EA reveals strategy to beat COD

By Fred Dutton Published 3 December, 2010

Riccitiello: "We can take the lead."

EA has revealed its out-there strategy to take the FPS crown away from Activision and its Call of Duty series: make a superior game.

EA boss John Riccitiello told Kotaku, "If I had to pick the story I'd like to play out next year it's we ship a 90 [Metacritic score] and they ship an 85.

"What I've witnessed a couple of times in the games industry is the way you unseat a market leader is you make a better game a couple of times in a row."

"I have great expectations to do a lot better in 2011 than in 2010 on the strength of a couple of products like Bulletstorm and Crysis [2], but most importantly for us, Battlefield 3, which I feel incredibly good about."

Nobody would suggest EA has had a bad year with its shooter offerings, per se – Medal of Honor grabbed an 8/10 and the excellent Battlefield: Bad Company 2 won a 9/10, with both seeing strong sales.

However, it all pales in comparison to Activision's Call of Duty juggernaut. The latest entry in the series – Treyarch's Black Ops – sold a staggering 5.6 million copies in just one day.

Riccitiello went on to reveal that the new Battlefield title is being built on the second generation of the Frostbite engine – tech that he believes "is a class act for FPS".

"I think we're going to lift the game pretty dramatically in the first-person shooter category," he claimed.

Picture of Fred.

About Fred Dutton

Fred Dutton is Eurogamer's US news editor, based in Washington DC.

Read more articles from Fred by visiting the Fred Dutton archive page.

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Comments (48) Latest comment 1 year ago

Comments for this article are now closed, but please feel free to continue chatting on the forum!

  • Emmit_Assassin #1 1 year ago

    Good luck to them with Crisis 2 and Battlefield 3. I hope they sell well. They're not going to unseat CoD, but they can scare Acti into letting Treyarch and IW do something different with the series.

  • makeamazing #2 1 year ago

    Good luck with stopping cod. And just for the record medal of honour sucked.

    It did, but then again so did BO ;)

    I just hope that now they got one game out of the way, they can start to make it different to COD, because i really think the whole FPS war genre needs a shakeup.

  • hiddenranbir #3 1 year ago

    Why do they have to even talk about this nonsense? Just put your head down and work on it, if it happens it will happen.

  • man.the.king #4 1 year ago

    Wow! Unseat leader by making better product!

    That's as insightful as...Michael Pachter.

  • chasejamie #5 1 year ago

    "If I had to pick the story I'd like to play out next year it's we ship a 90 [Metacritic score] and they ship an 85."

    Fuck off.

  • Skurmedel #6 1 year ago

    What if their next game is a 94.99 and Activision's is 94.999... OMG BIG FAILURE!

  • icematt12 #7 1 year ago

    I can hope, Black Ops seems to be only game talked about at work. Slightly worrying, more to the industry than just CoD.

  • Feanor #8 1 year ago

    EG overrated Medal of Honor.

  • RevanNL #9 1 year ago

    Here's a tip: shut your mouth and just focus on developing great games. Come on, EA have spent the majority of this year yelling about how MOH would own COD instead of spending that time on making the game great.

  • cianchristopher #10 1 year ago

    No need do anything, EA. Activision will drive sales of future Call of Duty games into the ground all by themselves, just like they did with Tony Hawk and Guitar Hero.

    One thing you can do, though. Get rid of the ugly screen tearing in Battlefield on consoles. Call of Duty doesn't have any, and it really helps the image quality. 60fps would be nice, but it can't really happen on this generation of consoles with the Frostbite engine. But at least v-sync it, please!

  • jtodroc #11 1 year ago

    This isn't yahoo or youtube. Please fuck off with the spam posts.

    I really would love Battlefield to sell more than CoD next year. I love Bad Company 2 but I also loved Modern Warfare 2. I ended up playing MW2 a lot more than BC2 as that was the game that all my mates had.

    For some reason I've already gone off Black Ops. Don't know what it is, played for the 1st couple of weeks but haven't played it at all this week. Don't know if its the server problems that put me off.

    Started playin Bad Company 2 again this week & absolutely lovin it again.
    Edited by jtodroc at 03/12/10 @ 22:49

  • Murby #12 1 year ago

    Jesus this user is posting everywhere!

  • thedgam #13 1 year ago

    They might not beat CoD in terms of sales, but I have full faith that games such as Crysis 2 and the new Battlefield will be miles ahead of CoD in terms of quality. Go EA!

  • Kamata #14 1 year ago

    They're only saying this because they'll be publishing and distributing 'Respawn Entertainments' first offering....which lets face it, being led by Jason West and Vince Zapella, will kick Treyarch's efforts in to dust.

