Ben-DutkaBattlefield: Bad Company 2 was one of 2010's best, but even the most ardent fans will agree that downloadable content didn't exactly explode after the game's release.
It appears developer DICE underestimated the game's popularity and as a result, the DLC offerings were few and far between. But they say they've learned their lesson ; they vow to better support the large community after Battlefield 3 arrives. In speaking to Game Informer, DICE executive producer Patrick Bach admitted that not releasing a new map pack for 6 months caused the BC2 crowd to lose interest.
"To be honest, Bad Company 2 was a bigger success than we anticipated. We did not account for that. We sold a lot of copies and don't feel bad about where we were, but looking back, we should have released more, bigger content after."
"We were more successful with our approach then anticipated. We didn't think most people would hit level 22 to be honest, and especially so fast. Our calculations on how much people would play to hit level 20, 25, 50 were completely wrong. We thought people wouldn't play that much."
Well, they did. And for the newest Battlefield incarnation, Bach says they "have a lot of really interesting plans" that should keep everyone's attention. They intend to start building that extra add-on content even before the project is done, "because it takes a lot of time to get stuff out." We'll just get a lot more content; more things to unlock and the team is "making sure there is a reason for you to reach top rank."
DICE is definitely one of those studios that will learn from past mistakes. So this should come as no surprise.
Related Game(s): Battlefield: Bad Company 2 , Battlefield 3
they should learn a thing from Naughty Dog. the amount of dlc for uncharted 2 was insane. loved all of it. patiently waiting for uncharted 3 to be released.
I guess that's good for the fans, I only buy DLC if I'm obsessed with a game. Haven't played these but I bought Bad Company 2 for my friend's 30th birthday so they did get some moneys for their efforts from me.
Rapture Reminder: Remember to support your local non-cod FPS games.
Will do, Mr Ryan.
heh heh. I love those, I have the little sound effect as my text message sound on my phone. I bet it makes gamers freak for a split second the way alarm clocks in TV commercials make us jump.
Ive let a bunch of guys that work for me borrow Bioshock, so at random times you hear different Rapture quotes. My favorite is "Kill your craving at the Circus of Value!" Ah…good times in Rapture.
Weren't map packs 1-6 the same just a different mode? Map pack 7 was the one with actuall new maps… I got VIP or limited edition so I got Map packs 1-7 free… Also how much did each cost if you had no VIP? BTW Vietnam is a really awesome game. Dice knows their stuff.
Last edited by Killa Tequilla on 2/8/2011 11:35:05 AM
So was Vietnam a map pack or did it have some single player stuff too? And did it have new weapons?
Last edited by matt99 on 2/8/2011 12:13:36 PM
Vietnam is like a whole new game with more explosion and less narrow maps. Vietnam includes 5 new maps ( at 1st it was four maps but after having a certain number of support points like giving ammo, reviving etc etc you unlock the 5th map). By now the 5th map is unlocked. There are completely new weapons like the Ak47, fully auto M16 and few others. It's good DLC and completely worth it. I love how there is explosions everywhere in BFBC2. As close as a game gets to real life. Multiplayer only. If you recently played BFBC2, you have Vietnam waiting for you there. All you need is to go to the store and purchase it for a quick 1 second unlock download.
Last edited by Killa Tequilla on 2/8/2011 12:22:03 PM
@matt99
Everything is more suited to the time-line, so some of the more modern weapons might not available in Vietnam. Vehicles are now suited to the time-line too and other items are different but still serve the same purpose (ie. defibrillator paddles are gone but have been replaced with a syringe filled with adrenalin and the impact wrench has been replaced by a blow-torch). Killa Tequilla also forgot to mention the flamethrowers, both the hand-held and tank mounted varieties!
@Killa Tequilla – In regards to your avatar. The new version of You Don't Know Jack came out today. And it's just as fun and as hilarious as all the previous ones.
Thanks a million for the info, you have just sold me on it!
Great news, the best packs I thought were map pack 7 and the Vietnam expansion which is still awesome btw. It did take DICE quite a long time to release actual new maps instead of maps unlocked for specific modes. Regardless I still have a bloody good time with Bad Co. 2.
