from Sarcastic Gamer:

"There will be no charge for Gold Edition guns in Battlefield: Bad Company, to those that buy the regular retail package.

Before we jump to the good news, keep in mind what EA told Brian Crecente, just a couple of weeks ago:

At launch, EA will release a Gold Edition of Battlefield: Bad Company which will feature an additional five new weapons. For players who do not purchase the Gold Edition of the game, they can still buy the five weapons at a small individualized price per item. All weapons are balanced for gameplay. More weapons offer players more choices but do not create an advantage/disadvantage for players who do not opt to buy new items.

Flash forward to a few minutes ago. Here's DICE setting "the record" straight.

IGN: So there's no charge for the Gold Edition guns?

Karl-Magnus: No, there's no charge for any of the guns in the game. All of the guns in the game can be achieved without purchasing them. All guns are available to everyone. However, we want to give some exclusivity to those who buy the Gold Edition. They will get the five Gold Edition weapons from Day One when they put the disc in. People that don't buy the Gold Edition can get the five additional weapons by getting to the final rank in the game. There will be a golden, shiny five-weapon unlock when they hit level 25 in the game.

You will now, instead, be able to earn those weapons FREE by achieving the maximum rank in the game.

There is no way I can describe how proud I am of this community right now. You will NEVER get the credit you deserve for helping shift this thing, and to my knowledge it is a first. But we all know where the epicenter of the outrage earthquake began.

With a couple thousand ****ed off Sarcastic Gamers. Congratulations."

Excellent!!!! Rejoice!!!!!

This is all because of the gaming community! It has FORCED EA to change it's mind!!!!! Well done to everyone who took part!!!!!!