AMD: Battlefield 4 is not for all R9 series cards

Earlier this week one of AMD's slides suggested that all new Radeon R9 series cards would become bundled with Battlefield 4 but it appears this is not the case. A new e-mail from AMD claims it's up to the retailers and add-in board partners to decide which Radeon R9 cards receive a copy of BF4:

An email sent by an AMD PR representative to press last Friday that provided details on AMD's Battlefield 4 promotion was not clear and has led to come confusion in the marketplace. It suggested that all customers who purchased an AMD Radeon R9 series graphics card on or after November 13, 2013 would receive a complimentary copy of Battlefield 4. While all AMD Radeon R9 series cards are theoretically eligible for the promotion (which is administered by AMD's channel partners), retailers and add-in-board partners ultimately decide which select AMD Radeon R9 SKUs will include a copy of BF4.

As with all limited promotions, it's important that customers ensure that the specific product they're purchasing qualifies for the promotion, and that they're buying from a participating retailer during the promotion period. Also, it is critical to note that this promotion is only valid while supplies last. To make it easier for our community to identify bundled products, BF4-qualifying SKUs and promotions of which AMD is aware will be posted on the portal below over the coming days and weeks, as soon as AMD is advised of their activation by its channel partners. Check http://www.amd.com/battlefield4 for more details and for full promotion terms and conditions.

The Tech Report notes the new e-mail contradicts the previous e-mail from Robert Hallock, AMD's PR Lead for Gaming and Enthusiast Graphics, which stated the following: "First, if a gamer purchases any AMD Radeon™ R9 Series product starting 11/13, they will get a copy of Battlefield 4 with that purchase."

Honestly, I'm not sure I buy the unclear e-mail excuse. That claim might hold water if we'd received a single, short e-mail from a lone AMD PR guy, but that wasn't the case. The first e-mail we received was from Robert Hallock, AMD's PR Lead for Gaming and Enthusiast Graphics; it was 485 words long, included an eight-page PDF slide deck with details about the bundling offer, and stated the following: "First, if a gamer purchases any AMD Radeon™ R9 Series product starting 11/13, they will get a copy of Battlefield 4 with that purchase." Then, during the period leading up to the Radeon R9 270's launch, we received another e-mail from AMD PR Manager Antal Tungler that stated in part, "[J]ust a gentle reminder that the R9 270 carries the Battlefield 4 bundle that Robert made you aware of last week."