Call of Duty vs. Battlefield ‘good for the industry’ says EA exec

EA has an impressive portfolio of games heading to current and next-generation consoles in the coming months, and Battlefield is set to take on Call of Duty once again later this year.

The 2 franchises take a very different approach to the first-person shooter genre and attract a huge following, some more loyal to a particular franchise than others. EA Labels president Frank Gibeau believes the competition between the 2 games is positive for the industry and drives innovation.

Asked if Battlefield 4 can outsell Call of Duty: Ghosts, Frank Gibeau told CVG:

“Look, we are absolutely going for it. It’s a competition and we feel really good about Battlefield 4, and we have an old saying at EA which is ‘transition is our friend’, and we’re going to try to lap them with new technology, new innovation and new capabilities. So do I think we’re going to do better than last time? Absolutely.”

“When we started this challenge, back with Bad Company 1, I think the ratio was something like 95/5, so we pushed and pulled to get that figure even,” Gibeau continued. “Something I learned from the EA Sports business – with regards to FIFA versus Pro Evolution and Madden versus 2K – these fights are good for the industry. They’re good for customers. Competition drives innovation, and from our perspective some people snigger at these two companies going head-to-head but actually it’s good for our industry, it’s good for customers and it’s good for our dev team.”

“The shooter rotation we think about now is Battlefield, Titanfall and Battlefront, and so we like those three brands going forward,” he said. “We’re working out how we’re going to line that up because that’s what you’ll see from us. With regards to Medal of Honor, you try things in entertainment and if they don’t work you try something else. From our perspective, Battlefield 3 and Battlefield Premium continues to grow.”

SOURCE: CVG