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Electronic Arts includes movie ads in Battlefield 4

Electronic Arts includes movie ads in Battlefield 4
Jonathan Riggall

Jonathan Riggall

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Battlefield 4 has had a rocky start in life, with game breaking bugs and server troubles. Now publisher EA has added movie ads during loading screens, angering many players.

In-game advertising is nothing new, but this is unusual. Battlefield 4 is not free to play, and the Reddit user who alerted people to the ads even has a premium subscription to the game. In-game billboards have often included advertisements, but they feel like a natural part of the game’s environment, while a pop-up advertisement feels out of place and intrusive for many gamers. This example is from a the PlayStation version of the game, advertising the upcoming movie Need for Speed, but we would expect the same ads to come to other platforms too.

The main complaint is that Battlefield 4 has yet to be 100% fixed, and developer DICE publicly promised that all resources would be concentrated on getting the game right first. Adding new in game ads before the game works as promised feels wrong.

2013 should have been Battlefield’s year. Call of Duty: Ghosts failed to set the world on fire, and with its next gen technology Battlefield 4 seemed ready to take the first person shooter crown. Instead, the game launched with bugs that meant saved games were lost, online stats were reset, and joining online matches was difficult. Much of this has been fixed, but many players still complain about bugs and dropping out of online games.

The inclusion of movie promotions to Battlefield 4, in the words of one Redditor ‘just adds insult to injury’.

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[Source/Image: Reddit]

Jonathan Riggall

Jonathan Riggall

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