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Battlefield 1943 delayed for PC

Published on 24th April 2009 by Joe Martin

Battlefield 1943 will cost around £10 in the UK on consoles, though the PC version has been delayed.

Electronic Arts has just announced that Battlefield 1943 will go on sale for around £10 GBP on consoles when it is launched this June. A PC price point and specific release date has not yet been announced, with EA only confirming that the PC release has been pushed back until September.

When the game goes on sale for consoles in June it will be a download-only game and will sell for 1200 Microsoft Points on the Xbox Live Arcade, $15 USD on the PlayStation Network. In both cases that equates to around a tenner in the UK, or just shy of 15 Euros.

EA's DICE studio is able to release the game as a download-only title thanks mainly to the condensed size of the game, which will offer just three maps at launch. Players will be able to play in Wake Island, Guadalcanal and Iwo Jima, dividing teams into either US Marins or Imperial Japanese Navy. Battles will be fought over land and sea equally.

EA has just released a new trailer for the game to help ramp up awareness. It shows explosions and camoflage a'plenty, so check it out if you're into that kind of thing.

The development team hasn't yet offered up any particular reason for why the game has been delayed so heavily on the PC, but RockPaperShotgun mentions that complications may have arisen in the process of porting to the PC.

Will you wait for the PC release like a good soldier, or are you just going to grab the console release as soon as possible? Let us know your battle plan in the forums.

23 Comments

Discuss in the forums Reply

sub routine 24th April 2009, 11:22

porting to the pc...pfft. Whats the world coming too?

perplekks45 24th April 2009, 11:22

The best bit in the trailer? The exploding electricity post at 0:38. :p

Other than that... meh. Never thought BF was that special.

D3s3rt_F0x 24th April 2009, 11:30

Oh man this looks fun, 1942 has always been the best imo, was just so much harder to use tanks that made it better, but they were also so much more vunerable with their slow speed so it didnt matter if you were on foot or not as well.

UncertainGod 24th April 2009, 11:35

I lost all interest in this when it came out about the infinite ammo and regenerating health.

Jamie 24th April 2009, 11:50

I'm looking forward to this, always loved 1942 and wake island.

Woodspoon 24th April 2009, 12:33

"PC Game delayed in favour of console release, Shocker".
Oh what a surprise the PC release get's pushed back so the console release can get concentrated on and no doubt the PC version will cost £15 more and just be a lousy port (again), welcome to the wonderful world of PC gaming.

Vimesey 24th April 2009, 13:29

You've forgotten how week the pound is to the euro. It's around a tenner in england, but in euros thats only around 11.50, not that near 15.

Sorry being very picky :p

sear 24th April 2009, 13:38

This game really is not looking too good, and honestly this news does not surprise me.

Who wants to bet on what happens? Here's my proposal:

1) Game is released on consoles, and not on PC
2) Gamers on consoles play this game for a month or two before getting bored and moving on to the next thing
3) DICE and EA decide that coupled with the delay to the PC version, they should add some new DLC for the console versions to bring in more money and increase player numbers
4) DLC is either not included in PC version, or is included "free" with the base cost of the game raised
5) PC gamers get the game and/or the DLC at least one month after the console DLC is released
6) By this time, most PC gamers couldn't care less about the game because it's already been released on consoles for months, and they've got the next Valve/Blizzard/Relic/id/Crytek/etc. game to worry about which offers ten times the gameplay of Battlefield 1943 anyway
7) EA notices that the game sells poorly on PC at best, despite being a lazy and late console port, and decides that PC players don't want Battlefield games anymore, so instructs DICE to cancel all upcoming PC plans and focus all its attention on console iterations of Battlefield like Bad Company instead
8) EA further decides to stop coming out with so many games on the PC, focusing only on core franchises like SPORE and The Sims; patches and updates are infrequent or absent altogether

Come on, I hate to say it, but you know that that is going to happen. It's happened with pretty much every developer that's gone multi-platform in the last few years: give your console games the priority treatment, release a shitty PC version with tons of bugs, poor performance, missing features, horrible widescreen support, etc. and then complain when nobody buys it.

julianmartin 24th April 2009, 13:51

that trailer doesn't look too enticing....

perplekks45 24th April 2009, 14:26

Sear, I'm very sorry, but you missed one very essential point:

9) EA blames piracy for the abysmal sales.

jim48509 24th April 2009, 15:28

Quote:

Originally Posted by sear

Come on, I hate to say it, but you know that that is going to happen. It's happened with pretty much every developer that's gone multi-platform in the last few years: give your console games the priority treatment, release a shitty PC version with tons of bugs, poor performance, missing features, horrible widescreen support, etc. and then complain when nobody buys it.

And then blame the poor sales on piracy.

sear 24th April 2009, 15:31

Quote:

Originally Posted by perplekks45
Sear, I'm very sorry, but you missed one very essential point:

9) EA blames piracy for the abysmal sales.

To be fair, piracy is a very, very major issue. Demigod recently launched and had about a 5:1 piracy ratio right from the start. However, customers who are less happy and less respecting of a developer, due in part to things like poor PC ports and crap support, are going to pirate games more often... and in those cases, of course, it's the poor product and service that's to blame.

