By Alec Meer on July 16th, 2012 at 1:00 pm.
That is a picture of my face at the precise moment I first read that there was probably going to be a sequel to a first-person shooter that sold millions of copies.
Truly, what a world of wonders and surprise we live in. The ‘news’ was outed by EA themselves, when Origin briefly offered ‘Battlefield 4 beta access’ to folk who pre-ordered the upcoming Medal of Honor: Worf Fighter.
The message (seen by DigitalSpy) has since been withdrawn, and presumably a very frightened man is crawling on his hands and knees towards the EA boardroom even as we speak, leaving us to wonder whether it meant exactly what it said or was placeholder text that might refer to a different Battlefield – for instance, Bad Company 3.
To speak of BF4 so soon is slightly odd given BF3 seems like it’s still got some DLC legs in it yet what with Premium. Then again, Battlefield probably the biggest gun in EA’s unnecessary war against Call of Duty- so it wouldn’t be terribly surprising if they were intending to franchise it up the wazoo. More so than they already do, I mean.
Which brings me back to my original point: financially successful game in sequel shocker.
16/07/2012 at 13:07 noom says:
No Staring Eyes tag?
Just getting that out the way.
16/07/2012 at 16:08 Hoaxfish says:
I think a “war face” tag might be appropriate too
16/07/2012 at 13:07 chickenhawk says:
And so it ends. Another great IP goes to the drains.. I hate capitalism.
16/07/2012 at 13:19 simoroth says:
Two actually. Since this means Dice are not making Mirrors Edge 2.
16/07/2012 at 13:47 MiKHEILL says:
It’s likely that they’re already a reasonable way through the BF4 development, so Mirror’s Edge 2 may not be so far off.
Besides, it’s hardly unheard of for a developer to have multiple teams working on multiple projects. DICE seems like it’d almost certainly be large enough to warrant such a thing.
16/07/2012 at 19:37 HermitUK says:
Though in that quote last week, “It’s just about looking at what teams are available, who’s got the right quality approach to it, and who understands it.”
Which suggests DICE are too busy, or at least the folks involved in ME1 are too busy, and that EA are looking for someone else to develop it.
16/07/2012 at 13:37 BobbyDylan says:
Lo. You’d think EA would learn from the backlash from the 2010 MOH giving “exclusive” (48 hour early) access to the BF3 beta.
Anyone who falls for this should double check that their parents are not, in fact, related.
16/07/2012 at 14:03 MiKHEILL says:
Indeed, not only does Medal of Honor rest upon the pantheon of all time most average-as-hell games, but the beta access to Medal of Honor was little more than a slap in the face to loyal customers.
16/07/2012 at 15:33 ocelot113 says:
Then donate your computer.
16/07/2012 at 16:13 ElectricPancake says:
Are you fucking kidding me? If it wasn’t driven by money, no one would finance these multi-million, highly-polished games just for leisure.
16/07/2012 at 16:15 nanowired says:
Capitalism usually ensures a level of quality we don’t get to see these days.
No sir, this is Corporatism. This is like Capitalism, except you don’t worry about making bad products because people are unwilling to go elsewhere for their products.
16/07/2012 at 16:23 ElectricPancake says:
I love my free market, but he’s not wrong. This is capitalism. If they didn’t make money, they wouldn’t do it. If he wants an gaming industry without capitalism, then it would be nothing but hobbyist creating games. If he wants low-budget games, there are plenty of Independent PC games. I, on the other hand, would much prefer to also have the option of purchasing high-quality, high-budget games.
16/07/2012 at 16:47 HexagonalBolts says:
I am definitely going to make a big forum discussion about capitalism/marxism and video games soon because it’s quite an interesting topic. I think the problem lies in corporate culture that’s driven by large faceless shareholder driven companies like EA. Valve, for instance, can put together incredible AAA games, make bucketloads of money and regardless of your personal opinions about how they operate they are far far less exploitative than many other companies, so I think that’s a model for success for maintaining creativity whilst pooling large amounts of capital.
