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How EA Intends To Overthrow The Reigning FPS King

How do you take down a blockbuster? By making one of your own, of course. But in this industry, it must be top-quality, too.

EA is well aware of this fact. It's why they're always talking about producing games that score high on Metacritic; they know that titles that hold average critic scores of 9+ typically perform far better on the sales charts. So, the plan to overthrow Call of Duty is simple for EA; said boss man John Riccitiello- we'll just make a better game. That's the idea.

"If I had to pick the story I'd like to play out next year is we ship a 90 [Metacritic scoring game] and they ship an 85. ...what I've witnessed a couple of times in the games industry is the way you unseat a market leader is you make a better game a couple of times in a row."

For the record, Black Ops and Battlefield: Bad Company 2 both hold average review scores of 8.8 at Metacritic, and EA has pegged their vaunted Battlefield series as the new ruler. Not only do the shooter fans have super high expectations for the upcoming Battlefield 3, many will claim Bad Company 2 and Black Ops are quite similar in terms of quality. In fact, some will say BC2 is the FPS of 2010. Added Riccitiello:

"Our next game [Battlefield 3] 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.

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 [2], but most importantly for us, Battlefield 3, which I feel incredibly good about."

Analysts and publishers have long since warmed to the following formula: make a game that tops the list of critic recommendations, and you have a financial success. There are always a few exceptions to the rule, of course, but in stark contrast to most any other entertainment medium, most of the best-selling video games are also widely recognized as some of the best in terms of quality.

So go for it, EA. You make a great game; we'll reward it.

Tags: ea, game industry, call of duty, battlefield

12/5/2010 9:14:35 PM John Shepard

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Comments (40 posts)

THE-GAMER
Sunday, December 05, 2010 @ 10:16:45 PM
Reply

''Frostbite which I think is at least in my opinion is a class act for FPS''

Frostbite is beast, love the realism

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CH1N00K
Sunday, December 05, 2010 @ 10:21:30 PM
Reply

EA has been making some pretty bold claims lately. I know that they are prepared to put their money where their mouth is, but most companies that start bragging up their product, usually end up chewing on their own words.

That being said, I would love to see something else come along an unseat COD. And when a couple of big companies set out to one up each other in quality of games? We the gamers win no matter what...

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frostface
Sunday, December 05, 2010 @ 10:26:45 PM

Hey dude, must finish out that Army of TWO game.

As for your statement, normally yes that would ring through. But I've tried recommending MoH to ya but you went out and got MAG instead. Both EAs games (BF:BC2/MoH) are the superior FPSs. I recommended MoH because I know your style of shooter and believe me, it's your style of shooter dude! You've missed so many nights with the gang in these games. Pick one of them up and come play! And tell your Mum I said hello!!! lol

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CH1N00K
Sunday, December 05, 2010 @ 10:43:08 PM

Lol, I know...I had the game in my hand the other day. But just as I had made up my mind to actually go pay for it. I thought about how much little time I have lately with designing a house, clearing the lot...not to mention the games I've already got that I haven't finished....So I put it back. I imagine by the time I actually pick it up, you guys will have moved on to something else. And I think I'm good for shooter's for now. I've already mentioned before, I only plan on looking at 3 next year. Socom 4, Killzone 3 and Resistance 3 are topping my list so far.

But if you ever see me online and you want to get some time in, let me know. I was having a blast with you guys in RDR and U2...and yeah, we need to finish Ao2....

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frostface
Monday, December 06, 2010 @ 6:12:09 AM

Lucky enough that I actually do plan on getting them three games ya mentioned next year. RDR is a blast, I'm just holding off on playing more of the online until I get my new internet connection set up at the start of next month. That way there'll be less chance of getting DC'd all the time. As for MoH and BF:BC2, I can pretty much guarantee that we'll, or at least I will, be playing both for a very long time. So if you get a chance to get either one, you should do it.
Glad to see the house plans are coming along nicely. Ya can fill me in next time we're getting a game in. Peace dude!
Last edited by frostface on 12/6/2010 6:12:57 AM

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shaydey77
Monday, December 06, 2010 @ 2:40:34 PM

@ frostface. What ISP ya getting?

WiiMax...it's coming across the nation!! :P

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frostface
Monday, December 06, 2010 @ 3:48:55 PM

@shaydey77, damn you for putting that Wiimax tune in my head lol
They're in the process of putting in the cables for Chorus/NTL, so it should be up and running in my area by the start of the new year.

