hexogen

I removed all my payment options from XBL just in case. I'll use prepaid cards until they figure something out and give us a better answer than "it's coincidental". It's not an Xbox Live or a FIFA issue, but hundreds of people are having their Xbox Live accounts compromised and used to specifically purchase FIFA DLC? I don't buy it.

Call of Duty is casual now? The blurry line between 'hardcore' and 'casual' aside, I don't get this sense of superiority some gamers have over the people who aren't as into the hobby as they are. You're not better than anyone because you play more obscure or larger amounts of games. Get over yourself.

I'll get it, but probably not for a few months. I enjoyed the beta just fine, it's more of an I-don't-have-the-money-for-all these-games-right-now issue.

@ericdrum: Yeah, my prediction might be a little rash. When I think about it more, if they're promoting it on their Facebook and Twitter pages, all the people that follow those pages already know what Battlefield is. The spotlight section on the 360 dashboard is the only place where some "regular" dudes might have found it. I'm just thinking those people might be turned off by its glitchiness. But admittedly, that's probably a small number, and it will end up selling great.

@thornie: I think what Gies is getting at is that it may have been a mistake from a marketing perspective. Your average person who doesn't follow video games closely probably doesn't know what a beta is supposed to be and doesn't care what it is either. They're just going to play it a bit, find that it's glitchy as hell, and decide not to buy it. DICE can say it's a beta all they want, but when you advertise it as heavily as they have (the spotlight channel on the 360 dashboard, their Facebook and Twitter, etc.) it effectively becomes a demo.

I think Operation Metro was a poor choice for a map as well. It's just not like your average Battlefield map, which may or may not backfire on them. Considering how many people on video game websites were bitching about the beta being glitchy and more like CoD than Battlefield, I don't think it's a stretch to imagine less savvy people could have a similar reaction (it's glitchy and similar enough to CoD that they'll just go with the more well-known quantity).

Yes, co-op MP missions for ME3: they're real, and they're spectacular. Rest assured it's nothing of what you've feared. More soon...

Casey Hudson on Twitter.

I would say I don't want multiplayer in my Mass Effect, but I also said that about Assassin's Creed, and that turned out to be really cool.

[Edit] I went and actually read the article thoroughly instead of skimming through it, and a co-op campaign would make sense. For some reason whenever I hear "multiplayer" I automatically assume it's competitive.

Looks ridiculous! I'm sure I'll enjoy it.

@DarkChris said:

Before the beta, I was totally hyped. Excellent graphics, realistic battles, big scale etc. After the beta, I realized I was more a COD-type gamer than a BF-type gamer. I mean that I prefer the online of COD and not the online of BF3.

I'm in the same boat. I had BF3 pre-ordered, but playing the beta made me realize I prefer CoD, so I switched my pre-order to the hardened edition of MW3 (for all the DLC). I did like the beta quite a bit, but considering how much time I put into previous CoD games and the fact that the friends I play with the most are getting CoD, I thought I'd get a lot more mileage out of MW3.

That being said, I plan on getting BF3 a few months down the line. But come November I'm going to be too wrapped up in MW3 and Assassin's Creed: Revelations multiplayer to make time for BF3.

The original Call of Duty. It was good, but it didn't blow me away. I bought CoD2 when I got my 360 and loved the single player, but never tried the multiplayer. And CoD4 is what got me into the multiplayer, and remains my favorite MP game of all time.