Entries Tagged as 'Bad Company Boycott'
Editor’s note: This is yet another in a long list of Sarcastic Gamer Survival Guides. If you want to check out the other ones in the series, click here for our list of guides for games like GTA IV, Call of Duty 4 and Burnout Paradise, among others.
We’re back with another installment of our Sarcastic Gamer Survival Guide to Battlefield: Bad Company’s multiplayer. Feeling a bit overwhelmed? Annoyed that you can’t just pick up and play the game like Call of Duty 4? This is a totally different type of multiplayer game. The openness of the maps and multiple options on offense and defense can be daunting to get a quick handle on.
So if you’re new and need a boost, read on, as we’ll give the newbies that just purchased the game enough tips and tricks to get you ranked up and into some unlockable goodness in no time!
(more…)
Tags: Bad Company Boycott · Electronic Arts · Featured Content · PS3 · Sarcastic Gamer Survival Guide · Xbox 360 · news
Editor’s note: Mayshod is a new contributor and long time reader of Sarcasticgamer.com.
With all the attention we’ve been focusing on EA lately I decided to do a little research to find their roots. I refuse to believe they’re all bad. In the process, I discovered William M. “Trip” Hawkins III. He is the Silicon Valley pioneer that founded Electronic Arts. Although he no longer leads the publishing juggernaut, he’s nothing shy of a genius in the field and a forefather of modern gaming. (he designed his own major at Harvard in Strategy and Applied Game Theory).
I contacted Trip through his new company, Digital Chocolate (they produce mobile games for cell phones) to see what he thought about the Bad Company boycott and to find out what he’s currently working on. He was generous with his time and I’d personally like to thank him once again for granting me the interview.
(more…)
Tags: Bad Company Boycott · Boycott · EA · news
It has been less than a week since EA and its subsidiary, DICE, stood up and took notice of the gaming community, led by the fine people within the Sarcastic Gamer Community. While we may be small, you all sure do carry a big stick, as most gaming media outlets found out.
Stepping back from the whole situation, I find it inconceivable that we actually pulled it off. I mean, just think about it. We stood up to EA and forced EA to cut off a revenue stream that was worth millions of dollars. Yet, there are still haters that are “tired” of hearing about the boycott, the “hollow” win and those “annoying bastards” from Sarcastic Gamer.
Sour grapes?
(more…)
Tags: Bad Company Boycott · editorial
Who would have believed the difference a week can make. Monday, we were asking you to reach out to major websites and get them involved in your boycott of Bad Company. Today, we’re looking back at a groundbreaking effort that brought change to both a game, and the way that smaller sites are viewed when dealing with major corporations. During the boycott, Joystiq’s Justin McElroy made a few remarks that left several of us sort of scratching our heads. Lono had a minor stroke.
Today, Justin joins us to set the record straight, defend his remarks, and share some insight on how your boycott effort appeared to the larger sites. While we might not have totally agreed with Justin’s opinion, we found a lot of common ground.
Thanks for responding to our request and for being on the show.
- Boycott Aftermath with Joystiq’s Justin McElroy
- How Sarcastic Gamer community members got Joystiq’s attention
- Why was THIS boycott successful?
- DICE’s response
- Lono’s moonwalk
- Acknowledgements to the people that made this happen, YOU
- Justin’s “Correctitude”: Changing behavior
- Lesson’s learned
- Charlie Daniels’ big beef with Guitar Hero 3
- Microsoft’s “Newton” controller
- SHAMELESS PLUG: VISIT JOYSTIQ or subscribe to the JOYSTIQ PODCAST
- Thanks for your iTunes Reviews
- Gamertag Radio must DIE!
- SG CoD4 team roster confusion
- WIN Rainbow Six Vegas 2 for the Xbox 360 (MP3 entries to dave@sarcasticgamer.com)
- Boycott thank you’s
- Dave takes us out as a Cartoon
- Martini Time featuring “Justin McElroy is such superstar”
- Cramps rock the Sarcastic Gamer podcast
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. If you liked this episode, please consider giving us the honor of your subscription in iTunes or RSS. If you have iTunes, we’d appreciate it if you were to head over to the application right now and leave us some feedback? Thanks bud. If you’re REALLY feeling generous with your time, hit this link and take our QUICK podcast survey. You rule.
