Out in Norway, EA have admitted that sending out surveys that question reviewers' history with the Battlefield and Call of Duty games is a mistake. And the outcry sheds a light on how publishers can predict how their games will score.
Reviewers in Norway, understandably, aren't pleased.
Sure, the survey's first question - a simple request for contact info - is about as cut-and-dry as can be, but sharper probes like "Is [your reviewer] a fan of Call of Duty?" and "Has he expressed enthusiasm for Battlefield 3?" make a mad dash toward eyebrow-raising territory.
According to Gameranx , the questionnaire found its way into the mailboxes of Press Fire/Dagbladet, Gamer.no, and Gamereactor in response to requests for review copies of the massively anticipated shooter. It asks the following questions:
- Did the reviewer personally review BFBC2 or Black Ops?
- What score did he give it?
- What is his past experience with Battlefield?
- Is he a fan of Battlefield?
- Is he a fan of Call of Duty?
- Has he been playing BF Franchise? BFBC2? 1943? BF2?
- Has he expressed enthusiasm or concern for BF3? What are they?
- Did he play the beta? Did he enjoy it / get frustrated with it?
- What is his present view on the game?
Yeah.
In response to an upsurge of outcry from sites like NRK , EA Norway marketing manager Oliver Sveen released a statement.
"It is a human error that was sent out," he said to Pressfire.no . "We have made a mistake and we apologize. It is not something that should have happened earlier or [that] we intend to continue."
We've reached out to EA for a response.
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