dubcomm – the toronto teknopusher

Battlefield 3 DLC Plans, EA CEO’s Weigh in on Origin

So it turns out the interwebz is in for a treat, as early as next week we can expect an official announcement on Battlefield 3 plans for the near future. Earlier this week, Electronics Arts CEO’s held an investors call, giving them a chance to address some queries regarding the happenings at EA over the past year, as well as future plans for fiscal 2012 and 2013. The transcript of the call from Seeking Alpha reveals some juicy info. With regards to Battlefield 3, EA’s VP of investor relations Peter Ausnit outlines the model for a “..constant flow of DLC”, adding that “..you’re going to hear some announcements from us on Battlefield actually as early as next week..”

While I’m not one for rumors, there is wide-spread speculation on an ‘All American’ expension which would likely see a release date closer to the beginning of Summer 2012. The big question still remains on whether this announcement will be regarding DLC or simply an additional map pack. It’s important to make the distinction, as historically DICE has not charged it’s playerbase for new maps, however DLC and expansions have always been ripe for a moderate price tag. Whatever the case, DICE has had a while now to get the issues sorted out with Frostbite 2.0, and as the case is with the December 2011 release of Back 2 Karkand DLC, the new maps should maintain a level of destruction far more impressive then the Vanilla maps released at retail. It may be a bit much to expect more Battlefield 2 map remakes, DICE had their run with B2K. But it doesn’t hurt to hope for some of my other favorite BF2 maps like Daqing Oilfields, Mashtuur City, and Road to Jalalabad. Stay tuned for the official announcements next week.

Other intriguing info came from the EA Exec’s in the form of the future plans for Origin. Peter Ausnit sums up the roadmap stating “You’re going to see, over the next 12 months..a roadmap of features that will include more social features, enhancements to the way that our consumers can access Origin.” This includes a focus on other platforms, and possibly including mobile apps, in order to allow EA to aggregate customers to provide “better opportunities and price points”. In other words, Origin is here to stay, and will be thoroughly integrated into EA’s roadmap of the future. Like it or hate it, at least there are plans for Origin to pose as more then just another background process to eat resources. I look forward to seeing just how EA plans to improve this situation.

-R3

Tags: 2012, Battlefield 3, bf3, CRTL, DCS905 Radio, dice, EA, gaming