EA screeners could tell the difference. Besides, if they thought they were professionals, that gives them an even better reason to deny them access. This is a multibillion dollar industry with trade secrets, not a hippie commune where everyone shares everything.

yeah no

@PufferFiz: Intelligent and well-defended response.

There is no benefit for having competitors check out your booth, especially when you have a 2-4 hour line at all times. Those spots could be better used by bloggers, journalists, and the media.

"EA Denied Anyone Wearing an Activision Affiliated Badge from their Booth" or, why I hate the Internet, by: the Internet.

All I care about is the games not the companies behind them.

@FireBurger said:

@PufferFiz said:

HOLD ON GUYS

a badge does not say whether you are in industry or not. there is no way of knowing, even people that work for activision that were not on the booth staff have the same badge at this person.

also this is a industry expo not some public event, the point of it is so people can look at others work.

It's so that investors and journalists can look at games, not competitors. This is not a symposium like GDC or DICE.

Also, the guy here clearly stated that he was simply a fan. I'm sure the EA screeners could tell the difference. Besides, if they thought they were professionals, that gives them an even better reason to deny them access. This is a multibillion dollar industry with trade secrets, not a hippie commune where everyone shares everything.

yeah no

@FireBurger: @rebgav:

no it is for all industry not just those people. your not showing off trade secrets like at GDC where you talk about making games.

the games being shown are coming out either this year or early next at this point your product is to far along to make any changes with out delay.

@SethPhotopoulos said:

@PufferFiz said:

@FireBurger said:

@PufferFiz said:

HOLD ON GUYS

a badge does not say whether you are in industry or not. there is no way of knowing, even people that work for activision that were not on the booth staff have the same badge at this person.

also this is a industry expo not some public event, the point of it is so people can look at others work.

It's so that investors and journalists can look at games, not competitors. This is not a symposium like GDC or DICE.

Also, the guy here clearly stated that he was simply a fan. I'm sure the EA screeners could tell the difference. Besides, if they thought they were professionals, that gives them an even better reason to deny them access. This is a multibillion dollar industry with trade secrets, not a hippie commune where everyone shares everything.

yeah no

I was talking about employees of companies.

@rebgav said:

@PufferFiz said:

@FireBurger: @rebgav:

no it is for all industry not just those people. your not showing off trade secrets like at GDC where you talk about making games.

the games being shown are coming out either this year or early next at this point your product is to far along to make any changes with out delay.

Publishers decide who sees what and when, even at E3. There is no further argument.

then they shouldn't be at e3, they can have a media time out side of e3.

@rebgav said:

@PufferFiz said:

then they should be at e3, they can have a media time out side of e3.

I don't even....

I meant shouldn't. You can have press events outside of e3 with out spending money for a booth.

@skyline7284 said:

Also... did activision even have a booth?

It would be insane if they didn't.

@rebgav said:

@PufferFiz said:

@rebgav said:

@PufferFiz said:

then they should be at e3, they can have a media time out side of e3.

I don't even....

I meant shouldn't. You can have press events outside of e3 with out spending money for a booth.

Oh okay, well that makes sense. Publishers shouldn't bring games to E3 so that there's more room for the public, you're right, it solves everything.

no the public are not invited, industry only, including company employees

So next year do publishers start burning down competitors booths and do drive byes on there producers.

@rebgav said:

@PufferFiz said:

no the public are not invited, industry only, including company employees

The show floor is where games are demoed for the press. Not for other devs and publishers. I refuse to bang my head against this wall again, you're on your own from here.

no it's not, I don't understand why this is a hard concept for you to get. this is a trade show, people in the trade (industry) go around looking at other products. the difference with GDC is that this is not about making games. fuck 90% of the people I saw walking around where developers.

@rebgav said:

@PufferFiz said:

then they should be at e3, they can have a media time out side of e3.

I don't even....

I meant shouldn't. You can have press events outside of e3 with out spending money for a booth.

@PufferFiz said:

@FireBurger: @rebgav:

no it is for all industry not just those people. your not showing off trade secrets like at GDC where you talk about making games.

the games being shown are coming out either this year or early next at this point your product is to far along to make any changes with out delay.

While they can't make large changes, they can certainly make changes. BF3 is still pre-alpha at this point, meaning it's not even content-locked yet. It can be assumed MW3 is PA as well. BF3 isn't even going into beta until September, at which point small changes to gameplay can still be made.

Maybe DICE (more likely EA) just didn't want anyone from Activision getting their hands on the game. Some things like gun handling, or a real sense of the movement can't be gleaned from reading an article, and maybe EA just doesn't want to give anyone from Activision that hands-on feel for the gameplay. In any event, whatever their reason, it's their prerogative to turn away whoever they want. Some publishers allow competitors to see their games, others don't. It's a privilege and not a right. If you're there as industry, you're there to show off your game. If you happen to get free time to check out the floor then that's merely a bonus, not the purpose of the show.

Besides, we still don't know that their badges were equivalent to true industry Activision badges. I doubt that the ESA just handed Activision a bunch of extra badges that said "Industry" on them and told them to dole them out as they saw fit.

@SethPhotopoulos said:

@PufferFiz said:

@rebgav said:

@PufferFiz said:

then they should be at e3, they can have a media time out side of e3.

I don't even....

I meant shouldn't. You can have press events outside of e3 with out spending money for a booth.

Wouldn't that be more troubling to the journalists? Having many separate events that each have their own costs would make it so the journalists have to probably say no to the company events in favor of the one huge event where almost every company shows up. In terms of coverage they would suffer. They don't HAVE to accept anyone but journalists, it'd be great if the other devs were allowed to show up at but they don't have to do it.

but media doesn't get a free pass unless you have a appointment. I was in the masseffect line right behind people from neoseeker.com when the guy came around saying we had a 2+ hour wait, we all left.

@PufferFiz said:

@rebgav said:

@PufferFiz said:

then they should be at e3, they can have a media time out side of e3.

I don't even....

I meant shouldn't. You can have press events outside of e3 with out spending money for a booth.

Wouldn't that be more troubling to the journalists?  Having many separate events that each have their own costs would make it so the journalists have to probably say no to the company events in favor of the one huge event where almost every company shows up.  In terms of coverage they would suffer.  They don't HAVE to accept anyone but journalists, it'd be great if the other devs were allowed to show up at but they don't have to do it.

I find it to be hilarious and extremely typical that the OP cherry picked the part where someone with an Activision badge was supposedly denied access to the EA BF3 demo but failed to mention that the head community manager for DICE posted in the same thread about how he was refused entry to the Black Ops booth at Gamescom last year for the exact same reason, namely having an EA company badge.

Console wars I kind of understood but now shooter wars? They're both on the same consoles! and play pretty much the same! the gaming industry is spiraling into madness here

Console wars I kind of understood but now shooter wars? They're both on the same consoles! and play pretty much the same! the gaming industry is spiraling into madness here

@AnimalFather said:

@rebgav said:

Non-industry people should not be at E3, and they certainly should not complain that they didn't get to play the games on display for journalists on the trade show floor. Boo-hoo, etc.

you are kinda missing the point here....

I'd say it sounds like Activision who's missing the point n this scenario.