Battlefield 3 will be the best game released this year, reckons EA CEO John Riccitiello.
Speaking at the Goldman Sachs Technology and Internet Conference, Riccitiello conceded that EA lost the market leading position it once had with Medal of Honor, but added, "we're after it now".
"There's a great thing about an annual franchise, whether it's us or our competition; when you've got that annual franchise it's a meal ticket, it can generate a great deal of income.
"One of the problems with an annual franchise is you don't take the time to reengineer the underlying codebase so that it's as 'next-generation' as it can be," he added.
"We think there's a window of opportunity here. We've been investing for three years to build Battlefield 3. I think it will stand up as the best product in the industry this year... and we're going dead at 'em."
Battlefield 3's impressive Frostbite 2 engine has been described by EA as "incredible technology that takes animation, destruction, lighting, scale and audio to new heights".
Battlefield 3 will feature 64-player multiplayer on PC and 24-players on console.
More details arrived via the US mag Game Informer earlier this month, including news that PC is being treated as the lead platform for the EA game.
Comments
35 comments so far...
STEVONYMO on 16 Feb '11 said:
Keep pushing those boundaries guys and I will keep on playing! I hope they can pull this off, always loved the Battlefield games.
El Mag on 16 Feb '11 said:
Good luck to ya, something needs to bring CoD down or it'll destroy the world.
singhcoventry on 16 Feb '11 said:
Good to hear ......
heatuk10 on 16 Feb '11 said:
If the destruction can be what I'm hoping it will be like, then it will defo take FPS to a new level! I have seen a video on the new Frostbite engine, but it didn't show any destruction... but still this is still my most anticipated game of the year!
fps_d0minat0r on 16 Feb '11 said:
they (IW) destroyed themselves....thats why everyone elses that extra bit more ambitious about their fps' this year.
in the end its probably gonna be another genre that takes GOTY.
monty_79 on 16 Feb '11 said:
Is Mass Effect 3 not out this year, then?
Either way I win. Love ME and BF. Gosh, what a potentially great year coming up!
Jodmeister on 16 Feb '11 said:
Game of the Year? I don't think so somehow.
LA Noire seems in the box seat for that already with Skyrim (if out) trying to unseat it.
MutilateTheDead on 16 Feb '11 said:
It'll be good but it won't be GOTY, arkham city, skyrim or la noire anyone?
MutilateTheDead on 16 Feb '11 said:
Or mass effect 3!!!!
Mogs on 16 Feb '11 said:
These two points are at odds with one another. It sounds like he just wants to replace CoD with MoH but basically replacing it like for like. For now, he's being forced to take time to make awesome games, but once CoD is dislodged it'll be copy and paste city.
I don't want EA to become the new EA.
Headsrinker on 16 Feb '11 said:
They talk the talk, i prey to god that they can walk the walk.
FlimFlam on 16 Feb '11 said:
Very true. I think the point he was making was that CoD has pretty much been running on the same engine for four years, whereas they have had three years worth of tech building for Battlefield 3.
The interesting thing is that he mentions Medal of Honor, but there is clearly going to be no MoH this year... this leads me to believe that they may alternate between Battlefield and MoH. If that is the case, then conceivably that would give them enough time to progress the tech within each of the separate game engines.
EA are hardly 'forced' to make awesome games... that is what they do. I love EA. They have made such a dramatic turn around from the money grabbing whores they used to be, their focus is now on quality, and they know only quality gets you where you want to be. Look at FIFA, best footie game for the last three years, but each one is still a significant improvement on the last one. Resting on your laurels isn't an option. Ask Konami.
richard99 on 16 Feb '11 said:
Skyrim, Mass Effect 3 and The Last Guardian are my guesses for game of the year (A fair few more have a good chance though).
Between Crysis 2, Brink and a few others Battlefield 3 will have tough competition just to be the best shooter.
Laughlyn on 16 Feb '11 said:
In all honesty its gonan be a strong contender and i've a great feeling its gonan be my game of the year. Bad Company 2 is still a great game and its a much more enjoyable experience online than Black Ops (PS3) The 360 can keep the boring n stale tat thats call of duty, i'd be happy if Battlefield and Call of Duty went platform specific for all i care about CoD
stedman on 16 Feb '11 said:
It won't be game of the year, but it will be an amazing game.
Uncharted 3 will be too good.
hi0marc on 16 Feb '11 said:
Alternating between two different IPs and game styles; yet keeping the FPS market with an injection of quality from EA is certainly a positive strategy. Yearly releases are generally frowned upon outside sport, so maintaining a strong point in the market without destroying a franchise is always the aim.
sibear on 16 Feb '11 said:
I can't wait to see the new Frostbite engine in action. BFBC2 is great with it's destruction and it adds a whole new and better dimension to games. I've been in games on certain maps where nearly every building has been leveled by the end of the round. I'm seriously considering dropping my laptop as the insurance on it will pay for a top spec Alienware, just so I can play B3 on PC instead of 360.
