Comeau: What Is Electronic Arts Thinking?

One of most compelling, and perhaps under-covered stories in the video-game industry right now, is the grassroots boycott being directed at Electronic Arts' (ERTS Quote) upcoming title Battlefield: Bad Company, which is stirring up negative attention with its controversial downloadable content strategy.

Downloadable content is basically stuff gamers download to enhance the experience of a particular game. In the days when PC gamers dominated online play, downloadable content was pretty much all free and much of it was actually created by amateurs. For example, new levels or weapons could be added to a first-person shooter, or a racing game could receive new cars.

These days, console gaming increasingly revolves around online play, and recent blockbuster titles like Microsoft's (MSFT Quote) Halo 3 and Activision's (ATVI Quote) Call of Duty 4, are revered much more for their significant online multiplayer modes than their single-player campaigns. ...