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frostface
Sunday, December 05, 2010 @ 10:21:32 PM
Reply

BF:BC2 and MoH both wipe the floor with Black Ops. BF:BC2 imo is FPS game of the year, hands down. I'm not gonna go into a rant about CoD:BO. I'll just leave it that I was really disappointed with that game.
MoH had some hiccups too but they seem to of been resolved mostly. Pit it against CoD:BO, which gets done all to often and really shouldn't, and MoH rules.
MoH is for grown ups, BOs is just too cartoony and filled with gimmicks. Obviously Treyarch did something right because they've got full servers most nights, if you can get passed the in-game lobby.
This year however, BF:BC2 was king. PSX crew has had some great games on there and just this week EA supported the game with 4 new free maps. It's just another league of FPS imo.

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dkmrules
Monday, December 06, 2010 @ 12:55:24 AM

I'm sorry, but MoH was definitely not better than black ops, heck it wasn't even as good as BC2. MoH was a disappointment that only managed a 75 rating on metacritic.
Last edited by dkmrules on 12/6/2010 12:58:21 AM

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Godslim
Monday, December 06, 2010 @ 4:52:17 AM

yeh lol what are u on about admittidly im disapointed with black ops but its still better than moh

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frostface
Monday, December 06, 2010 @ 6:23:13 AM

We're gonna have to respectfully disagree here guys. I'm not into fanboyism's when it comes to my shooters. I like my CoDs, Battlefields and Medal of Honors. If a game is good I'll give it credit for being good. When I make a statement that MoH is better than CoD, it's my opinion that it is and I'm gonna stand by it.
CoD single player campaign was fun. My gripe with the game was/is with the multiplayer. The weapon design sucks. The sound from them, the sight attachments (better off sticking with the iron sights) sucks. Treyarch improved on the killstreaks abuse seen in MW2, only to include a ridiculous remote control car which becomes equally annoying.
But all of that I can live with. The real failure is the party system and the connection issues as a whole. You can spend 10 mins at a time waiting to get in a lobby, getting dc'd from the lobby, getting into a game and not being able to hear all your party, then getting migrated to another host before getting dc'd again. This isn't Treyarchs first shot at multiplayer so they should of had it nailed down by now.
And forget that 75 on Metacritic. MoH was always being compared to CoD before it was even released. The game is a completely different style of shooter. Because it was different and wasn't more of a CoD style game, it got down scored for what it wasn't. If CoD is your style shooter, buy a CoD. Don't down score a game because it aims for a different style of gameplay.
Imo, the more realistic MoH style of play is my personal preference. Better weapon design (although admittingly limited choice but what you get are quality), better sound quality from the guns (nothing in CoD:BO sounds or feels like the kick off a Battle-rifle in MoH)and less gimmicky killstreaks. The arcadey pop art style of CoD, seems to be more your style.
Last edited by frostface on 12/6/2010 6:31:58 AM

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Norrin Radd
Monday, December 06, 2010 @ 9:17:21 PM

I prefer MoH as well. An excellent excellent game, really. The sound in that game is tremendous - better than any other shooter I've ever played, by far.
Last edited by Norrin Radd on 12/6/2010 9:18:02 PM

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AshT
Sunday, December 05, 2010 @ 11:02:50 PM
Reply

Its about time now someone overthrow COD

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Alienange
Sunday, December 05, 2010 @ 11:07:57 PM
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These bold claims wouldn't be coming from a man who's feeling the heat from investors now would they?

Sounds to me like he's giving the old "We flubbed up but wait until you see what we have next!"

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Ben Dutka PSXE [Administrator]
Sunday, December 05, 2010 @ 11:30:52 PM

Maybe. Not sure how badly EA has "flubbed up," though, what with Hot Pursuit, Battlefield, Madden, and other good-quality games.

Back in 2007, they were really in the doghouse but they stepped up and were true to their word about producing better PS3 games (after the Madden 08 30 fps PS3 version fiasco).

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aaronisbla
Monday, December 06, 2010 @ 12:46:02 AM

sorry to say but that was spoken like a hardcore fan of anything COD related. Perhaps you could explain this flub up you speak of
Last edited by aaronisbla on 12/6/2010 12:47:01 AM

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dkmrules
Monday, December 06, 2010 @ 12:57:47 AM

Hot pursuit was on my list, and I even had it pre-ordered on amazon...... Then I heard it wasn't split screen, and my joys disappeared along with EA getting 60 bucks from me.

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jaybiv
Monday, December 06, 2010 @ 2:42:03 AM

Hey Ben, Madden is el garbage. I didn't buy battlefield after playing the demo. EA is still EA, a too big for it's own good company. Fans are revolting over their cash cow sporting games, because EA is all about the dollar. I give them credit for Hot Pursuit in allowing Criterion make the game. Right now, EA is spaghetti selling. Throwing up ideas until one sticks. They have too much overhead to use this approach.

