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.

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/

http://www.killatia.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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