EA having a "bit of fun" with COD-bashing

By Wesley Yin-Poole Published 9 June, 2011

"Everybody loves a heavyweight fight."

EA has defended its Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 bashing as it gears up to the launch of Battlefield 3, saying it's only having "a bit of fun" with it.

Last month EA described Battlefield 3 as "superior" to Activision's all-conquering franchise in every way.

"We know we have a big competitor," CEO John Riccitiello stated. "But head-to-head with Call of Duty in Q3, we have the superior game engine, a superior development studio, and a flat out superior game. Our goal is to significantly gain share in the huge FPS category and to put the other team on defence."

"This game is designed to take that game down," he explained, referring to Battlefield 3. "If you're looking for a battle of the titans – Red Sox vs Yankees... Microsoft or Google - and what the tip-off point is for this holiday season, this is it."

In response, Activision Publishing boss Eric Hirshberg accused EA of talking about Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 more than it should.

"I think EA might talk about our games in the press more than we do," he said. "So, the first thing I say to them is, 'Thanks for the assistance in building awareness.'"

But EA has told Eurogamer the competition between Battlefield and Call of Duty is good for the industry – and for gamers.

"Everybody loves a heavyweight fight," EA Games Label boss Frank Gibeau told Eurogamer at E3 this week. "All the fanfare and pomp and circumstance that goes into it is good for customers and good for the industry.

"It brings a lot of new attentions to things. It forces innovation in terms of the category. It gets customers to choose.

"So from our perspective, we're at our best in these types of situations and we enjoy them, perversely. We're having a bit of fun with it.

"Over the years I've worked on the sports business, too, with FIFA versus PES. It helps keep the business and industry vibrant and driving forward as opposed to getting stale and, 'Boy, there haven't been any good movies out this summer,' type situations. The competition is great for innovation."

Earlier this year, Riccitiello claimed EA and Activision would spend a combined total of around $200 million on marketing their respective shooters.

Battlefield 3 goes first, in October. Modern Warfare 3, which many analysts expect to be the fastest-selling game of all time, follows in November.

Picture of Wesley.

About Wesley Yin-Poole

Wesley is Eurogamer's news editor. He likes news, interviews, and more news. He also likes Street Fighter more than anyone can get him to shut up about it.

Read more articles from Wesley by visiting the Wesley Yin-Poole archive page.

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Comments (31) Latest comment 12 months ago

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

  • Futaba #1 12 months ago

    Hopefully BF3's ad campaign will bring more recruits to the BF cause this year. I've converted to BF from CoD but I can't see them winning this fight :(

    I actually bought BF:BC2 as a birthday present for my brother this week, he plays CoD almost daily so I'll be interested to see how that turns out.

  • BloodSaint #2 12 months ago

    Obiously Battlefield is flat out superior, but I don't think EA should be bashing Acti that much... espically when Treyarch complements Battefield...

  • Raconteur #3 12 months ago

    "EA and Activision introduce revolutionary cross-game multiplayer mode for BF3 and CoD called 'Handbags'."

  • Utopolitan #4 12 months ago

    So it's one dumbass shooter against another dumbass shooter. Yay.

  • bad09 #5 12 months ago

    EA is a multi million dollar games publisher. It's not a bit of fun, it's cringeworthy and childish.

    Your game looks good shut the hell up about COD and concentrate on providing a great experience rather than cussing matches in the playground.

  • linea #6 12 months ago

    Thing is, Battlefield is a classier, more sophisticated proposition. Which is partly why it will never sell as well as CoD. EA really are setting themselves up for eggy face time. Just stick to making good games!

  • PixelPirate #7 12 months ago

    BF requires working together a bit more, and unfortunately the "dave" market don't have the brain capacity for that to happen, so they will stay playing COD until the next fad comes around..

  • Inmediasress #8 12 months ago

    @linea
    No matter what the genre is the more interesting games never sell as good, becauses the masses have the brain capacity of a snail.

  • patriot #9 12 months ago

    I am probably that last person on the planet that plays these games for single player. I honestly can't see them having a better single player campaign than COD.

    Multiplayer is apples and oranges. Wide open areas or shorter DM Style game play.
    Seems everyone just hops on a COD hating band wagon without realizing these games ARE ACTUALLY DIFFERENT....

  • IkariW #10 12 months ago

    They should both be careful not to forget the other, possibly, great games coming out around the same time,
    Skyrim, Mass 3, BatmanAC... but to name a few, I know they aren't the same genre, but to ignore them would be a touch silly of them I think.

  • Wahoffelmadenga #11 12 months ago

    Does the latest generation of BF games have straight up team deathmatch? I ask because the last BF I played was 2142 and none of my COD playing friends seem to be interested in objective games.
    I may just buy both and see if I can tempt them

  • obihobson #12 12 months ago

    IMO BF is superiors to COD, but thats just MO. COD will win becasue for reasons i dont understand most people prefer it.

    If were honest with ourselves we all love a bit of handbags at dawn, thats what makes the forums so amusing. Hopefully the conflict will escalate. Remember the trailers for BC2 having digs at COD, and the dialougue in the single players side swipes at hearbeat sensors!! I reckon EA can get away with it becasue it only aiming to take a small chunk of the COD player base. It knows it cant win, and for the people who love BF games its kinda amusing! I dont want BF to win, most BC2 games are filled with people who's balls have dropped, i dont want to have to listen to sceeching kids when i am playing a game. !!!

