Battlefield 3 retailer-exclusive pre-order bonuses revealed

It's standard practice for nearly all AAA (and not-so-AAA) games to come with a variety of retailer-exclusive pre-order bonuses. Battlefield 3 is certainly not exempt. We track down all the offerings so far.

31

It's standard practice for nearly all AAA (and not-so-AAA) games to come with a variety of retailer-exclusive pre-order bonuses. Battlefield 3, however, outdoes most with a number of offers. Some offers, like the Physical Warfare DLC pack, will be made available for purchase later on. Others, however, seem to be genuinely exclusive to the retailer.

So far, three retailers have outed their pre-order offerings for DICE's upcoming military shooter.

All pre-orders of the game will include the Back to Karkand expansion pack for free--regardless of which retailer you buy the game from. The expansion includes classic Battlefield maps from throughout the franchise, and will be available after the game launches. A voucher included in the box will entitle you to a free download once the DLC releases.

Retailers will be offering specific bonuses on top of the Back to Karkand expansion:

  • Gamestop is offering the Physical Warfare pack, which unlocks these weapons for use in multiplayer: DAO-12 Shotgun, Flash Suppressor, Type 88 LMG, and Flachette Ammo. In addition, Battlefield 3 Blog reports that PowerUp Rewards members will get a Prima strategy guide for free, as well.
  • Amazon is offering an exclusive "Dog Tag Pack," for use in multiplayer.
  • Best Buy is offering the "SPECACT Kit," a package that offers eight multiplayer weapons and uniform skins.
  • Finally, EA's Origin store is offering the Physical Warfare pack, bonus items for Battlefield Play4Free, and access to the Battlefield 3 open beta.

Other retailers, like Direct2Drive, are simply offering the game at a discount, instead of offering a pre-order bonus. Make sure you think about exactly what bonus you want to take advantage of before making a deposit.

Andrew Yoon was previously a games journalist creating content at Shacknews.

From The Chatty
  • reply
    August 2, 2011 11:30 AM

    Andrew Yoon posted a new article, Battlefield 3 retailer-exclusive pre-order bonuses revealed.

    It's standard practice for nearly all AAA (and not-so-AAA) games to come with a variety of retailer-exclusive pre-order bonuses. Battlefield 3 is certainly not exempt. We track down all the offerings so far.

    • reply
      August 2, 2011 11:35 AM

      Ohh yeah, Flash Suppressor + Type 88 LMG out of the gate is going to be awesome.

    • reply
      August 2, 2011 11:37 AM

      So, what exactly is the 'Dog Tag Pack'? It doesn't really say anywhere...

      • reply
        August 2, 2011 11:45 AM

        According to this: http://battlefieldmax.com/tag/dog-tag-pack

        you get some unique dog tags to use. I'm seriously considering cancelling my Amazon pre-order to get it from Best Buy or Gamestop just because that's pretty lame.

        • reply
          August 2, 2011 12:07 PM

          wow that's really lame compared to all the other incentives.

        • reply
          August 2, 2011 12:22 PM

          so everything is pointless but getting that physical warfare pack would be nice to start out the game with

        • reply
          August 2, 2011 12:25 PM

          EA has made its biggest online competitors (Amazon and Steam) irrelevant basically through the pre-order bonus and removing BF3 from Steam.

    • reply
      August 2, 2011 11:40 AM

      What pre-order is steam giving out??? :p

      • reply
        August 2, 2011 11:46 AM

        Normally it'd give out "convenience", but Publishers don't want to give that away anymore.

    • reply
      August 2, 2011 11:50 AM

      Id rather save $ and get it from D2D, I like unlocking stuff and saving money. So it will make the game last longer.

      • reply
        August 2, 2011 11:53 AM

        Only the DAO-12 is a Day 1 unlock. Everything else in the Physical Warfare pack is exclusive, but you'll be able to buy it later as DLC.

        • reply
          August 2, 2011 12:05 PM

          I thought I read that the physical warfare stuff will unlock for everyone sometime down the line.

          • reply
            August 2, 2011 12:07 PM

            Yeah that's the the blog post says too
            http://www.ea.com/uk/news/pre-order-bonus-items-battlefield3-limited-edition

            A set of three time-based exclusive items and one early weapon unlock.
            If you do not pre-order, you will get access to this content at no extra charge at a later date.

          • reply
            August 2, 2011 12:08 PM

            Oh wow, it looks like there was quite a bit of confusion when they first released the news. Here's somewhat updated info: http://blogs.battlefield.ea.com/battlefield_bad_company/archive/2011/06/16/physical-warfare-pack-available-to-all-battlefield-3-players.aspx

            • reply
              August 2, 2011 12:15 PM

              Nice. So basically the only pre-order bonus I wish I had now was the one Origin has offering access to the beta. Everything else is crap. However the beta isn't enough to drag me over from D2D when you can buy it for $43 if you get a 20% coupon.

              • reply
                August 2, 2011 12:20 PM

                You can still get Karkand map pack from D2D, right? $43 is a great price.

                • reply
                  August 2, 2011 12:20 PM

                  Yep, any preorders anywhere get it from the sounds of it.