Tags: Bad Company Boycott · Podcast! · Podcasts
Luke Plunkett, associate editor of Kotaku isn’t a big fan of our boycott effort, or our HUGE win. In response, he posted a rebuttal to our brilliant win over EA today. (Link) In his “rant” he argues that we achieved a hollow victory because, as a puts it, our efforts to stop EA from charging for guns, has done nothing because they’ll just ramp up their marketing campaign to make up for these lost profits, or simply attempt to sell the DLC again down the line.
Is this a news flash? EA will try to sell DLC again? Oh noes!
Read on for why I think Luke’s rant is a non-starter, after the jump!
(more…)
Tags: Bad Company Boycott · editorial · news
Sarcastic Gamer Community,
Take a deep breath. You did something amazing. With the support of more than a hundred independent blogs and podcasts, you brought awareness to the effort to convince EA to alter its course with the DLC for Bad Company. More than that, you proved that when properly motivated, even the smallest of communities can accomplish huge feats. No we didn’t change the world, or end hunger. But we did make enough noise to elicit a positive response from an enormous company.
This boycott was founded for two reasons.
First, to directly disrupt the plan to distribute what we felt was abusive DLC at the expense of loyal fans of the Battlefield franchise.
Secondly, but perhaps most importantly, we wanted to send a clear message to EA and other publishers, that there is a very clear limit to how far they can take downloadable content, and that there can be awful repercussions if the line is crossed.
After reading the interviews that were granted to the larger outlets this evening, I am confident that we accomplished both of those objectives decisively, and with our own brand of class.
At no point in this fracas did you hear any single individual with Sarcastic Gamer say anything derogatory regarding the quality of BF:BC. Our intention was not to hurt DICE, a respected developer. Our intention was not to hurt EA either. I do not believe we did either of those things. We just wanted, as a community, to be heard.
The reason that this effort was successful is that we made reasonable, clear demands of those with the power to change things, and your community, on the whole, ran with that clear message. You told anyone who would listen, and many who wouldn’t. You stared down several respected bloggers who basically laughed at the effort, or ignored it.
While we might have employed a touch of sensationalism, I have no regrets on how things were handled on this end. Small sites like ours must sometimes play by a different set of rules to be heard on a scale large enough to make an impact. Our boycott video might have been an extreme exaggeration, but it did it’s job. It spread the word.
While the result might not be ideal, this boycott cannot continue with any degree of integrity. While the hoops to jump through might be a little on the silly side, the content in question is now fully available to anyone that purchases BF:BC without additional financial commitment. I believe it would be petty of all of us to continue with this. DICE and EA have done basically what we have asked.
There have been new calls within the community for another boycott over the pricing of Rock Band for our friends in Europe. I own Rock Band. I do not see how, in good conscience, I could participate in a boycott for a game I already own. We have a saying here in the US. “There’s more than one way to skin a cat.” Quite simply this means we’re already working on a far more creative way of trying to help our substantial membership from overseas. Please be patient.
As I mentioned before, you as a community, will likely never receive the recognition you deserve for what YOU accomplished. Already, the news of this victory has hit most major gaming sites, many of which said nothing when we were trying to get their assistance. Whatever. That doesn’t matter.
Sarcastic Gamer took a lot of direct hits from all directions. Thanks for defending us.
The podcast team has received a lot of back patting for this, but as much as we appreciate the sentiments, you should really be patting your own shoulders. Sarcastic Gamer was the aircraft carrier, and you crazy bastards did the bombing runs. You got Destructoid to listen. You got IGN to listen. You pissed Joystiq’s Justin McElroy off enough to write about it, just to shut us all up. You made the noise. This is YOUR victory and not ours.
Before I close I want to make an apology to my friend, Lono. When he brought this to Dave and I, I was dismissive. I was scared we’d look stupid (which is itself stupid considering half of the other stuff we do around here). I didn’t believe it could work. After a lot of yelling and some compromises, he convinced Dave and I that it could work, and that our community was more than capable of making this happen. I won’t doubt you (as much) in the future, Lono.