  • homerramone #13 12 months ago

    Not sure why they bother. Some prefer COD, some prefer BF, some like both, and some like neither. None of the 'my dads bigger than your dad' shite is likely to change those peoples opinions.

    Edited by homerramone at 09/06/11 @ 09:39

  • butler` #14 12 months ago

    the "dave" market

    haha, i enjoyed that

  • Graveland #15 12 months ago

    EA are going to end up with smegma on their face.

  • thedriffter50 #16 12 months ago

    EA are acting childish and are only giving MW3 more ammo.

    It would be more effective if EA acted as if Call of Duty didn't exist.

  • Slipstream #17 12 months ago

    This ought to be proof of EA's confidence in BF3, I'll take it as that.

  • EvilMonkey70 #18 12 months ago

    I think if EA want to tempt people away from cod they will need to introduce more game modes (i.e. Team deathmatch) I personally like objective games but I don't think the cod masses will go for conquest or rush mode.

  • Mister-Wario #19 12 months ago

    Unfortunately I fear that all the quality and marketing you can muster will still fall to established brand names.

  • OxWearingSocks #20 12 months ago

    BF3 'war sim' vs MW3 'hollywood war sim'. It's like the marines bashing Ridley Scott saying Black Hawk Down is inferior to real war. What are most people going to do; buy the movie or enlist? Want a popcorn entertainment shooter then get MW3. If you want a more realistic war 'simulation' get BF3. Even if one of the games sells more, why is it necessarily bad for the other? I can see BF3 maintaing a great core set of gamers for years to come whilst MW3 will be shelved and forgotten by November 2012 for CoD9.

  • Tryhard #21 12 months ago

    Competition is good say EA.So why did they buy the rights to the NFL.Killing off NFL 2k games.And allowing Madden to become stale and just a graphic,cosmetic update each year?Anyone can see BF is way ahead with its FB2 engine.I just hope all the COD players take time to learn what BF is all about,rather than play it like another COD.

  • geeza2020 #22 12 months ago

    This is going to get a lot more petty an immature over the next few months, I wish they'd just concentrate on making their games :(

  • SAMagic #23 12 months ago

    "I think EA might talk about our games in the press more than we do," he said. "So, the first thing I say to them is, 'Thanks for the assistance in building awareness.'"

    Oh, awareness of CODs money-sucking nature doesn't need much help thanks to Kotick and company.

  • metalangel #24 12 months ago

    If Battlefield players > CoD players, then surely ArmA2 players > all of you, if a "more sophisticated", "realistic" and "classier" game is the criteria ;)

  • Meh #25 12 months ago

    of course MW3 will be the fastest selling game, it's a n00b fest... makes the better games that much more enjoyable knowing that we won't have a bunch of 8 yr old screaming down a headset with about as much vocabulary as a sheep...

    yes i enjoyed MW1, but after that the shit pretty much destroyed the fan.

    EA won't win in sales, but wins with quality. fact.

  • BadDevotions #26 12 months ago

    CoD for single-player
    BF for multi-player

    simples!

  • Peter_LIAR_Molyneux #27 12 months ago

    But...but...THQ wants to be in the conversation with Homefront.

  • king26 #28 12 months ago

    World at War was the last CoD I bought, after realising it was a reskin of the previous effort in a WW2 setting. I predicted the reskins and milking of this franchise years ago. But as a massive fps fan I've loved MAG, Killzone 2 and 3 and most of all BF:BC2. BC2 is the best fps this gen and the only people who seem capable of outdoing them are themselves with BF3. Good Luck to them

  • SavageEvil #29 12 months ago

    Not many people understand the concept of marketing? This is what they are supposed to do, call out the competition and let the people decide. How do you get people to pay attention to you, you talk about the biggest thing out and say that you can better it or be an option to it...it's all down to sales here. Granted I watched both of these games' videos and MW3 looks exactly like MW, not one destructible piece of environment anywhere and well it's looking quite dated with it's vaseline covered visuals, sure the environments look better than the older games but BF3 is still leaps and bounds beyond MW3 from a visual standpoint. MW3 is starting to suffer from resting on their laurels too much, I will play it to see if there is any innovation from a gameplay standpoint but I am not expecting a miracle. The single player still looks on rails and like Treyarch's not one bullet fired auto play Black Ops nonsense.

    I expect to be wowed by BF3 simply because I own and play BFBC2 and BF3 makes that game look old and crappy from a simple visual standpoint, hopefully DICE has continued the game play innovations and kept the balance right. Both of these games will sell a lot, I don't care if BF3 defeats MW3 I just want to get my BF3 on.

    Side note, wonder if BF3 will be on WiiU, hmmmm!

  • Rens11 #30 12 months ago

    I'd rather battlefield didn't 'win' this battle as the game will become flooded with 12year old kids screaming in there mics and glitching just like cod is now

  • Valland #31 12 months ago

    I prefer MW2 because I can't aim for shit...
    All I need is a knife and the right perks.