Everybody knows that there is no love loss between EA and Activision. This is even truer when it’s about the game war between Battlefield 3 and Call of Duty Modern Warfare 3. Mr. Jeff Brown ,a spokesperson for EA, had a few choice words for Activision. The following was his statement about Activision and Call of Duty Modern Warfare 3.
“You’ve got every reason to be nervous. Last year Activision had a 90 share in the shooter category. This year, Battlefield 3 is going to take you down to 60 or 70. At that rate, you’ll be out of the category in 2-3 years. If you don’t believe me, go to the store and try to buy a copy of Guitar Hero or Tony Hawk.”
That is what we like to call an industry burn. Jeff is referring to how Call of Duty series owns a huge chunk of the first person shooter market, but if people remember Tony Hawk series and Guitar Hero series were on top for awhile too. Those series of games have now become tossed to the wayside by Activision. The only massive problem with this is that I highly doubt Call of Duty will be completely gone in 2-3 years, and there is no way Activision is going to send the series to slaughter till they’ve milked it dry.
While there is hope players will get tired of the repetition in the Call of Duty series, the name of Call of Duty alone appeals to the market. Activision could slap the name Call of Duty on just about anything and the masses will buy it. A ton of hardcore gamers are willing to jump to Battlefield 3 if the game lives up to promises, but if EA blows this then it’s going to make it harder to take down the juggernaut that is Call of Duty. Only time will tell if EA can live up to their words, and here is hoping they are not eating them by the end of the year.
[Images and Source via gamepops and G4tv.com ]
