MUNICH, Germany--(BUSINESS WIRE)--At the Digital, Life, Design Conference (DLD) in Munich, Electronic Arts Inc. (NASDAQ: ERTS - News) today unveiled Battlefield Heroes™, an all-new Play 4 Free cartoon-style shooter that will bring classic Battlefield gameplay to an all new mass audience. Available for download at www.battlefield-heroes.com this summer, Battlefield Heroes is EA’s first title that is offered completely for free, and features a built-in matchmaking system to ensure that players of equal skill are paired together for fair play. Developed by DICE in Stockholm, Battlefield Heroes is leading EA’s new web-focused free to download, free to play business model which generates revenue through advertising and micro-transactions. With zero barriers to entry, now anyone can be a hero on the battlefield!
“Online gaming garners a massive audience,” said Gerhard Florin, EVP Publishing Americas-Europe at EA. “People want to play games in new ways, with easier access that is quick to the fun. With Battlefield Heroes, EA brings its first major franchise to North America and Europe with a new distribution model and pricing structure adapted to the evolving way that people play.”
Battlefield Heroes is a brand new game from the team behind Battlefield 1942™ and Battlefield 2™. Its fun cartoon-style graphics and gameplay caters to players of all skill levels. It is easy to pick up and play but with robust character customization and a deep online meta-game, gamers can spend hours building up their characters and conquering the world.
“We put a different twist on this Battlefield game going with the cartoon-style graphics and gameplay,” added Ben Cousins, Senior Producer at EA DICE. “There’s something here for all types of players -- be it our core Battlefield fans or casual gamers. With the new online model, we will continually add new content to keep the game fresh and keep players engaged, while integrating player feedback in real time. As a game developer, it is such a cool new way to make games.”
Battlefield Heroes will be released for the PC as a free download in summer 2008. This product is not yet rated by PEGI or ESRB. For more information on EA DICE, please visit www.dice.se or www.ea.com.
A german games magazine page has some more details:
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* 3rdPerson only
Valve copied Pixar's art, fool. For the game itself, Valve copied Quake's team fortress.
Oh dear, I think my head's going to explode.Do the world a favor, and actually make it happen by putting a bullet through your head. Otherwise it's just one more case of you being wrong.
Capitalism thrives on advancing.No, capitalism thrives on such derivations. The IPod wasn't the first digital music player. Windows wasn't the first graphical OS. The market leading product isn't necessarily the first to market nor is it necessarily more advanced than its predecessors and competition. Since it looks derivative, EA's game is obviously trying to compete in the crowded marketplace on price, and such price competition is the heart of capitalism.
But you've never shown any kind of understanding of economics, have you?I've just shown more understanding of the subject than you have.
Welcome to capitalism. Save your moral outrage for something other than a developer of a rehashed 10 year old game with an art style it stole from another company. At least EA's remake is half as old and doesn't cost $30 upfront.
What was the Pixar games that Valve copied? I though Pixar made movies, my bad.Valve copied Pixar's art, fool. For the game itself, Valve copied Quake's team fortress.
Granted you're not paying any cold hard, but you're still being subjected to shitty ads and lord knows what else they're going to take in the way of statistics and information.So where was your indignation when Valve did the same thing with Counterstrike and Steam? EA is neither the first nor the worst at this, and it's exactly because you sheep tolerated that shit from Valve, Ubisoft (Splinter Cell, etc.), and other companies that we are seeing more and more of this in-game advertising and tracking. At least this game from EA will be free to play in some form.
You wouldn't take offense? You wouldn't see it as a clear-cut dirty tactic and pure ripoffWelcome to capitalism. Save your moral outrage for something other than a developer of a rehashed 10 year old game with an art style it stole from another company. At least EA's remake is half as old and doesn't cost $30 upfront.
Uh huh. How long do you think that plan will last?At which point you can stop playing the game and play something else.
Once they establish a player base, they can "change" their mind and come out with some great extra weapons or power ups.
We'll be left to play Battlecruiser games?I'd take playing with grandma's teeth over that.
However, my spending habits, my demographics, are NOT free.You're right. They are more than free because you are paying Valve to take them when you play its games on Steam.