@ World,
Yes CoD sucks, agreed.
haha, you said it not me 🙂
The map packs were free from the start. The vietnam and other new game mode(can't remember what its called) were the only dlc that costed anything. I thought that was pretty awesome of Dice. They didn't charge for any new map packs besides the 2 above.
I think I see the problem here. We have a dev that doesn't think anyone wants to play their game.
Even worse? Not only did BC2 catch them by surprise, but they go on to admit it.
Still, I think I'll save my facepalm for when they're announcing dlc three weeks before the release of BC3.
hey alienage I got a couple questions for ya. If you could email me at
op*****@li**.com
that'd be great
Its not a bad thing if a game surpasses your expectations. They just weren't prepared for it and are saying it after the fact, because it would have been received a lot worse if they had said it back when the game came out.
As for the whole DLC thing, I just kinda assume that devs will announce DLC weeks before a game comes out anymore. Not really a facepalm moment anymore tbh, otherwise you'd be facepalming every day.
@ Nickjcal – Send a pm
I guess I might as well stop holding my breath for those extra maps for Battlefield 1943, eh? What a shame that it wasn't supported at all after its initial release.
I couldn't really get into the Bad Company games but I have a distinct feeling that Battlefield 3 will be the bomb! Can't wait!
This series is what online multiplayer should be about as far as shooters go. Im on nearly every night, having FUN. No one gives a sh*t about K/D ratios, killstreaks, none of that. Love DICE, and love this series.
DICE create really fun gameplay, but I get frustrated by their dodgy netcode (really variable lag, often within the same game), poor custom match options, and mediocre matchmaking. They're solid, but they're yet to hit top-tier with online gameplay on console yet. That they're only going to be doing 24 players in Battlefield 3 on PS3 makes me thing they should call it Battle quarter-acre 3 for console :). I'll still grab it, and it'll still be fun, but I doubt it'll be the top or even second-best online shooter I play this year.
Sorry for being a noob, but I've been confused by this. Battlefield 3, as I tried to understand, is not a sequel to Battlefield Bad Company 2 and is completely unrelated?
Also, I'm one of the BFBC2 players, and yes game was awesome. My ps3 YLOD on me though and that caused me the inability to input the LM edition code again. I'm stuck with 2-3 maps, unless I order the 15$ code, so I'm not playing it anymore. I didn't even get to try Map Pack 7 which everyone seemed to like! Darn it.
Anyway, I can't believe DICE predicted there wouldn't be many people reaching past level 22! They are dead wrong there. I'm not even hardcore, and I finished playing at around level 35.
i had the same issue, i just got my new ps3 yesterday, i loaded up my stuff just fine though. As long as you are using the same psn account, EA's servers should recognize you. Start a game, and eventually everything you had bar specact costumes and gear will be given to you at the start of the game.
I was also given the maps for the vip code that came when i bought the game. all this even before i had a chance to disable one of the 5 ps3s with my account on it. give it a try
hey Dice.
Here is an idea, bump up the player cap to 64 players n you got yourself a customer.
oh and proximity chat, PLEASE!! dont know how many time BFBC2 pissed me off where some random dude gets into a tank with me n doesnt know what to do.
(Yes, i know the PC version has 64 players, but most of my gaming pals use PS3)
wonder about how many maps they will sell for dlc
That is awesome. Does anybody know when this is suppose to release?
I'll get all my shooting needs caught up and used all up this year with KZ3, Home front and GR:Future solider. I hope BC3 releases early next year. I hope this game is just epic. With Home front, KZ3, Ghost recon and BC3 I hope COD can learn a few… a lot of things. I hope these games will steal some of their fans and COD will finally improve.
Sometime this fall is the only date that's been given so far, as far as I know. I'm looking forward to Operation Flashpoint: Red River in April too.
Last edited by Geobaldi on 2/8/2011 6:39:52 PM
for the size of the maps this game will boast, i think they should have at least 16 on each team, if not the 32 on each team they will have on pc
looks really good so far, still wish we could have ME2 instead though.
im just sick of all these military shooters!
cant wait for b3! and i thought bbc2 had loads of dlc….it had loads of new maps and modes and lets not forget vietnam which is brilliant