16/07/2012 at 13:11 rocketman71 says:
Battlefield 4 is good news?.
Given how BF3 came out, the bunch of broken promises DICE gave us, the DLCs, the lack of true dedicated servers and the fact that you have to sell your soul to Origin to play it, I’d say that Battlefield 4 is meh news.
Or Fuck you EA news. Whatever you prefer, given your monday.
16/07/2012 at 14:57 mkultra says:
fa·ce·tious [fuh-see-shuhs]
adjective
1.
not meant to be taken seriously or literally: a facetious remark.
2.
amusing; humorous.
3.
lacking serious intent; concerned with something nonessential, amusing, or frivolous: a facetious person.
16/07/2012 at 16:17 nanowired says:
It could be worse. They could be remaking ultima…Oh wait.
16/07/2012 at 16:58 MaXimillion says:
Yeah, after how BF3 turned out and the whole “Premium” deal, I won’t be buying another game from the series again. Good thing Planetside 2 is coming out, that should fill my needs for online shooters for the next few years, and at least they’re honest about their monetization model.
16/07/2012 at 17:05 Brun says:
Not sure what the objections to Premium are about. It’s just a pre-order for all the future DLC at a discounted rate, plus a few other perks. To me it’s much less objectionable than what Activision have done with CoD Elite.
16/07/2012 at 21:17 Big Daddy Dugger says:
How’s that turd sandwich taste? Bad? I only put one turd on it instead of two, you should be grateful…
16/07/2012 at 21:25 Brun says:
Spare me your condescension. Oh wait, I forgot, this is RPS – unless it’s a 2D platforming indie game that some amateur whipped together in a couple of weeks, it’s the scourge of the industry and is worthy of naught but scathing criticism.
I don’t see anything about BF3 premium that makes it worse than what A) EA/Dice has done with past BF titles and B) other companies are doing with similar products.
16/07/2012 at 21:28 MaXimillion says:
Because putting out a bunch of different DLC map packs splits the community, because the unlock system is designed to be far too grindy to sell more unlock DLC, because you have to pay another $50 on top of the base game to even get on the popular servers anymore since premium players get priority in queues, and a bunch of other reasons.
16/07/2012 at 21:31 Brun says:
The only thing that really irks me among what you listed is the queue priority. The rest of it is pretty much consistent with how past BF titles have worked.
16/07/2012 at 13:12 Pharos says:
Now that I think about it, if a Warfighter fights war, doesn’t that make them a peace advocate?
16/07/2012 at 13:23 beekay says:
No, a warfighter is like a firetruck. It’s not a truck full of fire, and he doesn’t fight wars.
Oh. He doesn’t fight wars. I guess that does make him a pacifist.
16/07/2012 at 19:51 Spengbab says:
Not empty quotin’ dis!
16/07/2012 at 13:12 D3xter says:
Yep, I’m out, I was all “YAY OMG BATTLEFIELD HIT PRE-ORDER NAO!!!” back in the day and after all the gameplay and trailers and whatnot regarding the new engine and everything, but screw this, especially after all the DLC and microtransaction shenanigans they pulled with 3. They might as well double down on more Origin DRM and instate a “Subscription Service” like CoD, I don’t care anymore.
16/07/2012 at 13:13 Fythbro says:
WOAH!
Anyways, if you own a mine and you’re hitting gold, you’re not going to fob that off the open up a new mine elsewhere. Until the seam runs out, or the workers all die of gas poisoning.
Sorry, been reading Nostromo.
16/07/2012 at 13:14 DumbparameciuM says:
Warfighter? WARFACE
16/07/2012 at 13:16 westyfield says:
ALECFACE
16/07/2012 at 14:27 roryok says:
and that should hopefully be that
16/07/2012 at 16:49 TsunamiWombat says:
NOPEFACE
16/07/2012 at 18:04 EPICTHEFAIL says:
FACE.avi
16/07/2012 at 21:20 anteater says:
WARMEER
16/07/2012 at 13:17 tehsorrow says:
I’m not saying this is a good thing but I think a lot of people saying “Another battlefield ALREADY?” should look at the history of the BF series.
