EA's Battlefield 2 Stats Blowup

Llamakiller-4 writes: It hasn't had the press of a "World of Warcraft" or "Everquest" breakdown, but one of EA's online jewels, the "Battlefield 2" series is experiencing some severe problems with the managing of their precious Statistics system. A breakdown which has lasted over a week is infuriating players by the thousands and casting skepticism on EA's marketing model for the game. Details are sparse from EA and this is fueling player discontent. Server operators are paying for "ranked" servers licensed thru EA, which allows players to accumulate points for play that are then used to achieve promotions, weapon unlocks etc. Battlefield 2 is a very closeknit community involving large amounts of "clan players" who pay the server operators to help subsidize the cost of their server. EA recently admitted that it's possible that all points accumulated during the Stat Server meltdown period may be lost once the servers are restored. The EA "Battlefield 2" forums are abuzz with complaints and some topics are being locked as a result. This is highlighting the need for gaming companies, which are attempting to create new revenue streams, to maintain those networks and staff against the risk of bad "PR" and having demanding gamers take their money to competitors games.