Dice introduces Battlefield Heroes

[Chacal]

Dice - EA introduce Battlefield Heroes, a free-to-download, free-to-play cartoon-like game, due out in summer 2008.

The revenue model:
"Generates revenue through advertising and micro-transactions"
"It is easy to pick up and play but with robust character customization and a deep online meta-game, gamers can spend hours building up their characters and conquering the world"

Which means: you pay to gain skills and weapons.


http://www.battlefield-heroes.com/home.asp

[[ecgn] btt]

Interesting. I love the cartoon style of TF2. I don't care much about upgrading. I used all the stock weapons in BF2.

[CreepingCharlie]

Sounds cool.

[SavageParrot]

Warcraft with guns?

[Wesley]

im listening

[=ender=]

Here are some more details on the game: http://arstechnica.com/news.ars/post/20080121-ea-revamps-battlefield-with-free-ad-supported-online-title.html

Some of the more important bits from it are:

>> "[Ads] wouldn't work inside the fictional world. Instead, adverts will appear on the website and the 'front-end' of the game," Ben Cousins, the senior producer at DICE

>> The for-pay items will also only make cosmetic changes to your character; nothing you buy in the game will give you an advantage in actual game play. For example, you may pay a dollar for a new rakish hat, but you won't be able to pay for a gun that shoots faster or does more damage.

EDIT: So, I'm assuming based on this, that you WON'T be able to pay for any advantages (like skills or weapons), just cosmetic touches. I imagine this would spill over to buying additional levels/boards as per the BF2 "Booster Packs."

[SavageParrot]

lol so basically all you can do is make your character wear kit that screams out 'I'm a weetard and I spent $50 to prove it.'

[Wesley]

exactly parrot, or you can just go standard GI and look like me.

[[ecgn] btt]

I really think this might work. If the game plays well and it is free. What is wrong with that. If people wanna pay for new hats or skins for their gun more power to ya.