More cars for NFS Carbon 360

By Tom Bramwell Published 8 November, 2006

If you can't unlock them.

Still rubbish at Need For Speed Carbon? Then EA's offering the chance to download a few cars that you're too rubbish to unlock in the Career mode. You disgust me.

Achievable without purchase through the Career mode, according to Major Nelson's blog, the NFS Carbon extras are the 2004 Mercedes SLR McLaren, the 2004 Porsche Carrera GT and the 2004 Lamborghini Gallardo.

All cost 80 Microsoft points, and all are presumably very shiny. You can read about other NFS Carbon downloadable content in our previous burst of sarcasm.

Picture of Tom.

About Tom Bramwell

Tom is Operations director of Eurogamer Network and Editor-at-Large of Eurogamer.net. He joined the company in February 2000.

Read more articles from Tom by visiting the Tom Bramwell archive page.

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Comments (32) Latest comment 5 years ago

Comments threads automatically close after 30 days, but please feel free to continue chatting on the forum!

  • Baz_Dude #1 5 years ago

    EA= Rip off artists

  • Blerk #2 5 years ago

    Hey, remember the "good old days" when we used to call this kind of thing 'cheat codes'? And they were built into the game for free? It was all fields then.

  • GamesProgrammer Verified Games Team Programmer, Eutechnyx Ltd. #3 5 years ago

    So you buy the game, then you PAY more to have it completed for you?

    What a sad world its becoming

  • Darkedge #4 5 years ago

    don't like it don't buy it. if only 10 people are sad enough to pay for this shite they will drop it

  • sickpuppysoftware #5 5 years ago

    Hey, remember the "good old days" when we used to call this kind of thing 'cheat codes'? And they were built into the game for free? It was all fields then.
    I remember the bad old days before the internet where you had to call a telephone number in the back of the instructions if you needed help with some crazy text adventure.

  • skillian #6 5 years ago

    If you think about it, a real Lamborghini Gallardo would cost you £120,000, so this is actually a pretty good deal. Thanks EA :)

  • sharpfish #7 5 years ago

    oh dear... what a piece of crap.

  • TheMoonRat #8 5 years ago

    Darkedge: if only 10 people are sad enough to pay it that's still 10 sales worth of profit for next to no effort on EA's part. There's no turning back on this kinda crap now :(

  • Derblington #9 5 years ago

    I don't really see the problem. Having the option of unlocking the cars is ok imo. It says more about the users than the company.

  • Darren #10 5 years ago

    This article is misleading as you do not download the cars at all, merely the "keys" needed to unlock them in the game.

    Anyway, I don't particularly object to what EA are doing particularly (although it might be viewed as being a bit greedy) as those cars can still be unlocked through playing the game. These downloadable keys are completely optional and not buying them doesn't mean you're missing out on anything in the game. Maybe these keys should be free but if they were then everyone would download them and there'd be no reason to bother playing the game.

    These keys are presumably offered to people who do not have the time to spend hours unlocking them in the game and wish to, say, use them for online games? It's all about choice really - the choice to buy them or the choice not to.

  • gizmo #11 5 years ago

    I'm avoiding all EA stuff now to avoid these tricks.

  • Xerx3s #12 5 years ago

    Buying EA games might cause a horrible sexual disease. Use condoms while using this game.

  • Der_tolle_Emil #13 5 years ago

    I call something optional when everyone has the option to use that so called optional feature. Paying for something on xbox live is NOT something everyone is able to do. Progressing further in a game for money will never be something that everyone will be able to do. 80 points is not much but still - there is not even a thin line in my opinion on what is reasonable and what not.

    Additional game content = yes
    Progress in your game for money = no

    No matter what the costs.

  • Roamer #14 5 years ago

    These keys are presumably offered to people who do not have the time to spend hours unlocking them in the game and wish to, say, use them for online games? It's all about choice really - the choice to buy them or the choice not to.

    That's the Microsoft line too, bub - "We're about giving consumers choice". Yeah, the choice to be ripped off or have a crippled game. Aw, snap! Am I right, gang?

  • FooAtari #15 5 years ago

    The word choice is the excuse for everything these days.

    "but...but... were giving our gamers more choice".

    It should a be a cheat code, end of discussion. It's got bugger all to do with choice when EA are leaving things out of the 360 version on a game... I cant think of the particular example of the top of my head but there is at least 1 game where there is missing content in the 360 version, and you get to pay an extra tenner for the privalage.

  • IAmBatman #16 5 years ago

    "Progress in your game for money = no "

    I don't get to see everything in a lot of games since I don't have the time required to play them enough. I am time poor, but money rich. I understand that many gamers are the opposite.

    Why should should it be 'right' that the people with plenty of time are allowed to experience more of the game than the people with plenty of money, given that both groups have paid the same initial amount to own a copy?

  • Monsta #17 5 years ago

    I'm jsut hoping EA don't trick less informed gamers into buying then by making it seem as if they are new cars, not jsut something you can unlock

  • Der_tolle_Emil #18 5 years ago

    @IAmBatman: Good point. Reminds me a lot of discussions about World of Warcraft; "You don't need skill, just a lot of time".

    I understand the problem because I am also a weekend-only gamer because I just do not have the time during the week (maybe one hour per day). So I agree, games that offer modes that are pick up play should be accessible in the first place. If you just have the time for a few online matches then I agree it is quite frustrating if there are only two cars available.

