Weapons in Battlefield: Bad Company Beta only unlockable through microtransactions?

For those of us eager to get some fine multiplayer FPS action, here’s a bit of a downer for Battlefield: Bad Company (Xbox 360, PS3). It seems that EA might be going the way of the microtransaction-hungry, as some beta players have spied in the game’s option screen a list of weapons only unlockable through purchase in the Xbox Live Marketplace. Check it out in the full article.

It seems that Electronic Arts is once more hopping on the microtransaction bandwagon, as quite a few people have discovered something a bit ominous in the Battlefield: Bad Company (Xbox 360, PlayStation 3) Beta that was unleashed a few days back. Well, it’s not really ominous, but if you consider it, those without any way to pay for microtransactions could very well be playing an imbalanced game.

So, what was discovered, anyway? Well, the options screen in the console beta lists a total of ten locked weapons, with the words “Available for purchase on Xbox Live Marketplace.” What this means is that to access these weapons or unlock them for use, one would probably have to fork over a bit of green in the Xbox Live Marketplace first. Five of these weapons also seem to be unlockable IF one buys the game collector’s edition. Huh.

While locking content away for money is not unheard of, the fact that there will be no other way to unlock these weapons other than paying is a bit suspect. Other games have done this, but usually there’s an alternative, free way to unlock the stuff being sold. This gives the player an option of whether or not to get the extra content now for a price, or get them later after finishing this or that requirement.

Of course, if one is only planning to play Battlefield: Bad Company alone, then the microtransactions probably won’t mean much, as the purchases of other players can’t affect your gameplay. It will mean a lot in multiplayer, however, because this practically means that whoever pays gets the biggest guns. Here’s hoping that EA wises up and either makes the weapons accessible through some other method, or does away with the policy altogether at the game’s release. In any case, updates as we get them.

Buy: [Battlefield: Bad Company Gold Edition (PS3)]
Buy: [Battlefield: Bad Company Gold Edition (Xbox 360)]