http://sarcasticgamer.com/wp/wp-content/uploads/2008/04/ep35.jpg
A funny thing happened when we sat down to record Episode 35. Actually it wasn't that funny at all. What ensued was a call to all Sarcastic Gamer Podcast listeners and community members to take an active role in the boycott of Battlefield: Bad Company. A lack of support by the "majors" for the effort led us to ask that each member of the audience take a moment to think about the implications of EA's decision to fragment the game into pieces, charging extra money for weapons that arguably grant an advantage to players willing to pay the extra fee.


This show focuses primarily on that, and not much else.


Primarily we try to deliver gaming news and information to you, twice a week, in a way that is fun, memorable, and humorous.


Occasionally, even the most sarcastic gamer needs to know when to get serious.


This is one of those times.


Please help us involve the major gaming blogs in this effort. With their support we can and will get EA's attention, and while we might not be able to stop their business plan for this game, perhaps we can discourage them from making plans like this in the future.


I also want to remind everyone that this is a boycott of a title, not a company. Our goal is to stop or discourage DLC that we feel is abusive of the tremendous fanbase for this and future games. That is the limit of the scope of what we are trying to accomplish here.


Thank you for taking the time to listen, and to all of those that get involved.


REMINDER: In your correspondence with the major gaming blogs, please be courteous and respectful. Send only one message and keep it simple and to the point. You want them to join the effort to stop this trend in gaming before it takes root and becomes intrinsic to the business models of major game publishers. DLC is abusinve when it offers an unfair advantage to those willing to pay more. That's the bottom line.


Listening to our show is easy, and you can get it delivered in a bunch of different ways.For the seasoned folks, who just want their mp3, CLICK HERE. (http://media.libsyn.com/media/sarcasticgamer/SarcasticGamer-Episode35.mp3) If you liked this episode, please consider giving us the honor of your subscription in iTunes (http://phobos.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewPodcast?id=260079519) or RSS (http://feeds.feedburner.com/SarcasticGamerPodcast). If you have iTunes, we'd appreciate it if you were to head over to the application right now and leave us some feedback? (http://phobos.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewPodcast?id=260079519) Thanks bud. If you're REALLY feeling generous with your time, hit this link and take our QUICK podcast survey (http://www.podtrac.com/audience/start-survey.aspx?ver=1&pid=pKGDw9NEEq8$). You rule.

Finally!!!! Thank you guys!!!

Im downloading it now from itunes.


Do you talk about volkovs article

Great show everybody. I still think that Volkov's article was teh gr8est evar.:p I was going to tell the people over on the Gamefaqs forums to boycott BFBC but someone beat me to it. I am kind of glad because I found out that the people on that site have some sort of brain deficiency disorder.

I did my job. I posted it on one of the biggest graphic's site known to Photoshop, Gamerenders.

I will also be remaking my Blog tonight, I use to have one than It got deleted, So I made a forum but the hosting died, so i'm back to blogging, I'll post it there aswell. I hope my readers will comeback and look, no, join the cause!

Ontopic, I loved the podcast today guys. Dave your Take-Us-Out was okay, not your best. The podcast was a tribute to the cause and I hope everyone sticks by it. :thumbsup:

I think that its great you guys are putting so much effort in to making people aware EA's greed, and are organizing an effort to stop it. I sure as hell will not be purchasing Battlefield.

My gripe is that nothing has been brought up about the horrible sound issues plaguing the PS3 version of Condemned 2. Even worse than the sound disfunction is SEGA's total lack of response to the situation. They have made no press release, and their tech support site is designed to make it nearly impossible to submit questions. I have been in correspondence with a tech representative, and he will tell me nothing more than "this issue is currently being investigated".

I have written much about the nature of this problem and my many attempts to correct it on this forum (the PS3 section) and many others (including SEGA's).

In an attempt to reach a larger crowd I sent an email to Doc, requesting he bring this up on the podcast. People need to know they should not purchase this title until the problem is repaired. As of now I have not received a response.

EA is not the only "sleazy" developer on the market. I feel all issues with console games need to be brought to consumer attention. Developers are releasing more and more unfinished and broken products. If the community doesn't make a scene this is going to continue and get worse. I understand the importance of the battlefield boycott. Just don't forget about the titles that are already causing problems on the market today.

We can't be funny (or at least try to be funny) every week. This week is all about the boycott. Thanks for the support

charging extra money for weapons that arguably grant an advantage to players willing to pay the extra fee.

