Electronic Arts has ended the recent offer of a free copy of Battlefield 3 with every pre-purchase of Mass Effect 3 on Origin. The termination of the offer has been seen as quite jarringly abrupt by a number of users, alongside news that those who qualify for a free game won't receive it immediately, but must wait for a code to arrive between now and March 8.
The offer was supposed to last until March 5, but it seems that EA had a rapid change of heart for some reason. One can only assume the promotion was a bit more successful than the publisher had anticipated.
The publisher's also been pretty sketchy on its terms. Originally, the offer said that anybody who already owned a copy of the game would not qualify for a code. However, Origin's official Twitter later told somebody that if they already had it, they'd still get a code mailed to them and they could give it to a friend. The change of terms annoyed one Destructoid reader, who hadn't pre-ordered at the time because of the original terms, then logged on after the new terms were confirmed to find the promotion dead.
EA, you need to stop running free game promotions like this. You only end up pissing people off.
[Thanks, Brian]
Jim Sterling serves as reviews editor for Destructoid.com, head of the Podtoid podcast, and produces a number of news stories, original features, one-of-a-kind videos. With his passionate argumentative style, controversial opinions, harsh delivery, and dedication to brutal honesty Sterling is a name that you can't help but recognize.
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Contest:
11:30 AM on 02.17.2012 | 
Seriously. Every day they just seem to get sleazier and scummier.
@noisypinkbubbles Devin Townsend ftw.
Dirty pool, old man.
Seriously, I hate EA as much as the next redditor, but the game was AN EXTRA. They didn't have to offer it in the first place.
Please don't bring that logic into this.
I'm sick of people who will roll over for developers because they feel everything is some sort of gift to consumers and we aren't owed anything.
EA didn't just say this promotion was on "for a limited time" which would set people up to assume it could be gone at any moment, it was said to end on a specific date, and EA went back on their word for what I can only assume is money related.
Have some self respect and hold people to their word. You can't just look at a publisher as a gift horse and you should be thanking it for every blessing it passes down on us.
I believe that line of thinking got us into this mess in the first place.
And to add on to what you said, with EA it has honestly been one thing after another. We've been fed up with them long before this...
After Mass Effect 3, I am done with them. Though I may find other means...
Amen.
Ordered the game AGAIN for the 50% dscount and it took like 4 hours to cancel my order and I had to call them and everything. They ended up sending me 2 copies of the game.....suckers.
As in, EA will continue to do shitty things related to Mass Effect 3 and see how many people will still buy it.
Tons of pre-order exclusive, retailer-exclusive DLC, an unnecessary co-op mode to slap an online pass on the game, that tattooed guy, Jessica Chobot, "auto-conversation" options. EA has to be TRYING to piss people off. There's no way they aren't aware of how shitty this all is.
Of course it's not as if EA would also ever do anything sensible with Origin to make this deal really work, like let gamers who already own BF3 and got an extra copy when they purchased ME3 gift the extra copy to their friends. It's not as if that would get more people to use Origin like it does for Valve. Oh wait it would, EA is just a bunch of idiots.
If it weren't for Bioware and DICE I wouldn't buy any of their products, and the line those two developers inhabit over the river of shit that is the rest of EA is getting mighty thin.