2 year turn-around is pretty typical
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battlefield_(series)
See: Battlefield release timeline
16/07/2012 at 13:32 Kdansky says:
According to Wikipedia, there have been 21 BF-releases in 10 years. And people complain about it being shite? That’s essentially the same model as WoW: 120 bucks a year for incremental updates to the same game.
I’d rather spend that money on Steam Summer sales, that’s nearly infinite games.
16/07/2012 at 13:47 Zwa says:
1942, 2 and 3, the ones that are part of the series proper, are the only ones that matter. As such seeing BF4, the 4 suggesting it is supposed to be another part of this chain, so soon is somewhat of a surprise. If this was another Vietnam or 2142 nobody would be shocked. (And Bad Company barely counts as a BF game. BC is the quirky console centric offshoot of the BF series)
16/07/2012 at 13:59 enobayram says:
Well, there’s no connection among any of those games anyway. So, as an individual, you’re free to sample the game iterations as often as you like. Buy every 2nd or 3rd game, this way, you won’t be paying 60 bucks for each iteration.
16/07/2012 at 15:59 neonordnance says:
I’d be happy to buy bad company three. Console centric or no, bc2 had utterly brilliant multiplayer, and even the campaign was better than bf3′s (except for that incredible tank sequence, that was grade-a stuff and i will defend those missions against the haters. That character completely outshone everything else in the rest of the campaign).
16/07/2012 at 16:04 DiamondDog says:
Bad Company 2 is better than Battlefield 3, hands down.
17/07/2012 at 09:50 DodgyG33za says:
+1
16/07/2012 at 13:52 tehsorrow says:
@Kdansky
That’s beside the point I am making, which is that a lot of people, a few comments below mine even, are saying this is suddenly the franchise turning bad, when it is in-fact business as usual
@Zwa
That is true, but brand recognition is really important these days They want to make sure people associate this new game with the previous one, where as if they called it 2143 people might think it’s a spin-off ala the Black Ops series for Call of Duty.
I’m not defending anything but I’m with-holding my outrage until we actually see the game, not just it’s name
edit: I actually don’t agree that Vietnam and 2142 are to be discounted. Because they were based on the existing technology does not diminish them as games and in fact that’s what I expect from this BF4: a game built on the existing technology, but not the same game.
That said this is A LOT of speculation based on very little at this point
16/07/2012 at 14:25 TormDK says:
It’s a shame they don’t seem to be making a 2143 game in Frostbite, as it would likely kick alot of FPS arse.
Hell the unlock system and class break down is take nfrom 2142 as it is. All we need are some titans and walkers to go with it!
Pretty please with sugar on top? I have deze monies u can has?
16/07/2012 at 14:28 tehsorrow says:
Who knows. It might be in the 2142 setting after all, especially what with Black Ops 2 going for the future route EA would likely approve it (sad but true)
16/07/2012 at 16:48 Surlywombat says:
True, but they have tended to go more with two games using an engine then an upgrade.
Refractor – Battlefield 1942 and Vietnam
Refractor 2 – Battlefield 2 and 2142,
Frostbite – Bad Company and Bad Company 2.
Frostbite 2 – Battlefield 3 and..
So to me its more a question of whether they are going to push out BF 4 on this gen or save it. Personally I’m hoping for 2143 eventually.
16/07/2012 at 13:19 Stiletto says:
Alec, I’m sorry but…
http://img194.imageshack.us/img194/5255/warfaceu.jpg
>:D
16/07/2012 at 13:27 Moni says:
http://imgur.com/7TDxu
16/07/2012 at 13:36 westyfield says:
http://i.imgur.com/SlusR.png
16/07/2012 at 13:48 Flobulon says:
http://i.imgur.com/iQmii.jpg
16/07/2012 at 14:23 coldvvvave says:
http://i.imgur.com/uZ93i.png
16/07/2012 at 14:40 Flobulon says:
[POSSIBLY NSFW]
Oh god why. http://i.imgur.com/T6Dbz.png
16/07/2012 at 14:47 caddyB says:
MY EYES! THE GOGGLES DO NOTHING!