[edit=Have just listened to the podcast, question was answered] I'd like to post a link to the Xbox 360 Fanboy video about the stats - you guys have mentioned that the weapon$ are not (stats wise) an advantage over the freebies, but I think it's good for people to see it themselves.

Comparison, care of Xbox 360 Fanboy (http://www.xbox360fanboy.com/2008/04/02/x3f-tv-battlefield-bad-company-free-v-paid-weapon-stat-comp/)

Part of me thinks "eh, oh well", and the other agrees that it's totally f***ed up for EA to be charging for a g'damn DLC.
I think that your argument should be solely that EA is charging an extremely retarded amount of money for 3/4 of a game, rather than that the extra guns are going to be an advantage - as that's really is debatable.

I should add: I have been planning to boycott this game ever since I saw the first technical demo and the dude said it was "the only game with destructible environments", so, don't feel as though you have to convert me.

I think that its great you guys are putting so much effort in to making people aware EA's greed, and are organizing an effort to stop it. I sure as hell will not be purchasing Battlefield.

My gripe is that nothing has been brought up about the horrible sound issues plaguing the PS3 version of Condemned 2. Even worse than the sound disfunction is SEGA's total lack of response to the situation. They have made no press release, and their tech support site is designed to make it nearly impossible to submit questions. I have been in correspondence with a tech representative, and he will tell me nothing more than "this issue is currently being investigated".

I have written much about the nature of this problem and my many attempts to correct it on this forum (the PS3 section) and many others (including SEGA's).

In an attempt to reach a larger crowd I sent an email to Doc, requesting he bring this up on the podcast. People need to know they should not purchase this title until the problem is repaired. As of now I have not received a response.

EA is not the only "sleazy" developer on the market. I feel all issues with console games need to be brought to consumer attention. Developers are releasing more and more unfinished and broken products. If the community doesn't make a scene this is going to continue and get worse. I understand the importance of the battlefield boycott. Just don't forget about the titles that are already causing problems on the market today.

I think its great your not going to be buying battlefield, getting rid of EA's Greed is probably Sarcastic Gamers whole purpose in this. I think it has to be the smartest & most helpful thing Lono has ever done.

The sound issue is due because Microsoft probably paid them, which I don't mind because I don't own a PS3 just yet. Sony would and has done the samething, Its a smart but greedy plan aswell. If they pay to have a game better on their system they will get more buyers.

Since the webmasters of this site didn't approve my comment on one of the boycott articles...

I'm taking part in this boycott by broadcasting your video constantly on my network (see sig or my first post ever (http://www.sarcasticgamer.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1538)) and I also plugged it on my news blog. (http://powerbuttontv.blogspot.com/2008/04/were-not-gonna-take-it-anymore.html)

I applaud your efforts, and congrats on breaking new ground!

EDIT: WTF? It posted twice!

so the hump day is going to be like other shows right

Finally my week is almost saved :D.. The only thing missing for my week is saved is the hump-day update^^

To the Podcast Team:

As a relatively small site, it takes a lot of guts to stand up to a company that controls a large portion of the gaming world. I believe this is what can be termed your 'trial by fire'. If the SG community can pull this off, then the future of the site and the podcast is assured. You have my full backing and support.

To quote a famous Australian folk song:

"From little things, big things grow..."

I did my job. I posted it on one of the biggest graphic's site known to Photoshop, Gamerenders.



Way off topic question:

Has the community over at GR been cleaned up at all?
Back to topic:

Nice show. Hopefully we'll have a victory that will do something in the long run.

Tipped off kotaku so far, will do more soon. great podcast as usual.

Way off topic question:

Has the community over at GR been cleaned up at all?
Back to topic:

Nice show. Hopefully we'll have a victory that will do something in the long run.

I Don't really know Dem took over so meh I quit being that active.

BTW I spammed Joy like crazy.

I wrote a strongly worded letter to kotaku its really long! As a matter of fact I copied and pasted into MS word and used word count to figure out the amount of words in my long e-mail. It has 537 words, and yeah its long!. Pratically a fricken english essay (I even proofread it).

i totally had no idea it was a joke, im glad it was cause if u really thought that was the greatest piece of gaming literature ever, that would be scary. besides that, great episode and keep on keeping it realer

I haven't visited the forums regularly for a while, but this podcast has got me back on again, just to let you know I'll try to give some support in your David vs. Goliath battle.

