14 DAY TRIAL // Video game developer DICE and publisher Electronic Arts have stated that they have no plans to launch the PC based patches for their first person shooter Battlefield 3 outside of the Origin digital distribution service.
This comes after a number of gamers have asked the two companies to offer new ways of getting and applying patches after the company has put out a 3.6 GB package through Origins.
A lot of gamers have complained that the service takes too long to deliver the patch and that they are unable to enjoy the multiplayer component of the game because they lack the most previous version.
Publisher Electronic Arts presumably refuses to distribute patches through mirrors that are not integrated into Origin because it would also allow pirates to get the content and then crack it to use in illegal copies of the game.
The same process can be apparently be done with the Origin delivered content but it is more difficult.
Before Battlefield 3 launched EA talked a lot about how the exclusivity for Origin would make the digital distribution service more attractive to gamers and would allow it to prove its advantages over rival solution like Steam.
Battlefield 3 is one of the biggest games for Electronic Arts in 2011 and has managed to sell more than 8 million copies since launch, although the company has not said how many of them were delivered through Origins and how many were sold using physical retail.
The problem with the size of the newest patch and the download speed might make players less interested in the multiplayer component of Battlefield 3, which DICE has said will get support in the long term.
Upcoming patches for Battlefield 3 will probably address smaller issues linked to balance and will not be as big as the currently available one.