16/07/2012 at 14:49 westyfield says:
Did someone say eyes?
http://i.imgur.com/rwIsL.png
(Sorry, I’m so so sorry.)
16/07/2012 at 15:06 DiamondDog says:
My God Flobulon, what’s the matter with you!
16/07/2012 at 17:13 LionsPhil says:
I absolutely lost it at Flobulon’s.
16/07/2012 at 17:51 Kollega says:
http://imgur.com/F7FGS
16/07/2012 at 13:38 Alec Meer says:
I am watching this sub-thread *very carefully*, intended miscreants.
16/07/2012 at 14:21 Aedrill says:
Hey, your avatar looks familiar!
16/07/2012 at 16:34 Richard Cobbett says:
Amateurs*.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JKHeOEZcbiA&feature=youtu.be
(* Irony noted.)
16/07/2012 at 17:07 Flobulon says:
Not bad. Not bad at all.
You win this round, Cobbebetett.
17/07/2012 at 06:06 Maralinga says:
Combining this with Flobulon’s effort, we now need someone to remake Windowlicker…
16/07/2012 at 19:07 Danny252 says:
I love you guys. All of you. Even those of you who sometimes play on consoles.
16/07/2012 at 13:19 Neurotic says:
I just wish I could go back to the glory days of BF1942, but I fear I’d be the sole human on a server populated entirely by bots, hackers and AI drones. :(
16/07/2012 at 14:57 Lord Custard Smingleigh says:
Isn’t that the plot of the latest Modern Warfare?
16/07/2012 at 13:19 caddyB says:
PENIS GOES WHERE?
16/07/2012 at 13:20 lucasdigital says:
Why that’s the very same face I pulled yesterday on learning that Half-Life 2: Episode 3 is almost certainly going to miss the planned Q1 2009 Release Date. Yikes!
There’s just no way that Battlefield 4 is at an advanced enough level of development to allow for closed beta-access. I think (hope) Bad Company 3 is indeed the actual thing.
16/07/2012 at 15:00 Milky1985 says:
Yes but do they mean beta test as in actual testing or beta test in the google or cod way as in multiplayer demo.
(of course its the second one but we really should ask)
16/07/2012 at 13:23 Hunchback says:
One of my favourite games is going to hell… *sigh*
Moving on.
16/07/2012 at 13:25 MeestaNob says:
THIS NEWS TO THE SURPRISE OF NO ONE.
16/07/2012 at 13:27 Alexander Norris says:
After BF3, I am pretty sure I won’t be buying BF4.
Not because of the game’s quality – it was okay despite DICE being characteristically sluggish fixing the bugs they introduced in patches – but because of the fucking terrible DLC map packs strategy (which they’d originally promised they wouldn’t do).
Oh, well. 2142 is still the best BF game.
16/07/2012 at 13:29 Unaco says:
BATTLEFACE!
16/07/2012 at 13:48 Duke of Chutney says:
http://www.bloodygoodhorror.com/bgh/files/1bodysnatchers.jpg
HHHUMMMMRRHHH
16/07/2012 at 13:48 zeroskill says:
That’s what I call some proper milking. Props to EA for that. So, what am I looking at here? Yearly iterations + yearly iterations of premium?
Activision could learn a thing or two from EA in my honest opinion.
16/07/2012 at 13:53 Ross Angus says:
Silly EA: the way to fight war is with love, not more war.
16/07/2012 at 14:07 gamma says:
WARVESTOR notice
16/07/2012 at 14:19 Cruyelo says:
Battlefield 1942 in 2002.
Vietnam in 2004.
Battlefield 2 in 2005.
2142 in 2006.
Bad Company in 2008.
Bad Company 2 in 2010.
Battlefield 3 in 2011.