...

And I want Volkov as a regular in the podcast :tongue:.

We can't be funny (or at least try to be funny) every week

What the hell are you talking about Lono?

The "There are a million reasons to love me, pick one!" is one of the funniest things you've ever said. Reminded me of Cartman saying "I've seen the Terrance & Philip Movie - Who wants to touch me?" :lol:

EA need to learn that if they are selling us half a game to start with then it needs to be half price!

Viva la resistance!

Hey doc, I download the podcast to my PSP through RSS. Does that register with you guys as a listener? Or is it like downloading the MP3 directly?

Man was that a great podcast opening! LOL

I have sent my messages out to the requested sites.
Battlefield: bad move from Bad Company
The Gaming Community is not happy with the news that the new Battlefield will have guns for sale, and many are boycotting the game.
These micro-transactions are not the kind of DLC we are willing to purchase.
EA claims that they will have no impact on the game if you do not buy them.
Then why charge for them?
You could say, "well just don't buy the DLC", but you know enough people will that EA will continue to look for ways to get more money from their loyal customers. We are worried that this will only snowball if it is not stopped. I don't want to have to pay-per-player in Madden.
Please report on this. There is only one way this can go - bad.

I am now backing the boycott, Although I am not happy about doing it.. but its the right thing to do really.
I have sent out emails to Kotaku, Engadget and Destructiod.

I will support the boycott and send out some Emails.

I hope it helps.

I actually really enjoyed this episode. Volkov managed to have me in stitches every time he spoke!

I totally agree that a major blog should use some of its muscle and support a boycott just to protect the future of transactions in games. Keep us posted on the developments.

EDIT: Just sent a message to Kotaku and Destructoid informing them of a boycott. Like has been said, they all add up.

I don't know why but when dave put on that Queens accent (taking off Lono) and said "in bout an hour I'm gonna go drop a douce" I was laughing for at least 5 mins.

lol

Put up a form letter in the Lobby for anyone who has yet to send out emails. Boycotting made easy.
http://www.sarcasticgamer.com/forums/showthread.php?t=5207

Hey doc, I download the podcast to my PSP through RSS. Does that register with you guys as a listener? Or is it like downloading the MP3 directly?

Yes. Exactly .01% of our listeners are PSP listeners. So let's see... that's.... you

emails sent...
ea are really starting to push my limits now. first this, then rockband being more expensive then a dimond encrusted ps3. grrr.. :angry:

I will be sending my E-Mail very soon, this was a really good episode and its awesome to see the whole community get behind something so strongly

Yeah, great episode.

Great podcast. Listening to it as i type. The Bwahahahaha part (did i spell that right?) was incredible. Dont know what frontlines: bad company is (only war game i play regulary is cod) but ill send out an e-mail. The passion in the podcast inspired me. :thumbsup:

Great podcast. Listening to it as i type. The Bwahahahaha part (did i spell that right?) was incredible. Dont know what frontlines: bad company is (only war game i play regulary is cod) but ill send out an e-mail. The passion in the podcast inspired me. :thumbsup:

Don't you mean Battlefield:Bad Company. Make sure it is right in the e-mails you send or else people won't take them seriously.

e-mail's sent to Kotaku and another site. I won't name it unless they respond.

great episode

i will gladly send a letter to destructiod but i dont want to be the only one, so who is with me to send that letter!!!!

Hey I was the one who sent Matt the "Good Luck" PM....

From Bauer's Mail Box....
Hey just wanted to say good luck with your writing thing your doing for the site. I know it cant be any worse then Dave's Take outs. :DMatt
Heh, thanks, but I've been doing it longer than anyone else besides Doc. Perhaps I'm just not noticeable :OBauer
No Im talking about that REALLY BIG project Doc talked about in Episode 21. He said its due in Mid Feb?

Matt
Heh, I haven't listened to the past two episodes (downloading now) because I've been on vacation. But I think I have some idea what he's talking about.

Thanks for the good wishes!

MattWasnt I wrong....


OH YEAH! Fight the power SG! Im totally ready to email some sites. Not only do I think SarcasticGamer.com is epic, I just think this is just messed up that EA can do that. Im with you! NOW LETS BURN SOMETHING!

Yes. Exactly .01% of our listeners are PSP listeners. So let's see... that's.... you

I feel special!!! :grin:

OH YEAH! Fight the power SG! Im totally ready to email some sites. Not only do I think SarcasticGamer.com is epic, I just think this is just messed up that EA can do that. Im with you! NOW LETS BURN SOMETHING!

lets burn EA! or at least the people who are responsible for the stupid DLC!

