Let's just say that there are several individuals excited about Battlefield 3 here at the GR compound. There's me… and Ku'ulei… and probably some others. What can I say? I grew up on Battlefield 1942 and its expansion packs. Battlefield 2 blew my high-school-aged brain away. That kind of programming won't go away with the announcement of preorder bonuses but the gaming community is a fickle one.
Here's my brain when I think about Battlefield 3: WHAT?! You can go prone?! WOAH! HOLY SHIT! This game looks awesome! If only there was something to get upset about!!
There is: apparently there are a handful of games that EA have revealed to be exclusive to those who preorder the game. EA announced the "Physical Warfare" pack for the UK (only for the UK so far by the way). Customers who preordered the game will receive weapons, equipment and ammo that supposedly gives them an advantage over Joe Schmoe who doesn't preorder the game.
How do I put this delicately? Reddit is absolutely fucking pissed.
If you haven't been paying attention, it's not the first time EA has attempted to offer gamers the opportunity to buy themselves better, more powerful weapons (they previously undid this exact same type of mess with Bad Company 2). I guess if you have a big game, you have to try to manipulate as much money out of it as possible, but I honestly think the better path would be for EA to just give the first DLC pack away for free.
Who knows how much your customer will buy if you give them the first taste for free? Wait… that's drug dealer talk. With these addictive online multiplayer shooters, is there anyone better suited to hand out advice?