Don't worry, Battlefield fans. You don't really need to engage in pre-order incentive nonsense for Battlefield 3, at least not if you want the "exclusive" weapons, ammo and add-ons that Electronic Arts is dangling in front of first-person shooter enthusiasts.
Earlier this week, Battlefield 3, the other huge military shooter of the fall, did some wrong in the eyes of sane people who like playing video games by announcing the "Physical Warfare Pack," a downloadable add-on immediately available to those who pre-ordered the game. Battlefield fans worried (rightly so) that the pre-order incentives would give some players an advantage, that we'd have to plunk a few bucks down to get a cool machine gun, a cool shotgun and cool shotgun shells.
DICE says that's not so. The "Physical Warfare Pack," they say, will be available to everyone, for free, after the game launches.
"I would like to start by clarifying that the Physical Warfare Pack is a time-based exclusive," writes DICE general manager Karl Magnus Troedsson. "If you do not pre-order Battlefield 3 at a retailer carrying the Physical Warfare Pack, don't worry. We will unlock the contents of the Physical Warfare Pack for free to all Battlefield 3 players later this year."
Yes, you'll still need to wait a little while for EA and DICE to unleash the contents of the Physical Warfare Pack on Battlefield 3 players worldwide, but there's no need to rush out and pre-order the thing. They're going to have millions of these things, like, everywhere. Promise.
That said, you may still want to pre-order the game if the "Back To Karkand" map pack interests you. Troedsson reminds us that that downloadable content will be available for "free" to people who pre-order the game, paid content for those who don't.
More details at the official Battlefield blog.
Physical Warfare Pack available to all Battlefield 3 players later this year [Battlefield Blog]