As I promised to do when this all began, if our demands were met, I now plan to buy BF:BC based on the merits of the game, and in appreciation for a very big company doing something as fundamental as it was unexpected.
They listened to their fans.
That’s it.
Boycott complete.
Good job Sarcastic Gamer community, and thanks to the countless bloggers and sites that jumped in to help.
Doc
P.S. Just as we all went forth to spread the bad news, it might be a good idea and get out there and let the troops know that the war’s been called off due to lack of quarrel. At least this one, anyway.
Tags: Bad Company Boycott
IGN has just gone straight to DICE, who essentially reversed what was said earlier by an EA representative to Kotaku. The message is a breath of fresh air.
There will be no charge for Gold Edition guns in Battlefield: Bad Company, to those that buy the regular retail package.
Before we jump to the good news, keep in mind what EA told Brian Crecente, just a couple of weeks ago:
At launch, EA will release a Gold Edition of Battlefield: Bad Company which will feature an additional five new weapons. For players who do not purchase the Gold Edition of the game, they can still buy the five weapons at a small individualized price per item. All weapons are balanced for gameplay. More weapons offer players more choices but do not create an advantage/disadvantage for players who do not opt to buy new items.
Flash forward to a few minutes ago. Here’s DICE setting “the record” straight.
IGN: So there’s no charge for the Gold Edition guns?
Karl-Magnus: No, there’s no charge for any of the guns in the game. All of the guns in the game can be achieved without purchasing them. All guns are available to everyone. However, we want to give some exclusivity to those who buy the Gold Edition. They will get the five Gold Edition weapons from Day One when they put the disc in. People that don’t buy the Gold Edition can get the five additional weapons by getting to the final rank in the game. There will be a golden, shiny five-weapon unlock when they hit level 25 in the game.
You will now, instead, be able to earn those weapons FREE by achieving the maximum rank in the game.
There is no way I can describe how proud I am of this community right now. You will NEVER get the credit you deserve for helping shift this thing, and to my knowledge it is a first. But we all know where the epicenter of the outrage earthquake began.
With a couple thousand pissed off Sarcastic Gamers. Congratulations.
Tags: Bad Company Boycott · news
Wow, you guys really know how to whip up a frenzy… After your fervent reaction to Ms. Alexander’s rather critical article about our little Boycott, she had enough class to apologize for her remarks. She even had enough guts to ask me a few open ended questions about the Boycott, which she posted on her blog, moments ago.
(more…)
Tags: Bad Company Boycott · news
IGN delivered the news of the BF:BC Boycott to its vast readership today, and also managed wrangle about as close to a quote from EA as anyone has heard, regarding the issue.
From this article:
We contacted EA again today to see if their policy or specifics of the pricing had changed with the recent public outcry. While we weren’t able to get a direct quote on the subject, we were told that EA Games is listening to the feedback of gamers and has an announcement in store for next week with regard to the pricing for the Gold Edition weapons.
I certainly hope that we can soon put this behind us. EA’s announcement should be what we used to call in the Coast Guard, a clear and obvious change of course. Personally, a reiteration of their broken position would nauseate me. Otherwise, I’m sailing on the S.S. Hellno until we run aground.
Props to IGN for reporting on “La Resistance.” They are certainly in the minority for coming to our aid on this issue. Something I can’t say with regard to some of their corporate peers.
Tags: Bad Company Boycott · news
No not everyone supports the idea of BF:Bad Company Boycott. In her post today, Leigh laid into Sarcastic Gamer and made some pretty harsh remarks regarding our site, our community, and the motivations behind this boycott.
In my personal opinion her remarks were unfair and rather uninformed, for such a diversified gaming blogger.
Have a look for yourself, and if you are so inclined, let her know your honest impressions of her assessment of the situation.
Personally I’ve read her stuff all over the place, and have usually found her judgment to be quite sound. Today, however, I take a tiny bit of offense to her remarks. We might be obnoxious. But Dweebs? I think you went a bit too far there Leigh.