                  • reply
                    August 2, 2011 12:21 PM

                    Have you preordered yours yet? I'm still foolishly holding out hopes for Steam integration of some sort. :'(

                    • reply
                      August 2, 2011 12:24 PM

                      Ain't gonna happen.

                    • reply
                      August 2, 2011 12:27 PM

                      Yeah, I jumped on it a while ago from Origin because I had a $20 credit and a 25% off coupon that made it pretty cheap.
                      It doesn't seem like Steam integration is going to be very likely, but I don't think holding out is foolish. It'd probably be a good idea to preorder from somewhere though, just to get the Karkland pack when it comes out.

            • reply
              August 2, 2011 1:07 PM

              Yeah. It's just like BC2: You could get the booster pack, so you get the unlocks at LVL1, but other can get them as they level.

    • reply
      August 2, 2011 12:00 PM

      Are these things that you can unlock in the game with play, or ONLY unlocked with pre-order? I really hate pre-order exclusive bonuses.

      • reply
        August 2, 2011 12:10 PM

        They make it as vague as possible, don't they? Sounds like at least some of them are just unlocks.

        The "Dog Tag Pack" is apparently just custom dog tag skins? (lol wat)

      • reply
        August 2, 2011 12:18 PM

        for BC2, there was some stuff that you could unlock early and other stuff that you could buy them as DLC much later

        • reply
          August 2, 2011 12:24 PM

          So who should I pre-order from? Who is giving away the best stuff that will cost money later?

          • reply
            August 2, 2011 2:58 PM

            i think i would just go for the physical warfare pack. everything else is just superficial and i think they all get the karkand map pack with preorder. the PW pack will be free eventually but i think it'd be nice to use it when you start out at a low level with nothing.

            • reply
              August 4, 2011 6:30 AM

              Aren't those just Day 1 unlocks? (You can get them later through gameplay?)

    • reply
      August 2, 2011 12:07 PM

      after playing it, this is me not giving a single fuck purchasing it on Origin digitally

      • reply
        August 2, 2011 12:30 PM

        So to clarify, you're buying it on Origin?

    • reply
      August 2, 2011 12:25 PM

      so do i have to order the EA version in canada to get the 360 beta? shipping is 5-10 days and 6.99. what the shit

    • reply
      August 2, 2011 12:29 PM

      [deleted]

      • reply
        August 2, 2011 12:34 PM

        I bet it'll be fun. Battlefield series hasn't really let me down. I'm still left in the dark regarding how Origin is implemented.

      • reply
        August 2, 2011 12:49 PM

        Did you enjoy Bad Company 2? What about BF2142?

      • reply
        August 2, 2011 12:51 PM

        What? Even in the short Alpha I think the multiplayer is going to be a colossal hit. So many good little touches even in an Alpha.

        • reply
          August 2, 2011 1:03 PM

          Yeah in the time I've spent with it, I can tell it's going to be fucking awesome*.


          *in my opinion, naturally

        • reply
          August 2, 2011 1:11 PM

          It will be good but only if they fix a lot of shit that plagued the alpha. 3d spotting needs to go.

          • reply
            August 2, 2011 8:11 PM

            I heard someone else mention 3d spotting. What does that mean?

            • reply
              August 3, 2011 1:52 PM

              It's some new BS from the community. Same as the old spotting (mostly) you just spot and shoot at the little triangle to kill someone. It's a non-issue if you ask me. Spotting was FAR more accurate in BC2 and no one seemed to have a problem with it.

        • reply
          August 2, 2011 1:23 PM

          [deleted]

      • reply
        August 2, 2011 1:13 PM

        You're stupid. Just treat Origin like you treat any BF that you bought / played prior to Steam.

        Buy the game retail, and don't buy anything directly through Origin.

      • reply
        August 2, 2011 1:32 PM

        I won't be pre-ordering it because, well, i don't have the money :(

    • reply
      August 2, 2011 12:51 PM

      Is it still an "open" beta if you need an Origin pre-order or Medal of Honor:LE code?

    • reply
      August 2, 2011 12:53 PM

      It has to be a first in the gaming industry that the pre-order bonus for Steam is not getting the game

    • reply
      August 2, 2011 1:54 PM

      retailer-exclusive pre-order bonuses


      A standard that has epic fail written all over it.

      • reply
        August 2, 2011 1:58 PM

        epic fail like the smellx mircoshit 360?

    • reply
      August 2, 2011 2:50 PM

      Didn't want to buy a dl from Origin, but wanted access to the beta, until I remembered that Gears of War 3 releases in Septh, so I imagine I'd be too busy for the Beta regardless.

    • reply
      August 2, 2011 7:58 PM

      I bought MoH:LE for 360, will I be able to get the beta for PC?

    • reply
      August 3, 2011 10:11 AM

      An EA support agent just confirmed for me that if you pre-ordered on the old EA Store (Now Origin) you do not get the extra Origin exclusive bonuses.

    • reply
      August 4, 2011 6:17 AM

      So it seems like all of the pre-order bonuses are not exclusive with the possible exception of the SPECACT style re-skins?

      I remember playing 2142 and people teamkilling me so they could get a look at the SCAR 11 BOFORS model... which was actually disadvantageous because the gun was so huge that it was like you were shouldering a boombox. Its stats were identical to its equivalent weapon.

Hello, Meet Lola