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Orvisman
Monday, December 06, 2010 @ 7:49:33 AM

And Activision isn't all about the dollar?
Last edited by Orvisman on 12/6/2010 7:50:32 AM

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Ben Dutka PSXE [Administrator]
Monday, December 06, 2010 @ 10:21:06 AM

jaybiv: Your opinion doesn't translate to fact. Maybe you want to read some reviews for Madden and Battlefield...you're not exactly in the majority, so you can't just jump on the anti-big business bandwagon because you didn't like certain games.

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Alienange
Monday, December 06, 2010 @ 11:57:13 AM

@ aaronisbla - Try reading the news buddy. Investors were none too happy with EA's recent sales numbers.

And oh, my comment had nothing to do with CoD, but good on you for insulting 20 million people.
Last edited by Alienange on 12/6/2010 12:00:37 PM

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Nynja
Monday, December 06, 2010 @ 1:51:30 PM

EA is having an identity crysis (see what I did thar?), this much I agree with. Even though EA remains "king" of the sports arena, potentual sales have been stolen by Activision's COD franchise. Just about every competitive online game has suffered from this.

What EA needs to do:

1. Stop trying to make a "Halo Killer".
2. Step back and look at the direction of the market.
3. Take the best ideas from all online competitive games and start by building the community.

Above all else, make it easy to jump in and play.

You have a great series, Medal of Honor, that received a long overdue revival. Now dedicate more money and time to perfecting that experience by starting with the community.

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Dancemachine55
Sunday, December 05, 2010 @ 11:21:20 PM
Reply

Based on technology and fun factor, Bad Company 2 takes the cake.

All my friends are Gaga for Black Ops right now, but they hate playing with me cos all I do is complain.

Problems with Black Ops include lag, fast deaths, minimum strategy, a lot of luck, no vehicles, no medic class, and worst of all, no destructible environments. The maps are tiny and Activision loves charging an arm and a leg for a few new maps and some rehashed maps. Geez, talk about laziness and taking advantage of the people!!!!

I have never had as much fun with an FPS as I have with Bad Company 2. Being the terrible shot I am, I had a blast playing Medic for my friends and constantly bringing them back to life, hijacking tanks, helicopters and the like.

If Battelfield 3 can keep those features and add more of the good stuff, or even just fine tune some of the laggier mechanics, I believe they will have a COD killer on their hands.

Now all EA need to do is spend stupid amounts of money on advertising and demo or launch events to get the word out. If Activision is good at anything, it's promoting crap.

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aaronisbla
Monday, December 06, 2010 @ 12:56:54 AM

Ah, a fellow medic player, i use all classes but im in love with the MG3, yeah its damage is low compared to other guns, but im deadly with it, not sure how or why but im more accurate with it than most other LMGs on the game. I guess im use to the rate of fire. I play on hardcore only though, so it does negate its lack of power a bit

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jaybiv
Monday, December 06, 2010 @ 2:45:20 AM

EA will start charging Activision type cheese for DLC maps if they can ever become as successful as COD.

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frostface
Monday, December 06, 2010 @ 6:41:24 AM

@Dancemachine55: Exactly dude, everything you just mentioned sums up my earlier statements regarding CoD:BO.

@Jaybiz, Just got 4 free maps from EA for BF:BC2 this week, nearly a year after its release and they could of charged for them. More than Activision have ever done. I don't deal in speculation such as what EA may do, it's what they're doing now that are turning out better quality games. If Activision ever start doing the same, I'll give them their due respect!

Last edited by frostface on 12/6/2010 6:42:05 AM

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aaronisbla
Monday, December 06, 2010 @ 12:50:49 AM
Reply

I strongly believe they have already done so with BFBC2 but there's always room for improvement.

With steady improvements that have been made and still to come, perhaps it would force Activision to finally start pushing the envelope and provide a much needed overhaul to certain things about the CoD series. At times i just feel like the series is being ran into the ground, similar to what happened to the Tony Hawk series.

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spiderboi
Monday, December 06, 2010 @ 1:06:14 AM
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No argument there that CoD:BO was too cartooney. In fact, first time I played it, it felt like the characters were made out of paper. No sense of weight at all (MoH had a slight feel when running).
But I think they need to create a better game AND create that same (or better) sense of achievement when playing MP (as these games are more known for their MP). Playing MoH where I just level and get guns (and low count guns that just repeat), and XP is relatively constant as compared to CoD:BO wherein i can up my XP and buy something else. Sure it may be gibberish to some but yeah its somewhat a sense of accomplishment as well. I speak this only comparing BO and MoH. I hadn't a chance to play BFBC2. GT5 drained my money for the month.

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MadKatBebop
Monday, December 06, 2010 @ 1:06:52 AM
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I love the Battlefield games. Their really the only online fps action I will ever need.