EvilRusk 24th April 2009, 15:58

For a tenner I wouldn't mind trying this. I loved 1942 and played the demo map loads when that came out. Some of the bugs were hilarious!

But then this release is all part of the transition to a subscription gaming channel idea that EA is so keen on...

cheeriokilla 24th April 2009, 16:14

Quote:

Originally Posted by sear
This game really is not looking too good, and honestly this news does not surprise me.

Who wants to bet on what happens? Here's my proposal:

1) Game is released on consoles, and not on PC
2) Gamers on consoles play this game for a month or two before getting bored and moving on to the next thing
3) DICE and EA decide that coupled with the delay to the PC version, they should add some new DLC for the console versions to bring in more money and increase player numbers
4) DLC is either not included in PC version, or is included "free" with the base cost of the game raised
5) PC gamers get the game and/or the DLC at least one month after the console DLC is released
6) By this time, most PC gamers couldn't care less about the game because it's already been released on consoles for months, and they've got the next Valve/Blizzard/Relic/id/Crytek/etc. game to worry about which offers ten times the gameplay of Battlefield 1943 anyway
7) EA notices that the game sells poorly on PC at best, despite being a lazy and late console port, and decides that PC players don't want Battlefield games anymore, so instructs DICE to cancel all upcoming PC plans and focus all its attention on console iterations of Battlefield like Bad Company instead
8) EA further decides to stop coming out with so many games on the PC, focusing only on core franchises like SPORE and The Sims; patches and updates are infrequent or absent altogether

Come on, I hate to say it, but you know that that is going to happen. It's happened with pretty much every developer that's gone multi-platform in the last few years: give your console games the priority treatment, release a shitty PC version with tons of bugs, poor performance, missing features, horrible widescreen support, etc. and then complain when nobody buys it.

That's a very "Fallout" post apocalyptic approach hahahahaha. Don't think it will get to that point. We just have to wait and see

aggies11 24th April 2009, 17:39

I'm guessing they don't want '43 to step on BF Heroes' toes this Summer on PC.

For someone who is not interested in Heroes, and would rather play '43 on PC then console, this news is a bit of a disappointment.

But for "strategic" concerns, I guess I can see why :/

FeRaL 24th April 2009, 18:55

http://www.gogamer.com/Battlefield-2-for-PC--Sleeve--All-PC-Games_stcVVproductId68727066VVcatId444774VVviewprod.htm

Here's where my money will go to if anything...

mikeuk2004 24th April 2009, 19:14

I downloaded the trailer on psn as i couldnt find one on xbox live. I liked it and think ill get it if its 1200 points. More worth it that braid at 1200 points :)

Redbeaver 24th April 2009, 20:23

an FPS developed for console and being ported to PC?

its gonna flop. i guarantee it.

and here i am an ex-BF2/BF2142 veteran...... :(

ssj12 25th April 2009, 02:32

well.... now I;m officially not getting this. F*ck EA.

Gunblade 25th April 2009, 07:33

From the recent Battlefield Newsletter in my inbox;

Q: Why are we releasing the PC version of Battlefield 1943 in September?

A: The PC is built around the core game and that development process takes a bit longer. We want to ensure a true PC experience and that includes additional features support and gameplay that are not utilized for the console. Gordon Van Dyke, BF1943 Producer

Xir 25th April 2009, 13:29

...doesn't look much different to BF1942 now, does it? (The trailer I mean)

HitmanAdski 25th April 2009, 14:53

I just want my "hardcore" version that DICE keep saying unconvincingly. Ahh well there goes another great title along with Sim City down to the sad level it stands with Societies. EA has a bad reputation for taking a hardcore brand name and turning into a very dull boring standard game which is just like 99% of the games out there. Bad Company was ok, Heroes will be ok, 1943 will be ok. But it won't be like BF2 which was Excellent. Anyway gaming on PC has become so boring because everyone is putting their money on consoles which don't steal their work from them which is fair enough. It's just sad to see that people have a go at EA and blame them for not going to PC because their games aren't good enough to be bought. It's a load and everyone knows it doesn't matter how good the game is you'll still pirate it. As soon as they find a way to stop it orr people stop downloading the game illegally either get off their ass and buy the game at a store or go online and pay the devs for their work then we will see games returning to PC and in their former glory. But that doesn't remove the fact that i'm pissed off at DICE and EA for turning their back agianst their original fans who made them the money in the first place. I'll buy a hardcore Battlefield game from them sure, but until then i'm boycotting their games. And i'm an Aussie which pays more for a freaking game than the rest of the lot $100 which = $70 USD :O and you know what's crap $50 is the normal price for any game in the US, here it's double. Our sale prices are $50 - $70. so yeah your not getting the shitty surcharge too.

Burnout21 27th April 2009, 10:58

how the F**K can EA do that, 1942 made them alot of money so you would think releasing to the PC gamer first or at least at the same time would be of a benefit to them.

NO wonder why more people are going over to consoles, because game devs just keeping 'coming' in PC gamers mouths! And we dont swallow this BS!