Chief Predz on 16 Feb '11 said:
Game of the year HaHaHaHa he's good at jokes isn't he?
For me its gonna be SKYRIM, or maybe LA Noire...even if they dont, the next COD will be better without even trying
Headsrinker on 16 Feb '11 said:
Chief Predz
For me its gonna be SKYRIM, or maybe LA Noire...even if they dont, the next COD will be better without even trying
Haha, SKYRIM, LA NOIRE Or COD, He's good at jokes isn't he??
KMakawa on 16 Feb '11 said:
Lets put it this way, on what ive seen of Battlefield 3 so far, there is no doubt in my mind that it will be the biggest, and best (near next-gen) title for this year. EA is holding it high with pride, if they can see through with the promise and whatnot on DICE's behalf, then something special is in place for us later this year. If things fall out of shape, EA will be the ones to take that hit - And that will not be good for public perception of Electronic Arts.
In terms of a guy saying IW destroyed itself, no they did not -- not at all true. Often the case with public views on InfinityWard, but when you have a publisher limiting the amount of creativity output you can commit on your own franchise, the publisher destroyed IW.
Modern Warfare 2 was not to be anything like you had seen, a lot of features were removed, and a lot of singleplayer was altered -- purely because Activision wanted to "play it safe."
You will see that the old IW is now finished in a sense (when you have 3 developers trying to work together on the latest COD, to get it out this year. Definitely finished.)
But as most of the high-quality individuals have moved to Respawn, IW will live on in a different name, and we will see that later this year.
In terms of Battlefield 3, depending on how they take the marketing, this game could skyrocket.
dualmilion on 16 Feb '11 said:
Deus ex will be game of the year. But battlefield will take down cod
shogunreaper on 16 Feb '11 said:
FPS beating Uncharted 3\Batman Arkham city\Infamous 2? Rubbish mate, rubbish.
Very_Silver_Ownz on 16 Feb '11 said:
hopefully it will...Im sick to death of CoD.
gmcb007 on 16 Feb '11 said:
Can't see it being a GOTY but it should be a good game nevertheless
Imaduck on 16 Feb '11 said:
I'm actually behind this. BC2 has the best multiplayer I've played in 14/15 years of gaming. I'm all for this being the best SHOOTER. Game? nah, ME3.
damoxuk on 16 Feb '11 said:
Half these big games announced for late 2011 won;t be out until 2012 due to the COD effect. I mean Uncharted 3/Elderscrolls 5 and Modern Warfare 3 along with batman/AC3 maybe Gears 3 etc is gaming overload. And Battlefield on top of that surely not enough to go around?
NickyCVG on 16 Feb '11 said:
Have you noticed how all the dick waving comes from people making FPS games. First it was Crytek saying they had the best game, then Sledgehammer saying they were going to make a 95% rated game. Now EA saying this is GOTY.
Would be funny if some other game sneaks in under the radar and totally destroys them all.
kimoak on 16 Feb '11 said:
I was going to say something similar. COME ONE DEUS EX!!!!! As long as it's us Deus Ex fans game of the year, the rest of the world can pick whoever else they think is
The Bossman on 16 Feb '11 said:
Come on, we all know Uncharted 3 will be GOTY, hands down. BC3 will be about 8th or lower, lots of other better games out this year.
Paradaz - UK on 17 Feb '11 said:
As long as it is more like Battlefield 2 than the Bad Company series it has a great chance of being the year's best game by a country mile.
The_Jaster on 17 Feb '11 said:
If it does happen then all the CoD haters will become Battlefield 3/EA haters.....its the circle of life or something.
wasted-again on 17 Feb '11 said:
They haven't made a good Battlefield game since Battlefield2, and they haven't made a good Medal of Honour since Frontline, so chances of this being GOTY?
Paradaz - UK on 18 Feb '11 said:
Battlefield 2 was the last 'Battlefield' game...........the Bad Company series was just something to keep the console kids happy for a while.
wasted-again on 18 Feb '11 said:
They didn't shine with 2142 either.
monkeypunk on 18 Feb '11 said:
I love BF2 and if EA build and improve on that then they cant go wrong .... also im V.happy to hear them say "PC is being treated as the lead platform for the EA game." But i think BF3 is gonna be a gloryfied BFBC
.
EA Owe the PC Gamers for all the console games they have brought out and im still waiting for BF1943