Electronic Arts isn't holding back the early hype for the upcoming Battlefield: Hardline, and they've released a brand new trailer along with the official release date for home consoles and PC.
Gamers can expect to get in on the cops and robbers action starting October 21st this fall, just ahead of the launch of Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare, a trend that Electronic Arts has been doing since Battlefield 3 in an attempt to eat away the market share from Activision's billion dollar first-person shooter.
I would have to say that if Battlefield 4 didn't launch broken EA may have garnered tons of brownie points because Hardline looks like it could be a cool game. The problem is that EA's reputation precedes it, so even if you see this awesome trailer like the one below.
Gamers are inclined to fall into this cycle:
Except things didn't quite turn out that way, because if you click through the video and read some of the comments, it gets pretty nasty. One user wrote...
"Really? Fix BF4 before you start another project. DICE and EA don't give 2 shits about us and its the ignorant fan-boys that allow it. I'm sure they could remake Mario on the frostbite engine, slap Battlefield on the cover and call it a day and you guys would eat that shit right up."
Someone else named SirPwnszAlot wrote that...
"This isn't a Battlefield Game. And even it wasn't just a buggy, childish cash cow from EA, I still wouldn't buy it. BF4 will be my last Battlefield, even if EA use different developers."
It's funny because a lot of gamers would love to love Hardline, but EA's antics over the years (some of which they've actually resolved to fix, such as the controversial Online Pass program) have turned gamers against them. All that ill-will has bubbled up and boiled over like eight ounces of coffee in a four ounce cup and have caused plenty of gamers to finally put their intentions where their wallets reside.
The company's sedulous greed tactics have put them in a bad way with the core gaming audience, and now awesome trailers like the one above are littered with people still royally pissed off that games like Battlefield 4 launched broken.
Unfortunately a game like Battlefield: Hardline, which at least looks to try something unique with the cops and robbers theme, is being pelted pretty badly. The sins of the father and all that jazz.
Now EA is in a very unique position because even if Battlefield: Hardline turns out to be a pretty cool game – and the trailers and gameplay videos definitely make it look cool – there could be a backlash built up from gamers who have felt betrayed one time too many from all the broken-out-of-the-box games that have surfaced over the years from the major software publisher.
That's not to mention that Machinimagate didn't help the public images of Microsoft or EA.
There might be a way for EA to recover the fumble by teaming with Sony to issue public beta codes at the Sony E3 theater experience, as reported by IGN. Gamers who can get some hands-on time with Hardline might have a different take on the game, but right now they're not giving out a lot of love.
