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Geek Culture / EA giving away free PC games?!

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Zappo
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Posted: 21st Jan 2008 14:05 Edited at: 21st Jan 2008 14:07
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I just saw an interesting press release from Electronic Arts released today (21/01/08). They are starting a new range of games called 'Play 4 Free'. Basically you download them for free and they make money from advertising and 'micro-transactions' (whatever they are).
The first one will be out this Summer 2008 and is called 'Battlefield Heroes' developed by DICE in Stockholm - the same people who created an amazing fully destructible game engine called 'Frostbite' which runs on the PS3 and Xbox360. 'Battlefield Heroes' sounds pretty cool, has a cartoon style and includes a built-in match making system to pair players together for fair online matches. As far as I can see it's only going to be available on the PC for now and the Web site doesn't tell you much yet:
http://www.battlefield-heroes.com

EA giving something away for free? What is the world coming to
Seriously though, this is a great move and I hope it catches on. I certainly hope they decide to expand the business model over to consoles and have free downloadable games which are entirely funded by advertising - as long as they aren't too obtrusive. With its built-in Web browser I don't see why live Web links couldn't be built-in to PS3 games. I guess we will have to wait and see just how popular it is first and how much revenue they make too see if its worth their while.


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Van B
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Posted: 21st Jan 2008 14:20
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DVD's are becoming pointless, seems no matter how recent the game is, you have to download a gigabyte sized patch for it before you can play (maybe exagerating a bit, but look at WoW, HL2...).

EA will make damn good money from this, once they've paid the development costs it's pretty much 100% profit, a bit like Valve's Steam system I suppose, but it means we get free games, EA get funds and eco-friendly kudo's, and it's paid for by companies that would usually be more interested in spamming our email accounts. Seems like a win win situation for now.

I think they'll probably have a pay system for things like weapon upgrades though, I think that's what they mean by micro-transactions - like you might be able to buy better weapons. Imagine a cruddy sniper rifle as a default, with a fisher price scope selotaped to it, but for just $5 you can have an SVD or something.


less is more, but if less is more how you keeping score?
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BatVink
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Posted: 21st Jan 2008 14:21
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Quote: "Basically you download them for free and they make money from advertising and 'micro-transactions' (whatever they are)."


Micro Transactions in their case probaby refers to buying features and upgrades. So you play the basic game for free, but you will be annihilated by the players that chose to purchase better weapons, the ability to expand their resources faster etc.
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Seppuku Arts
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Posted: 21st Jan 2008 14:23
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Cool, thought this isn't the first it's happened, not so long ago Farcry, Rayman Raving Rabbids and other games took the same route.

It's a nifty way to get money from games...I mean as long as ads aren't annoying, use up too many resources or get in the way (like they do on TV, except the resources bit ) then it's a good thing IMO, in a loading screen I can see it being best placed.

It takes blood and guts to be this cool, but I'm still just a cliche
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dark coder
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Posted: 21st Jan 2008 14:24
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But knowing EA all the free gear will be next to useless and you pay for things to give yourself a chance. Also as this is cartoon style it sounds to me like they are trying to copy Team Fortress/TF2?

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Benjamin
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Posted: 21st Jan 2008 14:31
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So it's basically a game where the higher scoring players are determined by who is willing to spend more money? Sounds fun.

Multisync - TCP Server/Client Multiplayer Plugin (DBP/DBCe)
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Zappo
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Posted: 21st Jan 2008 14:48
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Well, it does say it includes a built-in match making system to pair players together for fairer matches. I would hope this would take into account what weapons or extras people have bought so your slingshot doesn't get paired against someone who has a bazooka. Don't know yet though.


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Digital Awakening
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Posted: 21st Jan 2008 15:14
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Games based on micro transactions aren't exactly anything new, the web is filled with them. This may however be the largest game so far. You can compare these sorts of games with TCGs except that you usually don't have to trade what you buy with others. Sure you can play with a starter pack but you won't be able to enjoy the game if you don't spend a fortune on extras.

The graphics looks very TF2 inspired.

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Pus In Boots
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Posted: 21st Jan 2008 16:57
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I just heard this on IGN. Must get.

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Digital Awakening
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Posted: 21st Jan 2008 17:13
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Just a heads up: Micro transactions usually means the game will be more expensive to play then a regular game. The idea of this system is to earn more money then "single buy" games. Usually this also means funding some kind of online service. Read: "Online game where buying equipment for real money is not just allowed but handled by the creators themselves"

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Zappo
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Posted: 23rd Jan 2008 01:08 Edited at: 23rd Jan 2008 01:09
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Tee hee!



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demons breath
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Posted: 23rd Jan 2008 15:49
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@Zappo: Legend... Should be more games like that...

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