The last DLC piece of BF3 lands in the first quarter of 2013. I would expect a sequel to the BF series (2143, Bad Company 3 or BF4) in the third or fourth quarter of 2013.
That means it would follow the exact same pattern DICE has *always had*.
But I’m sure we can blame this on EA.
16/07/2012 at 15:02 Vagrant says:
Where does Codename Eagle fit into your little pattern, eh?!
16/07/2012 at 15:09 tehsorrow says:
Came out 2 years before BF1942, so it works nicely
16/07/2012 at 16:43 Hug_dealer says:
how dare you bring logic and common sense into the argument…………..Seriously. The truth has not place here.
Next thing you are going to tell me is that the DLC packs for BF3 which are milking the franchise happen to be the same basic thing as the booster packs from bf2, only they are more content than the old booster packs.
GRAHHH!!!!!
16/07/2012 at 14:20 Linfosoma says:
It’s like they are saying: “If you buy this shitty game we’ll let you play this other much better game”
I cant see how a move like this adds value to the brand but apparently it does work.
16/07/2012 at 14:23 Kyoss says:
I’m actually looking forward to this.
As with any game that gets released, there’s a chance (however slim), that its good.
Of course BF3 wasn’t the jewel that we all think BF2 was,
but since i put several hundred hours into BF3 and quite enjoyed them (tho no premium yet, and won’t pay for it), same might happen with BF4.
In the meantime i’m gonna play some RO2
16/07/2012 at 14:26 Ergates_Antius says:
Nice beard.
16/07/2012 at 14:30 roryok says:
more importantly, what can we learn about Alec from this picture? I can deduce that he apparently works in a cupboard which contains mattresses and guitar bags. Also there may recently have been an earthquake nearby
16/07/2012 at 14:37 Sparkasaurusmex says:
he lost his razer
16/07/2012 at 15:05 Lord Custard Smingleigh says:
RPS Writer living in a cupboard? I click on ads to pay for a shoe box. One, among all five.
Even Nathan, over in the New World.
16/07/2012 at 15:35 Alec Meer says:
I am going to immediately print out your comment and present it to my girlfriend, who maintains I’m simply moaning whenever I complain about the tiny airless room I have to work in
16/07/2012 at 15:56 roryok says:
wouldn’t it be better to print the photo?
16/07/2012 at 16:02 jonfitt says:
Back in your box, Meer!
16/07/2012 at 16:48 Ergates_Antius says:
Given that you don’t work in an office (and presumably work from home at least some of the time), don’t you have a degree of choice over *where* you work?
16/07/2012 at 14:36 Sparkasaurusmex says:
There is one way to make me excited for BF4. Make it moddable.
16/07/2012 at 15:09 Bharg says:
MoH actually sold?
16/07/2012 at 15:40 OptimumSlinky says:
Really? No one is going to comment on the $69.99 price? I mean, I know you’re all Brits, but that’s an arbitrary $10 increase of the “normal” $59.99 that Activision established with Call of Duty.
16/07/2012 at 15:42 Shortwave says:
Oh great, we can look forward to a new buggy cash grab game every year now?!
Battlefield 2013. Battlefield 2014, 2015, 2016!! YES YES YES!
WITH 20 DLC’S FOR EACH ONE!??! YES YES YES YES!!!!
/me tosses all of his monies to EA
YOU GUYS ARE BRILLIANT!!!
But to reality now… What the serious fuck? (The situation calls for the language, my apologies.)
I can’t even enjoy BF3 yet as it seems dead whenever I try to play (Why or how no idea.)
It feels like a clunky piece of shit with no hit detection.. And that fucking SUN GLARE… RAAAGE.
It’s so bad, so bad. Wasted 60 bucks in my mind. Won’t buy their yearly shit, not even a consideration!
With that being said, I’m still enjoying the elder BF games, and will continue to do so.
I play with a group of pals on skype all the time, BC2. Maybe not as great as BF2..
But a hell of a lot more functional than BF3 is. And honestly, looks nicer to me.
Though I do realize technically it’s not, I just find the style of BF3 weird tbh.