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Lawless SXE
Monday, December 06, 2010 @ 1:19:55 AM
Reply

It's a good idea, and I think that they can do it. Medal of Honour no longer holds the clout it once did, but Battlefield is a growing and strengthening franchise. They can learn lessons from one franchise to the other in order to better both, provided they don't make them feel overly similar.

Honestly though, I think EA are putting out some of the best products available. The NFS games, Burnout (are they going to do another one?), Dead Space, Dante's Inferno, Dragon Age and more than a few others. If EA says they can do it, then I believe them,

And I was tempted to pick up BF:BC2 a few weeks ago, but then I remembered my ridiculous backlog, as well as games that I want more and then what's coming next year... Ugh... Too much.
Peace.

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swapnilgyani
Monday, December 06, 2010 @ 1:49:38 AM
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Oh lovely! More concentration of talent and efforts on the FPS genre. Just what the industry needs.

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Godslim
Monday, December 06, 2010 @ 4:55:38 AM
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"EA has pegged their vaunted Battlefield series as the new ruler."
hehe i wouldnt say that quite yet

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Xplaced
Monday, December 06, 2010 @ 8:37:33 AM
Reply

I am really looking forward to Battlefield 3. I agree with most here that BC2 is definitely the FPS of the year. It just has so much for everyone. Plus the Medic class alone makes it awesome. :)

I like CoD:BO also, and I find myself playing it a bit more lately just because it is new and its level up pace is fast. The Prestige idea is nice, and I would rather level up to a cap quicker and then have a choice of staying there or doing it again with some extra perks like CoD:BO does it. BC2 is great, but after you get all the guns unlocked for everything, there isn't much point (for me) to go up to 50 just to say I did it. I started playing on another PS3 name just so I can go through getting all the guns and stuff again. That's more fun to me than going from level 30 to 50 with nothing to unlock.

If I had to pick one FPS to play, it would be BC2 or MoH. Not CoD:BO. The 'ol BLOPS has too many things about it I don't like, even though it has a lot of things I do like. Stuff like the iron sighs being best because you can actually SEE with them, the models looking just stupid when they are running, the gun sounds being all like pop guns, and that it's just a purely twitch shooter with about zero strategy involved makes it at least 3rd on the list of good shooters out there for me.

I have really high hopes for Battlefield 3 and can't wait for it. Until then I'll enjoy the new BC2 maps and Vietnam when it hits!

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Snaaaake
Monday, December 06, 2010 @ 8:46:32 AM
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If only it were that simple EA, if only it were that simple...............

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SILVERAMMO
Monday, December 06, 2010 @ 9:18:12 AM
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im my opinion cod is stale alredy ill keep buiyng it cuz its fun but they need to experiment more

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slugga_status
Monday, December 06, 2010 @ 9:59:40 AM
Reply

I haven't played BC: BC2 yet..MoH is ok to me..CoD: BO is just like any other CoD. Easy to pick up and play...

To me the best FPS of this year that I've played is MAG. They keep making that game better and better. Too many people are sleep on that game. Actually gives you that feeling that you "in" war..Just my thoughts until I play BC2 at least..

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Zorigo
Monday, December 06, 2010 @ 11:39:15 AM
Reply

WHOEVER wants to throw of COD as king has to hype their game. it wont even get close to being the name on everyones lips like COD is otherwise.

i mean some of my friends who dont know crap about games, and yet they could tell me stuff about COD.

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Nynja
Monday, December 06, 2010 @ 1:37:17 PM
Reply

Take the latest version of Medal of Honor and make dynamic maps playable with multiple game types, add more variety to weapons and attachments, throw in a lobby system similar to Resistance 2, Uncharted 2, or Call of Duty and you have a winner.

You have the gameplay to compete with COD, now you need the community and variety to beat it.

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dveisalive
Monday, December 06, 2010 @ 2:16:31 PM
Reply

I learned my lesson dont judge a demo by is playability until released lol. BC2 was amazing game especially online etc.. I believe BC3 is gonna blow away even Modern Warfare 3 in which its still gonna be using the same engine but not second generation like Frostbites revamp engine O_o

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DjEezzy
Monday, December 06, 2010 @ 3:25:55 PM
Reply

I'd say that both CoD: BO and BFBC2 have their strengths and weaknesses. They are both great games. Now BFBC2 is leaps and bounds better than MW2 but BLOPS holds it's own. I think EA are making some pretty top quality games. Madden is ok, BFBC2 is one of my favorite games of the year and Fifa probably is my favorite game of the year. I think EA have put their game face on and i think it's good that they have a bar set for how well they want their games to do. I think more publishers should take this attitude towards making games.

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