    I totally agree that there should be a option for multiplayer only players for example to use everything the game has to offer and are not interested in singleplayer, and why not. There are options that make sense: Make everything accessible in the first place or unlock multiplayer content via multiplayer itself, like Splintercell does - kind of an online career. Whatever it may look like, as long as it's free for everyone, than that is fine by me.

  • lennon #19 5 years ago

    How much would you end up paying to phone the cheat helplines they provide?

    I bet its more than 80 points.

    Agreed if it was locked content already in the game that you could only get by paying extra then its an issue but as it really isnt something that I would do anyway Im really not all that bothered. Ive never called a cheat line so I wont be downloading a cheat key either.

  • Freeman01 #20 5 years ago

    Unfortunately this is the shape of things to come, and we shouldn't just blame EA, this is the Microsoft way. Since you purchase points from MS they take a cut, you pay for the cars (or whatever) and they give the provider a portion of the money. Everyone makes....the loser i think is the consumer, despite the fact that its our "choice" as to whether to download it or not.

  • lennon #21 5 years ago

    The point is though surely in this specific case that these types of offer have been available for years. Those adverts are always on the back of all EA games manuals and Im pretty sure they are premium rate numbers that you can call to help you with your cheats.

    Why all of a sudden are we up in arms becasue its available as another option when the same practice has slipped by relatively unnoticed for years?

  • skillian #22 5 years ago

    *spits*

    Mate, if you had the choice of paying £350,000 for a Mercedes SLR McLaren or 80 Microsoft points, you'd be mad to pay the RRP. EA have got our backs here.

    I, for one, welcome our new electronic overlords.

  • jellyhead #23 5 years ago

    Do you get Achievements for unlocking them? If so then if you buy them you shouldn't get the corresponding Achievement or you should get one that says "Bought car" instead of "Unlocked car" or something. That way you'd be able to tell if someone was good or just had lots of cash.

  • crazyhorse174 #24 5 years ago

    "That's the Microsoft line too, bub - "We're about giving consumers choice". Yeah, the choice to be ripped off or have a crippled game. Aw, snap! Am I right, gang?"

    The games not actually crippled though...all of the cars are included in the game. If you play through and unlock them, you dont have to pay extra to get them.

    As someone mentioned, all your paying for is for the cars to be unlocked for you without you having to play through the game - which sort of defeats the purpose of buying the game in the first place!

    I dont see why everyone is so upset - play through the game to unlock the cars if your not happy and dont pay on Xbox Live to have them unlocked for you. Simple.

    Theres no big con here. Which lets be honest, makes a change from EA. I think people just like venting their rage at EA and this looked like the place to do it.

  • Sko #25 5 years ago

    "The games not actually crippled though...all of the cars are included in the game. If you play through and unlock them, you dont have to pay extra to get them."

    Yeah, and thankfully, the company has no way of weighting the difficulty of advancement in an attempt to encourage more people to unlock game content they can't reach... oh wait...

  • lennon #26 5 years ago

    @Sko - They screwed up there then because Carbon is pretty easy!
    Edited by 1 at 08/11/06 @ 14:47

  • crazyhorse174 #27 5 years ago

    Cheers Lennon...looks like I dont need to think of a comeback for Skos argument then! :)

    Theres some right cynical bastards on here though, aint there?!

  • Darth_Flibble #28 5 years ago

    At the minute it's just optional but EA can make a lot of money from this, I have no doubt they will make the cars buy only (no unlocking by playing) if they can get away with it

    EA have already taken the cheats out of the godfather game and sold them back to the stupid user
    Edited by 1 at 08/11/06 @ 16:56

  • Steroyd #29 5 years ago

    This is as close to additional content through Microtransactions.

    Although I worked out I will end up saving a fortune with a one off £20 payment to my next gen Action Replay friend. :D

  • Der_tolle_Emil #30 5 years ago

    Theres no big con here. Which lets be honest, makes a change from EA. I think people just like venting their rage at EA and this looked like the place to do it.

    It may not be a big contradiction but there is definetly one. You buy games to play them and have fun. I agree that it is more fun to play with 20 different cars instead of just 2 though. But then again part of a game is to achieve certain things, to unlock more content throughout the game. The 360 achievements pushes this even further - and it works quite well. While I agree that there are some achievements that are totally over the line (own all cars in pgr3 for example; I do not have that one and I played it a lot, but you really need too much time for that) in a way what EA does is the exact opposite. Why not sell two versions of the game in the beginning after all? Standard edition and unlocked edition for another 10 pounds with everything already unlocked from the beginning.

    I don't know, it is hard to argue because I in a way understand that people really want to pay for such things - it nevertheless feels just wrong and dishonest. Videogames once were a nice place where money could simply not buy anything.
    Edited by 1 at 08/11/06 @ 18:25

  • Sko #31 5 years ago

    "@Sko - They screwed up there then because Carbon is pretty easy!"

    Is it happening now, with EA? I doubt it. Will it ever happen? We'll never be sure. The same could have been said for 'piecemeal'ing a finished product over online microtransactions and only selling half-a-game on the shelf but it's certainly a slippery slope.

  • monkey-ken-wizard #32 5 years ago

    Downloadable content is all very well, but this game is so piss poor it nearly made me cry.