  • coldfoot #15 1 year ago

    BC2 is still a better multiplayer game than Black Ops. It's a shame the single player campaign isn't as good and doesn't have the same Michael Bay factor as Black Ops.

  • Skurmedel #16 1 year ago

    Ap3xx: Yeah, and the "experience points"... "Threw a grenade +20", "Ate a jalapeño with cheese ration +100", "Violent flatulence -50" etc. I find all these blingy things distracting.

  • abot #17 1 year ago

    If you want to beat COD never make MOH again. Greg Goodrich should be sacked. If EA is going to continue to make MOH which they will they better reboot the game again cause even though it had the potential to be a good game it turned out to be an epic fail in its execution.

    Edited by abot at 04/12/10 @ 22:09

  • metalangel #18 1 year ago

    Give us a non-dumbed down Battlefield on consoles (so not another "Bad Company" Battlefield) and you might be in with a chance.

  • SleepyDeathFred #19 1 year ago

    Bad Company 2 was, and is, excellent. It just needs more maps, and needed new ones sooner.

  • thomaspower0 #20 1 year ago

    However I don't really like EA, I think CoD will get beaten. We've had 4 CoD's with basicly the same gameplay (CoD 4 to 7), so I think the customers are done with it. Since my X360 broke (4 days ago), I started playing MoH again on my PC. It doesn't have enough maps, weapons or gamemodes to play it for a long period, but it's a good start.

    Don't really know about BFBC2. I think big maps are kinda lame because of the fact that you're not instantly dropped into the action, might buy it if I can find it for a low price. I hope BF3 will be great.

    Crysis 2. I hope the game will be as great as I expect it to be. They should make big (like in Crysis 1) maps and smaller maps, and many things to unlock. I'm going to buy it for my PC, but I'll definitely encourage my friends to buy it on their xbox, since the majority doesn't have a capable PC. Hope they will get a stanle framerate on consoles, which wasn't the case for the x30 beta.

  • G-Money #21 1 year ago

    "Don't really know about BFBC2. I think big maps are kinda lame because of the fact that you're not instantly dropped into the action, might buy it if I can find it for a low price. I hope BF3 will be great. "

    You spawn on you squad members so not sure what your point about big maps is...

  • Nephirion #22 1 year ago

    There is every possibility EA could unseat COD as alot fo the talent has left Activision and gone with EA as said before those individuals working with Dice could easily produce something revolutionary. I hope this is the last time we see the same COD engine used that alongside the poor network code desperately needs to re-written.

  • aphex187 #23 1 year ago

    The reason people say MoH sucked is not because the game sucked it's because they sucked at the MP.

  • djed #24 1 year ago

    seriously, EA needs a strategy guide to beat COD? that's pretty weak, the game's too easy.

  • Physically_Insane #25 1 year ago

    "What I've witnessed a couple of times in the games industry is the way you unseat a market leader is you make a better game a couple of times in a row."

    What, and then go back to shoveling out shit for the next five years? How about consistently making a better game each year?

  • Raziel #26 1 year ago

    Perhaps once they make games that are not on the horrible Frostbite engine I'll start to listen to EA.
    Which I hope they do, because Call of Duty is only going to go downhill faster and faster.

  • icelt #27 1 year ago

    Horrible frost bite engine? Because including bullet drop is horrible. Because by removing hitscans actually having to lead your target is horrible. Because including a destructible environment is horrible. Because allowing for simultaneous infantry and vehicular combat is horrible. Because providing real honest to god servers for online play is horrible!! Technically that last point has nothing to do with the engine but still ;)

    So now that I think about it a little bit, in truth your comment is horrible.

  • GaryHoward #28 1 year ago

    "EA has revealed its out-there strategy to take the FPS crown away from Activision and its Call of Duty series: make a superior game.",

    Derrr, you think so [in a retarded voice]

  • knightmt #29 1 year ago

    The thing that I most liked about Battlefield 2 was that each level deserved more than one play through. You could play each level 5 different ways and the battlefield would respond differently. I do not know if others enjoy a lateral shooter but I sure did. I like games that stretch their genres.

  • hy4000uk #30 1 year ago

    i'm sure EA's strategy of pussifying the battlefield series for consoles and releasing second rate modern warfare knockoffs called medal of honour will pay off

  • Pwnsweet #31 1 year ago

    Dear John Riccitiello,

    Does battlefield 3 run 60fps v-synced? No? Well then, my friend, you have no chance of beating CoD I'm afraid.

  • brod #32 1 year ago

    @Pwnsweet

    Why would you use vsync for multiplayer FPS? It adds input lag... :)

  • Smerdyakov #33 1 year ago

    The battle for generic FPS supremacy is on! Let the insipid-franchise wars begin.

