EA: MOH must sell 3 million for sequel

By Robert Purchese Published 10 September, 2010

Honor thereabouts.

EA's blockbuster shooter Medal of Honor must sell more than 3 million copies or there will be no sequel, if you can believe that.

Executive producer Greg Goodrich told the New York Times that if the milestone wasn't met, "I'm not going to be able to do another one."

Goodrich also went on to reveal that the game was nearly subtitled Anaconda, after the failed Afghanistan operation of the same name - not the 1997 film in which Jennifer Lopez tussles with a giant snake.

But the special operatives advising on MOH insisted the recreated events "hit a little too close to home" and "would put a sour taste in our brothers' mouths". So it was changed. And from there on, Goodrich told the team to focus on "authentic and plausible" rather than "accurate and realistic".

Medal of Honor will be released on 15th October on three formats: PC, PS3 and Xbox 360. You'll be able to play it two weeks earlier at the Eurogamer Expo 2010, which takes place from 1st to 3rd October at Earl's Court in London. Hurry, though - tickets are selling out.

Picture of Robert.

About Robert Purchese

Bertie is Eurogamer's Senior Staff Writer. When he's not hunting down news stories he's often found playing with his kids or gabbling about fantasy games and strange online worlds.

Read more articles from Robert by visiting the Robert Purchese archive page.

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Comments (41) Latest comment 1 year ago

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

  • richarddavies #1 1 year ago

    It's an EA fps that's been on the news because the games all "naughty" and "controversial". Course it's gonna sell loads
    Edited by 1 at 10/09/10 @ 14:40

  • chrisjm #2 1 year ago

    Don't you think they should ask for more than 3 million, thats not a lot these days.
    Okay then, we hold the world ransom for...
    One... Hundred... BILLION copies of MOH!

  • Skooch #3 1 year ago

    3M isn't much at all across multiple platforms, but it is up against some heavy, heavy hitters in Reach and Black Ops.

  • sonicyoda #4 1 year ago

    Good luck; you're up against some heavy hitters at the moment.

  • Quixz #5 1 year ago

    Im sure it will do 3 million my friends and i are picking up halo and MoH this year.

  • billy-beauts #6 1 year ago

    Wow! It looks like a complete rip-off of COD:MW. I'm only gonna get this if Black-Ops really sucks, and i doubt thats gonna happen.

  • schnide #7 1 year ago

    @billy-beauts

    Clearly you never played the older Medal of Honor games and the earlier Call of Duty games.

  • Golgo #8 1 year ago

    I know executive/accountant guys, let's play a game of "Let's put even more pressure on the mental health/livelihoods of our already over-worked development teams!"

    GO!!!!
    Edited by 1 at 10/09/10 @ 15:01

  • MiniAmin #9 1 year ago

    Watch the linked video. Compare that clichéd setting to the colourful and imaginative Halo, or the varied locales which will be available in Black Ops...

    It'll be a hard-sell, especially as the Medal of Honour name has lost the impact it once commanded.

    Edit: I'm not saying the game itself is clichéd, just that COD and Halo are strong franchises and they're offering something (reasonably) different within their respective traditions. It'll be very difficult for MOH to compete with that, even though it looks pretty good.
    Edited by 1 at 10/09/10 @ 15:36

  • MiniAmin #10 1 year ago

    @ EarlBassett

    In that case we should also get used to more otiose posts like yours.

  • Benno #11 1 year ago

    I miss the old days, MOH Frontlines was one of the best FPS of all time - was a massive leap forward

  • jtodroc #12 1 year ago

    Looks much better than the beta which was absolutely awful.

    Saying that, I don't know whether to get it or not as I already have Bad Company 2 (this looks very much like Rush mode) & I'll end up getting Black Ops as everyone I know will end up getting it too. You can only have so many similar shooters & I don't like playing online anymore unless I'm playing with a few friends.
    Edited by 1 at 10/09/10 @ 15:19

  • TitusCrow #13 1 year ago

    The beta was terrible, I actually got a refund from valve on it. It will be a miracle if its made a total turnaround since then. Dont get me wrong there is nothing per-say wrong with the game, graphics good, controls, guns etc.. its just that you have seen it all before and it does nothing new or even puts a spin on stuff..

  • ShineDog #14 1 year ago

    Frontlines was maybe a step forward for the console versions, but it was a definite step back from Allied Assault. Anyway.

    PLEASE stop with the puns EG, they are criminally bad.

  • el_pollo_diablo #15 1 year ago

    Melchett
    But if you're willing to join the Twenty Minuters then you're all right by me and welcome to marry my sister any day.

    Darling
    Are you sure about this, Sir?

    Melchett
    Certainly, you should hear the noise she makes when she eats a boiled egg.

  • bodypopper #16 1 year ago

    Well Battlefield Bad Company 2 has sold several million copies it and all they've done is bolt the multiplayer of that on to a single player game that apes one of the biggest games franchises around.
    Throw in EA's marketing resources and a dose of controversy and it can't fail.
    Edited by 1 at 10/09/10 @ 15:40

  • Yuroko #17 1 year ago

    Fuck me, these puns are getting bad. You got ex-Sun journos working for you now? This one doesn't even work!

  • schnide #18 1 year ago

    Medal of Honor - I choose YOU!