Just been on Destructoid and they have made a post on their site basically explaining why there is a boycott and that the next time they talk to EA that they will let them have it!!!

Guess that Docs letter worked.

Kotaku answered my e-mail. They explain that they mentioned the boycott last week when it first occured. I replied with a "look again" kinda thing. I explained that if it was possible, take the extra step. All while being polite.

Thank you Destructoid. Go get them.
We may even be able to see Doc, Dave or Lono on an episode of AOTs if G4 sees fit to answer the war cry.

Just been on Destructoid and they have made a post on their site basically explaining why there is a boycott and that the next time they talk to EA that they will let them have it!!!

Guess that Docs letter worked.

"So, today our tips line has been absolutely inundated with emails from Sarcastic Gamer readers"

It wasn't only the Sarcastic Gamer podcast teams, It was all of us combine! :thumbsup:

w00t w00t ours (& My) emails worked on Joystiq ^-^

Kotaku answered my e-mail. They explain that they mentioned the boycott last week when it first occured. I replied with a "look again" kinda thing. I explained that if it was possible, take the extra step. All while being polite.

Same here. Asked him to reconsider as well. Maybe with Destructoid and Joystiq taking up the torch we might see a kotaku post.

Everyone who's still not sent an email please focus on sending ONE email to Kotaku.

I tried ign just for the hell of it. It was pointless, really. But can you imagine what would happen if THEY posted the video?!

I tried ign just for the hell of it. It was pointless, really. But can you imagine what would happen if THEY posted the video?!

If all the big blogs make mention of it, the 1ups, igns, and gamespots of the world are gonna have to take notice. Maybe by tomorrow they'll realize the importance of the boycott.

This could really be something here. People don't realize the power they have until they act on it.

I posted the boycott on G4 forums. You also have to get IGN and Gamespot.

you guys are the ****ing bomb.

you guys are the ****ing bomb.

seconded.:grin:

I posted the boycott on G4 forums. You also have to get IGN and Gamespot.

G4TV The Feed already posted it.

http://www.g4tv.com/thefeed/blog/post/684001/Battlefield_Bad_Company_Boycott.html

@ Lono
Well if we (The Listeners) can do something to help out Sarcastic Gamer, and Ourselves in this situation, we will!

"So, today our tips line has been absolutely inundated with emails from Sarcastic Gamer readers"

It wasn't only the Sarcastic Gamer podcast teams, It was all of us combine! :thumbsup:

Yeah everyone did their bit (as did i), Kotaku are yet to do so but so far this has some great momentum. :grin:

Its on GamePolitics.com as part of a larger piece:

http://gamepolitics.com/2008/04/09/game-consumers-get-confrontational-with-game-industry/

Yeah everyone did their bit (as did i), Kotaku are yet to do so but so far this has some great momentum. :grin:
I sent an e-mail to kotaku, and they claim that they have already covered it. However, I searched for the article they referenced and responded with this:

However, in the article mentioned. (http://kotaku.com/370694/ea-charging-for-bad-company-weapons to be specific) You guys haven't mentioned anything about a boycott. Although, yes the two things are related, I am asking for an article (length really doesn't matter) specifically focused on boycotting the game because of the excess charge. What I see in your article is focused on the fact they are doing it and that it's bad, but nothing in terms of a real response like a boycott.

Click on the link in the quote to see the article they mention. As you can read in my e-mail, it is focused on the fact that the idea is bad but there is a lack of a resposne to it. Hopefully pointing that out might get them to write a new article with a focus on the boycott.

Kotaku answered my e-mail. They explain that they mentioned the boycott last week when it first occured. I replied with a "look again" kinda thing. I explained that if it was possible, take the extra step. All while being polite.

If by look again you meant, I don't see such an article then I have the link to it in my quote above, but otherwise I am curious as to how you approached it (just a comparaison kind of thing).

Same here. Asked him to reconsider as well. Maybe with Destructoid and Joystiq taking up the torch we might see a kotaku post.

Everyone who's still not sent an email please focus on sending ONE email to Kotaku.

Same thing, I just wanna know how you worded it.

lol...had to


http://i95.photobucket.com/albums/l123/bigredonenedm/HIS_POWER_LEVEL_IT27S_OVER_NINE_THO.jpg