Devil in the Details: EA's Gun Club

June 15, 2010

Yesterday EA announced the Gun Club, a rewards program that will give fans of its shooter games special perks like early access to betas, news, inside information from game developers, in-game content unlocks, and early access to demos. The program launched yesterday and begins with Battlefield: Bad Company 2 and the Medal of Honor game.

EA says that this new rewards program shows appreciation to fans for their loyalty and adds value to the "entertainment experience."

At first glance you might think this whole program is free, and it is value-added if you buy EA's games new, but if you buy them new it will be a lot like BioWare's Cerberus Network. In short, if you want access to it from a used copy of EA's upcoming shooters it will cost you extra.

Here are the details from the "terms and conditions" section of the Gun Club FAQ:

What are the terms and conditions?

REQUIRES FULL RETAIL, NEW PURCHASE OF BATTLEFIELD: BAD COMPANY 2 (“BFBC2”) and MEDAL OF HONOR (“MOH”), WHERE THE OWNER HAS SUCCESSFULLY ENTERED THE VIP CODE INCLUDED IN THEIR COPY OF BFBC2 (ON PLAYSTATION 3 OR XBOX 360), OR PLAYED BCBC2 ONLINE IN A MULTIPLAYER SESSION (ON PC, WHERE USERS NEED NOT ENTER VIP CODE). OFFER NONTRANSFERABLE. REGISTRATION OF BFBC2 AND MOH WITH SAME EA ACCOUNT REQUIREDCUSTOMERS WILL RECEIVE EARLY ACCESS TO THE M24 MULTIPLAYER UNLOCK IN MOH AUTOMATICALLY WHEN PLAYING WITH THE SAME EA ACCOUNT AS USED FOR BFBC2. OFFER MAY NOT BE SUBSTITUTED, EXCHANGED, SOLD OR REDEEMED FOR CASH OR OTHER GOODS OR SERVICES. MAY NOT BE COMBINED WITH ANY OTHER OFFER, GIFT CARD, REBATE OR DISCOUNT COUPON. VOID WHERE PROHIBITED, TAXED OR RESTRICTED BY LAW. INTERNET CONNECTION AND EA ACCOUNT REQUIRED. EA MAY RETIRE ONLINE FEATURES AFTER 30 DAYS NOTICE POSTED ON www.ea.com/2/service-updates. EA ONLINE PRIVACY POLICY AND TERMS OF SERVICE CAN BE FOUND AT www.ea.com.

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Comments

Re: Devil in the Details: EA's Gun Club

Submitted by Dejiko on Tue, 06/15/2010 - 14:39.

This seems completely fine to me. After all, chances are that after a while those used games will already have someone registered in the gun club with them.

Re: Devil in the Details: EA's Gun Club

Submitted by DorkmasterFlek on Tue, 06/15/2010 - 07:53.

I think you mean "but if you buy them used it will be a lot like BioWare's Cerberus Network".

Re: Devil in the Details: EA's Gun Club

Submitted by killatia on Tue, 06/15/2010 - 07:39.

So gamers buying used games has to paid for VIP code to be part of the gun club while gamers that get the games new get in free? Dosn't seem any different from EA's current project $10.

http://www.magicinkgaming.com/

Re: Devil in the Details: EA's Gun Club

Submitted by nighstalker160 on Tue, 06/15/2010 - 08:57.

I disagree. There is a big difference from Online Pass. Online pass effectively cripples a used game, removing the ability to play multiplayer without a fee. Online Pass removes an existing feature of the game that was present at launch. Gun Club is a bonus for buying new. It doesn't effect your ability to play the game you've bought at all. It limits your ability for early access to betas and demos. I think this is fine, incentives for buying new are fine, crippling existing features of a game are not.

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PHX Corp: http://kotaku.com/ea-sports-developer-calls-wii-u-crap-and-nintendo-wa-508481261 EA Sports Canada Moron calls Wii U 'Crap' and Nintendo 'Walking Dead'05/18/2013 - 11:42am

E. Zachary Knight: If the videos are of sufficient quality that people subscribe and watch regularly, then those let's players are providing a service that people want. That is the heart of capitalism. That is not something that should be shamed.05/17/2013 - 8:06am

E. Zachary Knight: I have no idea who either of those people are. However, I still don't see why making a business out of creating let's play videos is somehow evil or wrong.05/17/2013 - 8:04am

MaskedPixelante: It sure is if you're just doing it for the money. See Tobuscus and/or Pewdiepie for what happens when people get into it just for the money.05/17/2013 - 7:30am

E. Zachary Knight: Why is it wrong to make money doing LPs? Why should that be something that should be shamed?05/17/2013 - 6:20am

MaskedPixelante: https://twitter.com/PsychedelicSA/status/335183893214924801 Now here's an interesting, glass half full thought about the Nintendo LP thing. It outs the people who are just doing LPs to make money.05/17/2013 - 5:56am

E. Zachary Knight: I responded in writing to all this "let's play" stuff Nintendo Started. No need for my permission, I won't give it. It's not mine to give. http://divineknightgaming.com/?p=29205/16/2013 - 2:21pm

E. Zachary Knight: Lars Doucet of Levelup Labs has a Reddit going on game companies that allow monetization of Let's Play videos. http://www.reddit.com/r/Games/comments/1egayn/lets_build_a_list_of_game_studios_that_allow/05/16/2013 - 1:04pm

Sleaker: @Imautobot - yah I wouldn't use an emulator as a good first run test of how stable the console is, haha.05/16/2013 - 11:47am

E. Zachary Knight: The 50th person to jump off a bridge is just as dumb if not dumber than the 1st.05/16/2013 - 10:03am

MaskedPixelante: Yeah, let's all jump on Nintendo for doing this, even though they're hardly the first company to do this...05/16/2013 - 9:47am

E. Zachary Knight: Wow Nintendo, this is wrong. http://kotaku.com/nintendo-forcing-ads-on-some-youtube-lets-play-video-50709238305/16/2013 - 8:44am

Imautobot: @Sleaker, further gameplay has revealed that the controller button do stick under the faceplate. Also, The NES emulator (Emuya)keeps crashing on me, though I think a bad ROM is causing it.05/16/2013 - 7:10am

Papa Midnight: AE: I wonder if any other publishers will follow suit.05/15/2013 - 8:12pm

Andrew Eisen: EA is ditching Online Pass. http://venturebeat.com/2013/05/15/ea-kills-its-controversial-online-pass-program/05/15/2013 - 7:20pm

Avalongod: @Zach and quicnkold...I've read the bill and the intent of it is to fear-monger. It's not a balanced message. I don't recall the ESRB being mentioned at all. It's more "keeps your kids away from these movies/games or they'll become violent"05/15/2013 - 4:35pm

E. Zachary Knight: quiknkold, The big problem with that legislation is the amount of misinformation out there. Who is going to ensure that the information in the pamphlet is accurate?05/15/2013 - 3:25pm

quiknkold: REBeardogg : I'm on the fence about this. on one side, I want parents to be aware of the ESRB, and even Movie Ratings. On the other hand, I feel this will be used for nothing but Propaganda. The ESRB does a good job.05/15/2013 - 3:07pm

IanC: Frostbite is coming out on iOS devices. Yet the Wii U cant handle it? *coughbullshitcough*05/15/2013 - 2:31pm

BearDogg-X: http://www.politickernj.com/65515/lesniak-ruiz-bill-limit-children-s-exposure-media-violence-clears-senate - Bill requiring schools to publish pamphlets with anti-fake media "violence" propaganda clears NJ Senate05/15/2013 - 2:03pm

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