Yesterday, Infinity Ward got a jump on press releases announcing the cure to "Mapathy" would be coming on March 30th in the form of Modern Warfare 2 DLC. DICE is taking on that statement with an announcement that DLC for Battlefield Bad Company 2 would be released on March 30th as well in order to prevent "Mapathy".

According to a EA blog post titled "How to avoid "mapathy" without paying!" the dev team at DICE announced that the (second) VIP Map Pack would be available on March 30th, at no charge, and on ALL platforms (note: The March 30th MW2 DLC will be an Xbox 360 exclusive for a short time).

The Map Pack will include:

Arica Harbor Conquest mode - US Command launches a break through action directly at the Russian base. Collateral damage is of no consequence. Capture and secure tactical positions in Conquest Mode across the vast Arica Harbor map.

Laguna Presa Rush mode - The valley and surrounding mountains possess a strategic value in the battle for South America, and an infantry assault supported by light armor vehicles is likely by both armies as US forces defend the nearby Dam.

Also, according to the blog post "VIP members will be able to expand on the deep and ever changing sandbox experience, which in itself provides near endless hours of entertainment, by having new content to keep things fresh. It also plays a vital part in making sure you, the players get proper value for the money you’ve invested in Battlefield: Bad Company 2. This is why these map packs are available at no extra cost, contradicting the industry standard and what our direct competitors are doing." (nudge MW2)

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When Infinity Ward announced that MW2 for PC would not support dedicated servers, outrage boomed on the internet and EA Dice jumped to capitalize on the fact that upcoming Battlefield: Bad Company 2 WOULD allow users to play on dedicated servers. It seems that this concept comes with a catch though, as information surfaced that players would have to RENT servers from "authorized hosts".

According to BFBC2 producer Gordon Van Dyke, files the community needs to build dedicated servers are being withheld in order to "protect the game's integrity on PC" and "This does not earn DICE a profit. But we will see where the game goes and support it post launch."  Van Dyke made it clear that authorized hosts had already been choosen in all major regions of the world. 

Battlefield: Bad Company 2 will enter open beta later this month (January 28th) and be available on March 2nd for PS3, PC and Xbox 360.

DICE Studio associate producer Gordan Van Dyke announced today that the Battlefield: Bad Company 2 multiplayer beta will be available on November 19th as a Playstation 3 exclusive.

Per the announcement: Starting on November 19, the beta will feature the huge ‘Arica Harbour’ map where up to 24 players compete to secure valuable crates in the ‘Rush’ game mode as the action moves across a variety of different locations. From an initial vehicle assault on a military outpost the war winds through streets of a deserted town to an intense final fire-fight in an industrial harbour.

Access to the beta will not be for all, however. Beta keys will be given away via Playstation.blog, given away with pre-orders at participating retailers and from checking out selected game sites such as Gamestop and IGN.

Battlefield Bad Company 2 will be available March 2, 2010 for PS3, Xbox 360 and PC.

DICE is spreading the word that there are no beta sign-ups currently for Battlefield Bad Company 2. Any invites or notifications people receive are phishing scams. Battlefield producer Gordon Van Dyke recommends taking action and "give them the middle finger." He also noted that official announcements would come from the website or official Twitter.

Battlefield Bad Company 2 has been reveling in the fallout from competitors Call of Duty Modern Warfare 2 with their announcement that they would gladly continue dedicated server support. In fact, many of the comments regarding the MW2 pre-order indicated that some players would be making the switch to Battlefield Bad Company 2 for that reason.

Battlefield Bad Company 2 will be available March 2, 2010 for PS3, Xbox 360 and PC. The limited edition collection has been recently detailed, and for a limited time will be available for the same price as the regular edition.

The Battlefield Bad Company 2 Limited Edition comes with:

• 4 x Vehicle Warfare Unlocks
  • Improved Vehicle Armor – An Up-Armor package mounted on all vehicle types decreases the effect of both explosive and penetrating warheads, significantly improving vehicle survivability.
  • Vehicle Alternate Fire - Additional weapon packages mounted for the driver of all armored vehicles, greatly expands the range of targets the vehicle can successfully engage and destroy.
  • Vehicle Motion Sensor – Upgraded Sensor to locate enemy units in direct proximity to the vehicle.
  • Tracer Dart Pistol – Launched by compressed air, this magnetic dart attaches to any vehicle surface, allows friendly shoulder launched rockets to lock on to and track moving targets even beyond line of sight.
• 2 x Classic Battlefield 1943 Weapons
  • M1A1 Submachine Gun – Popular with Paratrooper and Commando units in WW2 for its rate of fire and stopping power the M1A1 is still seen in the hands of paramilitaries today. Reliable but heavy, this classic weapon is still a powerful force in the hands of a Battlefield Veteran.
  • M1911 Pistol – Adopted in 1911 by the US Army the M1911 saw heavy service in WW1, WW2, Korea and Vietnam. Highly customized M1911 are still favored by Special Operations forces for its reliability and the power of its large .45 caliber round