EA asks for reviewers gaming history pre-Battlefield reviews, calls it "a mistake"

Out in Norway, EA have admitted that sending out surveys that question reviewers' history with the Battlefield and Call of Duty games is a mistake. And the outcry sheds a light on how publishers can predict how their games will score.

Sure, the survey's first question - a simple request for contact info - is about as cut-and-dry as can be, but sharper probes like "Is [your reviewer] a fan of Call of Duty?" and "Has he expressed enthusiasm for Battlefield 3?" make a mad dash toward eyebrow-raising territory.

According to Gameranx , the questionnaire found its way into the mailboxes of Press Fire/Dagbladet, Gamer.no, and Gamereactor in response to requests for review copies of the massively anticipated shooter. It asks the following questions:

Did the reviewer personally review BFBC2 or Black Ops?
What score did he give it?
What is his past experience with Battlefield?
Is he a fan of Battlefield?
Is he a fan of Call of Duty?
Has he been playing BF Franchise? BFBC2? 1943? BF2?
Has he expressed enthusiasm or concern for BF3? What are they?
Did he play the beta? Did he enjoy it / get frustrated with it?
What is his present view on the game?

Yeah.

In response to an upsurge of outcry from sites like NRK , EA Norway marketing manager Oliver Sveen released a statement.

"It is a human error that was sent out," he said to Pressfire.no . "We have made a mistake and we apologize. It is not something that should have happened earlier or [that] we intend to continue."

We've reached out to EA for a response.