Alright here's the skinny:

EA's giving away Battlefield 3 as part of one of their ongoing promotions, I personally could give two dusty shits about playing that schlockfest. So, why am I downloading it and encouraging you to do so as well? Because I don't like EA's strategy of, "Screw our customers, blindside them and grab their cash!" and I hate my ISP's stance on net neutrality (the only choice available in my area). Downloading that 20 GB chunk inflicts expense onto both of those parties and that makes me happy :) Heck, I may even delete the game just to redownload it.

So, if you feel the same and, like me, you already have Origin installed (or don't mind installing it) go grab yourself a free copy of Battlefield 3 and let's be the ants that hassle EA's picnic.

https://www.origin.com/en-us/store/buy/battlefield-3/pc-download/base-game/standard-edition?

NO.

that thread is for people who actually want to play the silly game.


This thread is for people who want to cause minor havoc.

So....taking something they're offering for free is causing some sort of havoc?

So, is the goal to slow down EA's servers?
Because that would just be hurting gamers.

And I'd say that if you are able to download the game multiple times, be grateful your ISP doesn't have a ridiculously low bandwidth cap like most do.

If EA thought everyone in the world is going to download Battlefield 3 all the time for as long as it's possible to hurt them, then they wouldn't be giving the game away for free now. What you are doing is like shooting a tank with an air soft gun because other than you how many people will do doing this to hurt EA? And worst case scenario for them, they can just disable accounts with suspicious activity.

It's more like you'll be an ant in the corner of the parking lot outside EA headquarters while they're having a massive party inside. What you're doing is pointless and stupid and will accomplish precisely nothing whatsoever. Still, if it gives you some sort of satisfaction and makes you feel like a "rebel", go right ahead. Do your parents know you're using their internet connection for such shenanigans though?

very miniscule but, yes :) Not all gamers, just the ones using EA's services. Anyone who is NOT boycotting EA are the ones empowering them and condoning their unscrupulous actions. guilty by association ;)

as far as my ISP is concerned, I should be grateful for the privilege to lob exorbitant amounts of money at them for ANY amount of bandwidth. Yes, it is exactly like that! But hey, maybe we can manage to annoy the pachyderm. It's better than simply whining :)

It's digital hoolaganism. We're trolling EA and the ISPs. Is it tantamount to simply farting in the wind? Yeah but, at least we can make a stink :)

is it free and counts as a purchase if you choose to claim it?
or is it like the steam free weekends, where you are only granted access to a game for one weekend until the promo expires.
battlefield is listed as Free Until 3 June 2014.

These two statements are contradictory, the satisfaction I derive from my shenanigans add meaning enough to justify my actions. Us Americans are inherently rebellious, some more so than others. I am definitely one of the more ornery ones >:D

Don't be such a defeatist, homie! It's free forever* once you claim it

*(forever in the scope of digital distribution)

You do realize they were amongst the first digital distributors who came forward with a money-back guarantee, right? For any reason even, you just have to act within 24 hours upon first launching it (not buying!) - so if you play it and find it's shit, you can just return it, no quesitons asked. (It's actually 7 days for brand new titles, resolving the mess surrounding crappy preorders.)

I see what you're saying, I was writing lazily, you busted me. Blindside is not the appropriate word but, I liked the punch of it.

Let me reiterate. EA's leadership has been sailing a business model that is centered around generating the largest amount of revenue while producing the least amount of content for far too long and that's my beef. They're out for the quickest cash-grab and they don't care who they step on in the process; the consumers, the developers, their own employees or even the progression of the gaming industry at large. They have no stake in anything other than the accumulation of wealth and they represent the worst kind of greed.

However, I don't need to get into an EA rant as there are already plenty out there.