  • Pwnsweet #34 1 year ago

    @brod,

    The input lag introduced is minimal if the game is running at 60fps as opposed to 30fps. But you're right, it does add input lag. Still, I'd rather a slight increase in input lag than torn frames
    Edited by Pwnsweet at 05/12/10 @ 08:09

  • TadejVig #35 1 year ago

    BF3 - hell yes.

    Frostbite - hell no.

    BFBC2 was really bad IMO, I hate the engine and the god damn dust everywhere, and blur... like I would put salt in my eyes and play a game.

  • Bremenacht #36 1 year ago

    So, since he didn't explicitily say it, we must expect that JR won't do the following:

    - Shut studios and sack a load of people
    - Invest money in just one or two franchises
    - Invest the money saved by sacking people in humungous advertising budgets for just one or two franchises
    - Chomp more cigars and attempt to emulate the 'popularity' of Bobby Kotick.
    - Trebles all round for EA execs.

    Mustn't we?

  • Lord_Gremlin #37 1 year ago

    I doubt they'll succeed. Speaking of which - latest CoD games, including Black Ops suck.And that's part of EA's problem: CoD sells not because it's good. It's somewhere between mediocre and bad.

    Short version: You can't beat CoD by making a better game, CoD is bad already and it sells.
    Edited by Lord_Gremlin at 05/12/10 @ 10:04

  • Freek #38 1 year ago

    Strange how this supposedly "bad" game continuely gets good reviews and is praised for it's strong multiplayer component, that has pretty much defined how you do multiplayer in general.
    Almost everything now features perks and unlockables.

    Battlefield may offer a more deeper tactical gameplay but that isn't want the CoD players are looking for. They want a fast paced run and gun experience.
    So making a fantastic BF game isn't gonna help you EA.

  • NHDave #39 1 year ago

    Bad Company 2 was, and is, excellent. It just needs more maps, and needed new ones sooner.

    Umm Map Pack 7 just came out and Vietnam in 2 weeks

  • NHDave #40 1 year ago

    Battlefield may offer a more deeper tactical gameplay but that isn't want the CoD players are looking for. They want a fast paced run and gun experience.

    Unfortunately this is true.....all my mates play it but I played BLOPS once and it is rubbish......

  • PixelPirate #41 1 year ago

    The problem is with sales as high as COD people who rarely play video games rush out and buy it. They don't read reviews, don't care what's in the press, if they're mates are playing it they want to join in. Once it reaches a critical mass of users it becomes self perpetuating and they buy one game per year, the latest in the franchise and play it to death with their mates.

    It happened with GTA, Halo, Guitar Hero, WOW and now COD.

    Riccitiello is right that they need to be delivering quality constantly for it to get any chance of getting those kinds of sales, but if it will or not is a bit part coincidence, and part public zeitgeist. It needs to be the right product at the right time, and competing with another shooter with a shooter is a bit pointless. It needs to be a game in a genre that doesn't have alot of competition but has alot of potential to be social or have "water cooler" discussions.

  • Drpwnage #42 1 year ago

    Yawn, military shooters so 2003.....Almost as tired a genre as shooters with Space Marines.

    Pac-Man Championship Edition DX feels fresh in comparison to Medal of Bad Duty Company 7...

  • DAN.E.B #43 1 year ago

    I preferer old Ghost Recons with some realism then this head less chicken run and gun
    but whatever floats your boat!

  • Bravestinsane #44 1 year ago

    Whether or EA does or does not beat CoD....

    All i know is battlefield deserves better ratings and sales that CoD does any day.

  • thomaspower0 #45 1 year ago

    Sorry but the frostbite engine isn't bad at all. I'm a person who wants great graphics and Frostbite offers me just that. High res textures, beautiful effects and a shit load of polygons, that's what frostbite offers. The CoD engine is a horrible engine, it's ugly. If you want 60fps you should upgrade or buy a PC. The developement of more beautiful graphics is being slowed down by consoles. A good gaming GPU costs more than a whole console, so I guess a console is really slow compared to fast PC's.

  • CatWeazle #46 1 year ago

    Oh dear, does this mean than BF3 is gonna be a dumbed-down shootin-gallery FPS?

    I was hoping for something a bit more intelligent like BF2, at least for the PC version.

  • maxb #47 1 year ago

    i hope they do make some fps to shake up the market a bit because while cod is shipping shit loads year on year there is no need for progression in the series,its just the same game in a different setting.if ea relly do the job then its the kick up the arse the genre needs imo.

  • RustyBullet #48 1 year ago

    Personaly i much prefer the Battlefield games and lets face it most of the haters are people that just shouldnt be playing it, for two reasons 1 They cant grasp the whole squad aspect and 2 they just cant play it as its just too hard for them. COD is full of one man armys running about like headless chickens.