    I've got faith. I want something that isn't COD, or owned by Activision. I want something that's a bit more realistic than COD's become. I have faith in EA's resurgent streak. I'm a true fan of particularly the early MOH titles.

    I'm going for a solid 8 from EG on this one, and hopefully one or two more ;)

  • Soton4084 #19 1 year ago

    I'm sure it will sell at least 3 million. I'm seriously considering buying it for the multiplayer (I'm a big fan of what DICE have done with BFBC:2) and the HD PS3 version of MOH Frontline. Several of my mates have also said that they're thinking of getting it, yet aren't so sure about the new Call of Duty game...

    However, I've also heard that the beta was terrible, so won't be preordering! Although in saying, that a beta isn't always an accurate representation of the final product, so I'm still hoping that it'll be good.

  • HisDudness #20 1 year ago

    Which one has dedicated servers?

  • Trigga_Tybalt #21 1 year ago

    i wasn't too fussed about this until i saw that video. looks like MW2 and BF2's lovechild which can only be a good thing.

  • kendoji #22 1 year ago

    I love the puns, the worse they are the better. The day EG stops doing terrible puns will be the day that I continue coming here, complain about it for a day or two, and then forget all about it and get on with my life. Mark my words.

  • des #23 1 year ago

    flop then,bye

  • Seehuusen #24 1 year ago

    Not sure if this game is gonna fail or not, im just pre-ordering the limited edition cause of Battlefield 3 beta...

  • Alivada #25 1 year ago

    I don't like how the multiplayer is made by Dice.
    It's not that they are a bad developer but I've already bought BC2 so why would I need this?

  • abot #26 1 year ago

    I am going to make some reasonable sales predictions that will probably result in some of you marking negatives but I would like to know what you think the sales will be for Halo, COD and MOH.

    My sales predictions are:

    Halo:Reach = 5-7 million possibly 8 million.
    Black Ops = 10 -12 million.
    Medal of Honor = 3-4 million.

  • billy-beauts #27 1 year ago

    @ schnide. Yeah I have actually. What's your point? Why's everyone getting all nostalgic about old MOH games? Most of them were shit anyway, and clearly they're not gonna catch up with COD just like that after all these years out.

    EA haven't got a snowball in hell's chance of pulling this one off.
    Edited by 1 at 10/09/10 @ 17:34

  • doggod #28 1 year ago

    No the first thing that has to be done is they have to make a game that is worth 3 million sales,
    After that everyone can discuss a sequel.

  • Dr_Wookiee #29 1 year ago

    It'll do 13 mil no problem. End of story

  • Nephirion #30 1 year ago

    Looks good to me, combat seems much tighter than BFBC2 which is no bad thing.

  • Death-Jester #31 1 year ago

    I played the beta, and the guns were terrible, simply because they had no recoil. Looking at the video posted above, it seems nothing has changed.
    My cousin has pre-ordered this for the PS3 (against my judgement). When he got MW2 on the PS3, he played it almost non-stop for months, and still plays it loads (he's bloody amazing when you see him play).
    I have a feeling after playing MW2 for so long, he's going to be massively let down by this game, with it's arcade-y feel.

  • Lunatic4ever #32 1 year ago

    I honestly don't want this stereotype to be successful. Really.
    I dont want Black Ops to be successful either.

    I hate it when EA tries to make as much money as possible by exploiting franchises.
    Mixing MW2 and BC2 won't make MOH a good game.I can already tell it wont score higher than 6.

    We need quality. We need great plots and involving character development for the singleplayer part
    and this whole "I need to improve my stats and win awards" thing starts to piss me off really.

    What about multiplayer that truly rewards teamplay and makes you WANT to stick together as a squad?

    Guess things change. In this case its rather unfortunate.

  • Dexter2015 #33 1 year ago

    Please sale less please make the stop no more sequels!!

  • UKLL #34 1 year ago

    Haven't bought a MoH game since the (excellent) first game on PSOne but this and Black Ops will probably take up most my gaming time the remainder of the year. I'm getting Reach but only for the campaign and because it's costing me nothing (Nectar points FTW!), I normally jump straight into the muiltiplayer and Halo has never really been my cup of tea.
    Edited by 2 at 11/09/10 @ 10:20

  • Quak #35 1 year ago

    Did EA pay more to have their video hosted without an advert for Halo playing before it?

  • ShovelyJoe #36 1 year ago

    All I think when I watch these MOH videos is 'Where is the recoil?' Towards the end when he is running back and not even scooping the reticule doesn't even expand that much....bit worried this will require no skill. Spray and Pray!!!!

  • Death-Jester #37 1 year ago

    Do you really think that if they don't hit the £3m mark they won't make a sequel? They're one-trick ponies at best, they have no other option but to keep making the same game (and every time take out another feature).

  • paketep #38 1 year ago

    Hey, EA, I really didn't need another reason to not buy the game after finding out about the no public dedis and no LAN stance, but thanks anyway.

  • Guildenstern #39 1 year ago

    What, playing as taliban is ok, but using name "Anaconda" is in bad taste?

  • des #40 1 year ago

    EA should pay EG for 4/10...those games sell a lot

  • TheGuvernor #41 1 year ago


    Hope it wipes the floor with COD/Activision.
    Never forget how Activision/Infinty Ward were so willing to sell out their loyal pc fanbase!
    Don't relent!

    (And, yes, i know IW have moved on!)