14 DAY TRIAL // Battlefield 3 will be the shooter to challenge the domination of the first person space by the Call of Duty series from Activision Blizzard and Electronic Arts says that the series is becoming as important as its long running and successful FIFA franchise.
The company knows that it will probably not beat Modern Warfare 3 in terms of sales this year but the aim is to establish a solid presence that it can then expand on.
Jens Uwe Intat, who is a senior vice president in charge of publishing at the European division of Electronic Arts, has told MCV that, “One of my favourite sayings is ‘Rome wasn’t built in a day’. We might not do it Day One, but we are going to take a decent amount share from Activision. In broad numbers, Activision has 90 per cent of the shooter market, and we want to see that go down to 70. I would be even happier if they were left with 60 per cent.”
The executive believes that the process that has seen FIFA become more popular than the Konami published Pro Evolution Soccer will also happen in the first person shooter space and that in a few years Battlefield will become more attractive for gamers than Call of Duty.
Intat also believes that Battlefield could also see a number of brand extension, similar to the new Ultimate Team that was added to FIFA.
He also sees the possibility of expanding the audience for the game, again using FIFA as a model.
The executive said, “FIFA is actually getting more and more attractive in the US. Not the least driven by the phenomenon of soccer itself – the US women’s team has done well, and the male team… well, they’ll have a bit of a wait.”
Battlefield 3 launched on home consoles and the PC in late October and Modern Warfare 3 arrives in early November.