AE Battlefield Heroes ‘free’ online
p2pnet news | Games:- Electronic Arts is yet another major company which now acknowledges the Net as a major sales vehicle and point of distribution.
Battlefield Heroes is a brand new Play 4 Free game,” says its website.
‘It’s a cartoon-style shooter slated for release for PCs as a free download in Summer 2008, says EA.
However, when you see ‘free’ attached to a corporate offering, you know it really means the ‘product,’ whatever it is, will come loaded with advertising.
Instead of being sold for around $20 (£10), “The makers aim to generate revenue through advertising and sales of weapons, outfits and other ‘virtual items’ that can be used in the game,” says Times Online.
“E.A.’s most recent experiment with free online games began two years ago in South Korea, the world’s most fervent gaming culture,” says the New York Times.
“In 2006, the company introduced a free version of its FIFA soccer game there, and Gerhard Florin, E.A.’s executive vice president for publishing in the Americas and Europe, said it has signed up more than five million Korean users and generates more than $1 million in monthly in-game sales.”
Um, is that a cigarette he’s got stuck in his mouth? Nah. Couldn’t be.
Also See:-
Times Online – Electronic Arts to give away video games online, January 21, 2008
New York Times – The Video Game May Be Free, but to Be a Winner Can Cost Money, January 11, 2008
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January 22nd, 2008 at 10:32 am
“However, when you see ‘free’ attached to a corporate offering, you know it really means the ‘product,’ whatever it is, will come loaded with advertising.”
As opposed to PAYING for commercials, like you do with cable TV, satellite, newspapers, magazines, DVDs, some console games, movies in theaters, and probably other things I forgot to mention.
January 22nd, 2008 at 1:09 pm
> cable TV, satellite, newspapers, magazines, DVDs, some console games, movies in theaters
In many of these cases, commercials partially subsidize the cost, which lets them offer a lower price. Those magazines for women are using high-quality colour printing and two thirds of the printing area are filled with commercials.
The line between subsidy and outright abuse is fine though.
January 22nd, 2008 at 1:25 pm
With the amount of advertising on TV today the cable companies should be paid to broadcast the channels and all the consumer should have to pay for is line maintenance.
January 22nd, 2008 at 1:27 pm
EA is a cancer of the videogame industry and must be boycotted. This game is a total ripoff of Valve’s Team Fortress 2.
January 22nd, 2008 at 3:00 pm
It is a fucking ripoff of TF2
January 22nd, 2008 at 5:55 pm
Weeel, while I am not familiar with the details of the game allegedly being ripped off from Valve’s TF2, I really don’t mind the trade-off of advertising in exchange for free games…but my usual (usually correct) sense of pessimism tells me that down the road, when we are all conditioned to the presence of loads of ads in our games, they will begin charging again but leave in the ads…much like we have become accustomed to them in nearly every other facet of our consumer experience. Of course, they will claim the ads help to control costs. They might, but we wouldn’t know anyway.
January 22nd, 2008 at 9:15 pm
“they will claim the ads help to control costs”
But they never do. EA shits out $50 games with ads in them.