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EA won't let a server shutdown turn out the lights on old Battlefield games
Video games and movies crib ideas from each other quite a bit these days, but seeing Electronic Arts go back and save some of its fallen comrades is a bit unexpected. The outfit's announced that in the wake of GameSpy's back-end multiplayer tech going dark, it's transitioning three Battlefield games to different servers so they can (virtually) live to fight another day. Which ones specifically? Battlefield 2142, Battlefield 2 and the superb Battlefield Bad Company 2. As IGN notes, though, plenty of EA's games that are listed are annual sequels and may not see the same treatment. However, this shows signs that GameSpy's closure won't kill everything under its umbrella. We've reached out to EA for confirmation and a statement about why these three games were picked over others, and will update this post should we hear back. In the meantime, if you feel like celebrating, we recommend a few rounds of squad rush on "Port Valdez" -- it's good for the soul.
EA's "spyware" targeted by CA lawmaker
California Assemblywoman Lori Saldana could soon introduce a bill into state legislature that would halt companies like EA from including spyware technologies in their games. Battlefield 2142 has come under scrutiny for requiring players to install software that collects personal data from users' PCs and transfers it to foreign servers for advertising purposes. Consumers aren't warned of the adware application until opening the game box.Beth Givens of the Privacy Rights Clearinghouse calls EA's methods "particularly vile," prompting Saldana to consider legislation. "A parental notice telling them private information might be at risk is important to have," Saldana told a local news station.[Via GamePolitics]
EA jumps on the in-game ad bandwagon [update 1]
Reuters is reporting that Electronic Arts has signed deals with Microsoft-owned Massive Inc. and IGA Worldwide to put in-game advertising in up to seven games, including Need for Speed: Carbon and Battlefield: 2142. EA Vice President for Online Commerce Chip Lange promised that this is just the beginning, saying that EA is negotiating with other providers to put ads in many future titles.While sideline billboards in Madden or racing games won't look out of place, it might be a little jarring to see an ad in the middle of Battlefield's battlefields. It might be worth it if the ads lead to lower prices for games, but we're not holding our breath on that count. How do you feel about ads in your games?[Update: the AP is reporting that the ads will be automatically updated over broadband connections on the PC and Xbox Live]
Yet more Battlefield
DICE has announced a new Battlefield game in addition to the upcoming Battlefield 2142. Entitled Battlefield: Bad Company, the game promises to deliver a solid single player experience, something lacking in previous Battlefield titles. This single screenshot presumably shows off the bad company in question. DICE hopes to bring the "unpredictable nature of the sandbox experience" found in Battlefield multiplayer to the single player campaign of Bad Company.Could this possibly breathe some new life into an arguably stale genre? We certainly hope so.[Via Joystiq]
Battlefield 2142 officially confirmed
Well, it looks like it's official... sorta. The BF2142 Team has updated EA's Battlefield 2 site with a note today confirming the ongoing development of Battlefield 2142 ("scheduled for release this Autumn"). The "official" corporate press release will arrive sometime later this week. So there you have it. And for those of you who were wondering what's up with patches for BF2 right now, "the DICE Canada studio will be hard at work on a 1.3 update... as well as the Armoured Fury Booster Pack," leaving DICE Stockholm free to focus on building the franchise's future. [Thanks, A2000 and Iced_Eagle] See also: Battlefield 2142 allegedly confirmed by PC Gamer [with video trailer] Battlefield 2142 scans of PC Gamer cover story leaked
Battlefield 2142 scans of PC Gamer cover story leaked
The Battlefield 2142 hoopla is starting to look more and more real as scans of the PC Gamer issue in question have surfaced online with BF 2142 featured as the magazine's May cover story. Digg contributor Iced_Eagle has pointed us to an 8.5MB archive of images from the mag, with 9 pages concerned with 2142 and 2 pages having to do with Half-Life 2: Episode 1. If you're interested in knowing "where your unstoppable 20-foot Mech is," then you'd best get to that reading online or off ASAP. For those still skeptical of any gaming news outlet coming out with such a story in the general vicinity of April Fools' Day, keep in mind that the game appears to not only be the magazine's cover story, but that its coverage also fills up all those pages of print mentioned earlier. EGM merely dedicated a single page with a brief line in the table of contents to its Apple iGame prank this year, so this would seem like a lot of effort on PC Gamer or some extremely dedicated Photoshopper's part to fool the gaming public. Will this fall prove to be the point when the BF franchise finally frags in the future? At this point, it would certainly seem so. Read on for further details about the game; the cover pic links to the scans.
Battlefield 2142 allegedly confirmed by PC Gamer [Update1]
According to digg, this video trailer from the May 2006 issue of PC Gamer confirms the existence of Battlefield 2142 and its pending release this fall.Feel free to watch those warring mechs, but we'll hold off judgment until we hear the official word from EA/DICE. Do you believe a future ice age will precipitate a global war over arable land? You've been warned.[Update: Scans of the mag have surfaced online. Thanks, Iced_Eagle!]See also: Battlefield 2142 hinted at by Digital Illusions producer EA gobbles up the rest of Battlefield developer DICE [Thanks, Shaved Moose and Einhanderkiller; via digg]
Battlefield 2142 hinted at by Digital Illusions producer
Producer Dan Blackstone of Digital Illusions CE has hinted at the imminent announcement of "something very big" in an interview with Shacknews, which GameSpot presumes is most likely Battlefield 2142, a most futuristic sequel.The senior producer of Battlefield 2: Modern Combat for the 360 gave that little tidbit at the end of the interview, stating: "We’re about to announce something very big, so stay tuned. One other interviewer asked this and I gave him a hint, so it’s only fair that I do the same for you: 3213/3X2. Or said another way: S.R. 4588164." GameSpot subsequently put two and two together and came up with 2142, the square root of 4588164 as well as the result of (3213/3)*2, so it appears that Call of Duty and Ghost Recon are not the only FPS franchises taking their games into the future.
