14 DAY TRIAL // The big first person shooter launch of 2010 for Electronic Arts, the Afghanistan set Medal of Honor, has failed to impress most reviewers and has not made a dent in the overall sales numbers for its main rival, Call of Duty, coming from Activision.
But John Riccitiello, who is the chief executive officer of EA, believes that his company can create better experiences than its main rival and the moment for a new balance of power in the first person shooter space could come in 2011.
When talking about the future, Riccitiello emphasized the importance of Battlefield 3, saying “Our next game is being built on the second generation of Frostbite which I think is at least in my opinion is a class act for FPS. I think we're going to lift the game pretty dramatically in the first-person shooter category.”
The CEO is also pointing out to the broad nature of the first person shooter family that is published by Electronic Arts, saying, “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, but most importantly for us, Battlefield 3, which I feel incredibly good about.”
Electronic Arts also has an ace in its sleeve, the new game from Respawn Entertainment, the new developer founded by the two main Infinity Ward leaders who were ousted earlier in the year.
Electronic Arts has not released any details linked to the new game, which will presumably also be a first person shooter and might arrive at some point during 2012.
Activision Blizzard has already said that a new Call of Duty will be launched in the second half of next year, although it has not specified who will be handling the development duties for it or when it is taking place.
Rumors have popped up about a move to space for the Call of Duty franchise, under the guiding hand of former Dead Space developers.