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EA boss admits that Battlefield 4's launch situation was "unacceptable"

Battlefield 4's shaky launch was well documented by the gaming press and gamers alike, and now, some eight months after it launched, EA boss Andrew Wilson has deemed it "unacceptable."

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It follows today's new screen and details of Battlefield 4: Dragon's Teeth DLC map Sunken Dragon.

In an interview with Eurogamer, EA CEO Andrew Wilson said that Battlefield 4's multiplayer issues were not a server problem, and added, "It was a client side problem. Right now the game is playing extremely well, and people are in there and having a lot of fun. I'm still playing it."

Explaining what he felt did go wrong, Wilson continued, "Think about what Battlefield 4 was: 64 player multiplayer, giant maps, 1080p, Levolution that was changing the gameplay design in an emergent way. There is a chance there are things you are going to miss through the development cycle. And you end up in a situation we had with Battlefield 4.

"For me, the situation we had was unacceptable. For the team it was unacceptable. We have worked tirelessly since then to make sure the gameplay experience got to where it absolutely should have been at launch and we're focused on that and we continue to deliver value to that player base.

"But when you do things like that you can never guarantee. It would be disingenuous for me to sit here and say, 'we will never have an issue again,' because that would mean we were never going to push the boundaries again. And I don't want to be that company.

"I want to be a company that pushes to lead and innovate and be creative. But you can start to do things that give you a better handle and a better view about what the potential challenges might be."

Back in December, a law firm filed to investigate EA over claims that it misled shareholders and rushed Battlefield 4 out the gate to appease investors.

Wilson downplayed claims that the shooter was rushed, adding, "DICE had a lot of time this time. Hardline has had three years. Last year was a very unique situation. Not to abdicate responsibility whatsoever - we own it, we are responsible for it and we have worked tirelessly to remedy the situation - but when you are building a game on an unfinished platform with unfinished software, there are some things that can't get done until the very last minute because the platform wasn't ready to get done.

"What was happening with Battlefield 4, even as we were pushing all of this innovation, was a lot of it we couldn't test until really late in the phase. I believe it was unique."

He also touches on the way fans responded, and more over on Eurogamer. It's a huge interview, seriously.

What were your views on the Battlefield 4 launch issues? Let us know below.

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Battlefield 4

PS4, Xbox One, PS3, Xbox 360, PC

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Dave Cook avatar

Dave Cook

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Dave worked on VG247 for an extended period manging much of the site's news output. As well as his experience in games media, he writes for comics, and now specializes in books about gaming history.
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