Sort of looks like a cracked out painting to me, when maxed. Blurry..
Even with post processing off, still looks like a blury blinding TURD TURD.
AHHH, okay rage end.
Screw this.
16/07/2012 at 15:57 roryok says:
Buggy Cash Grab sounds like a fun driving / bank robbery game
16/07/2012 at 16:31 Tyshalle says:
$70 bucks for videogames in America now?! What the shit?!!?!?!?!
16/07/2012 at 16:34 Brun says:
Studios still haven’t figured out how to reign in their development costs. I guess they’re getting desperate – I figured a price point increase would be their last resort.
16/07/2012 at 18:01 Highstorm says:
Bah you got in while I was typing further down below.
But yeah, I will see your “What the shit???” and raise you one, “Fuck EA!”
16/07/2012 at 17:00 HardcoreGamer12 says:
i really like this :O expression
:D
16/07/2012 at 17:09 Fitzmogwai says:
I tend to buy a shooter about every two years or so, and put a few hundred hours into it until the next big thing to grab me arrives.
So far, those have been BF2, L4D, BF:BC2 and L4D2. I suspect that my Next Big Thing is going to be Planetside 2, and if that’s the case, BF4 (or whatever it might be) is going to take no notes out of my wallet.
I’d buy a new BF game in a heartbeat though, if it was truly great – up to the 1942 or BF2 level. With features like the COmmander, and sorting out chat channels for vehicles, and all the rest of it. Don’t see it happening, mind you.
16/07/2012 at 17:14 RockandGrohl says:
And so another title is added to the list of “Franchises that have gone to shit once they’ve hit a console release”
BF3, Call of Duty, Rainbow Six, Crysis, Command and Conquer…
16/07/2012 at 20:42 Fanbuoy says:
I do believe that C&C (1) was released on Playstation. That said, yes, there is a correlation.
16/07/2012 at 17:26 mr.ioes says:
“I know what you’re thinking, so no, please don’t photoshop this.”
16/07/2012 at 17:59 Highstorm says:
Wait, $70 to pre-order? Was that an extra cost for the B4 beta access, or some other goodies?
I’m still not over the fact that a lot of games are $60, instead of the $50 they’d been for ages. Now they want to bump that another 10? Please tell me I’m missing something here…
16/07/2012 at 18:56 Shralla says:
So there goes EA’s whole bit about Bad Company and the mainline Battlefield series co-existing. They’re clearly just turning Battlefield into a console affair. I could see releasing Bad Company 3 next year, but Battlefield 4? Come on EA.
16/07/2012 at 19:18 NightShift says:
The word “Beta” has lost it’s meaning, it was supposed to be actual bug testing that is controlled(like planetside 2 is doing) and not a showcase demo(Smite is excluded because it’s super fun).
And now Ea is bringing their new evolution of it, Pay 70 dollars for a CoD clone that is made by dice to play the beta(That you’ll probably have to wait months, if not next year for it)..
What the heck EA.
This makes me AngryFACE.
16/07/2012 at 20:36 Shooop says:
The public gets what the public (doesn’t) want.
17/07/2012 at 03:55 TwwIX says:
The spirit of this franchise died with BF2142. The hiring and firing of the Desert Combat mod devs after Battlefield 2′s completion shouldn’t have been ignored by me. I only wish i had come to my senses sooner. I continued to support these arrogant and dismissive assholes in hopes that they would return the series to its former glory. That’s the only reason why i purchased Bad Company 2. Instead, they chose dumb down the team oriented and tactical aspects of Battlefield 2 even further along with completely dropping LAN and mod support. Don’t even get me started on the horrendous PC interface and the draconian DRM that’s disguised as a glorified Facebook clone.
EA/DICE can suck my hairy, circumcised cock! Hey, maybe they can outsource that too.
17/07/2012 at 11:04 sophof says:
That would be a bit of a weird move. Piss of the (according to them at least) small crowd that didn’t want a CoD clone and then piss off the rest that just paid for ‘premium’.