But at least that invitation to the EA Christmas party is in the bag now, right Leigh?
Tags: Bad Company Boycott
So far, you’ve been laughed at by several pompous names in gaming for thinking that a boycott of EA’s Battlefield: Bad Company could have any effect. Several people said no one would support it. They said people just don’t care enough to get behind such an effort.
We say that properly motivated (read “pissed off”) gamers can do amazing things.
On March 27th, the Sarcastic Gamer community, a small tight-knit group of a few thousand friends who would prefer to spend their time gaming and cutting up, began to plant the seed of dissent. They started passing the word out they weren’t going to take EA’s retarded plan to strip mine fans of the Battlefield series for every possible penny with their plans to offer gamers an incomplete game, and to make them pay more to unlock content already on the $60 disc.
Well, I guess the high and mighty detractors were right. No one is talking about your puny boycott of Battlefield: Bad Company. Except maybe this small handful of sites. No big deal right?
This is just a handful of the sites I found talking about this boycott. While the movement is certainly spreading, now is not the time to rest upon the sofa of accomplishment. To all of you who have already jumped in to spread the word, I say we’re just getting started. Get back out there. Start your own boycott. Keep emailing the big boys who’ve yet to acknowledge the existence of this movement. 1up, IGN, GFW, Kotaku all need to be made aware of just how much momentum this movement is gaining.
The work is far from over. This boycott, while growing rapidly, is still far from what it will need to be in order to attract so much as a shrug from publishers.
Don’t stop. Keep up the pressure. YOU are accomplishing amazing things. That’s because at the end of the day, YOU hold all the cards. Your wallet is a lot louder than you think.
To Electronic Arts: There is a simple, easy, FAST way to stop all of this from getting out of hand. Stop this ridiculous and abusive DLC plan. It is a poorly thought-out revenue generating channel. If you want to make money through DLC, sell a complete game, and then support it with maps and game modes that enhance the experience for everyone.
If your site has joined the effort and is not listed above, please take a moment to list yourselves in the comments below and we will be sure that you are added to the roster.
Tags: Bad Company Boycott · news
About the freshest episode of the podcast ever, this week’s show is giddiness wearing a coat made of dread. Too metaphorical? Probably.
We tried to talk through the insane price that gamers are being expected to pay for Rock Band in Europe. We couldn’t really arrive at any sort of conclusion other than bewilderment. Giving people a game 6 months late and charging them twice as much for it really doesn’t sound like a very good way to create fans.
We also touched on the most recent developments in the Bad Company boycott, that is rapidly outgrowing its origins here on Sarcastic Gamer (and we couldn’t be happier).
Finally, we got to celebrate some good news, the arrival of the totally kick ass map pack for CoD4, and why we think it’s a totally seperate animal from the offensive move that EA is making with BFBC.
Lono got his hands on a Dual Shock 3 controller and shared his initial thoughts on the device.
If you liked this episode, please consider giving us the honor of your subscription in iTunes or RSS. If you insist, you can always just download the mp3. If you are currently using a computer with iTunes on it, would you mind heading over there and leaving us some feedback? Much obliged. Oh, by the way… HEY! What’s wrong? Why haven’t you taken our QUICK podcast survey yet? Thanks for the Diggs!
Tags: Bad Company Boycott · Humpday Update · Podcasts
Joystiq has just posted the Bad Company Boycott video. Thanks guys! Here’s the link, if you want to go over there and put your stamp on the comments. I’ll let you read the article and judge for yourself how they feel about the boycott. Personally, even though the author may have ambivalent feelings, they share our feelings, but maybe not our conviction.
From the article: “Do we like EA’s idea of charging for individual weapons in an FPS, creating a gap (and it doeswhat EA says) between the haves and have-nots? Of course not. But if you think the game is worth your money regardless, you should buy it and play it. If you don’t want the extra guns, don’t buy them. If that makes it less fun for you, don’t buy their next game. It’s as simple as that.”
You guys are making a difference. Keep it up.
Tags: Bad Company Boycott · news
