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Report: EA Continues Verbal Assault On Call Of Duty
At his Gamescom keynote address, Activision publishing CEO Eric Hirshberg called for a truce in the war of words between Activision's Call of Duty series and Electronic Arts' Battlefield. EA has responded, and it's going full steam ahead.
Electronic Arts corporate communications vice president Jeff Brown took Hirshberg's olive branch and doused it in flames. "Welcome to the big leagues Eric – I know you're new in the job, but someone should have told you this is a competitive industry," Brown told IndustryGamers. "You've got every reason to be nervous," Brown continued. "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."
Ouch.
Battlefield 3 (shown) isn't going to outsell Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 this year, but it will take a bite out of Activision's juggernaut – although if it's to the extent that Brown predicts remains to be seen. At a minimum, however, EA's verbal strategy is a good one if only for the fact that whenever anyone talks about Call of Duty these days, Battlefield naturally comes up. EA may lose the Call of Duty: Modern Wafare 3 vs. Battlefield 3 sales battle, but the PR war seems to be going its way.
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