At the end of March, EA invited a select number of gamers to participate in an online multiplayer beta for the Xbox 360 version of Battlefield: Bad Company. Shortly after the Xbox Live server opened, gamers discovered that while many weapons would be available out of the box, 10 firearms appeared to be available only as downloadable content or through the purchase of the collector's edition of the game.
A firestorm of controversy followed, with fan site Sarcastic Gamer organizing Battlefield fans into a boycott of sorts due to the downloadable content for the title. EA moved quickly to diffuse some of the complaints, saying that five of the 10 locked weapons will actually be given away as part of a promotional campaign, and as such were incorrectly flagged. However, the publisher also noted that the remaining five would indeed be premium content, available only in the Gold Edition of the game or as downloadable extras purchasable over Xbox Live.
EA's clarification on the issue acted as a gentle breeze on the conflagration, working only to further fan gamers' rage over the issue. Taking heed of the outcry, EA today confirmed for GameSpot that it has scrapped plans to charge extra for the weapons included in the Gold Edition of the game. Instead, those who purchase the Gold Edition will receive the weapons out of the box, while all others will gain access to the weapons by ranking up their online personas to the maximum level.
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