If you ask anyone what games they'll be buying this coming winter, you can bet your house the answer will include either "Modern Warfare 3" or "Battlefield 3" but there's a high likelihood both won't be purchased. You see these 2 games are involved in their own war, one that will plit consumers and even moreso the industry. Call of Duty titles have a stranglehold on the FPS genre, no two ways about it. Even Jeremy Clarkson, who has stated numerous times he has no idea about video games, used the CoD franchise in one of his crazy similies; "Not buying an M3 when looking for a fast saloon is like buying a playstation shooting game that isn't Call of Duty." Call of Duty are the kings, EA's Battlefield series however is desperate to trip Activision's cash cow up however, and many beleive the challenger may become the master in "Battlefield 3". However as much as EA are desperate to steal Activision's spotlight and make gamers everywhere become engrossed in their franchise, I just don't see it happening.
Let's be honest, Call of Duty, for as much as it is an exploiting, and horrible franchise must have done something right along the way. Even with a defective PS3 black-ops release and a surge of "£10.99" map packs, people still buy the game and these map packs, year-after-year, time-after-time. The games are now as frequent as sports titles and at this rate, who knows? Maybe the next Call of Duty game might adapt a "2012" sub-heading and have some superstar real-life soldier on the front, complete with sniper rifle and a determined gritty look on his face, just as Ryan Giggs would have during a game of football...or when cheating on his wife. But jokes aside, the fact is, Call of Duty has the largest fanbase ever for any video game. The numbers are staggering even on the older titles as millions of gamers flood in for their fix. Of course, a large fanbase does not neccessarily equal a 'good' fanbase. Games like 'WipEout HD' where a tight-knit community has manifested itself, helping newbies and seasoning pros without a fuss, all in the interest of keeping the game alive, you won't meet a single arrogant douche online here, honest. However, CoD fails in this aspect. For every nice person you'll meet 5,000 idiots, as opposed to WipEout where newbies are tought the ropes, you'll most likely be ridiculed for having just bought the game. Because let's face it, if you had a life where you sit in darkness and play video games for days on end you would brag about it...right? Personally, I'll stay a "Faggot Noob Bitch" as an american described me for breaking his killstreak which, according to him, was pretty big at the time. Oops. But, none of this matters, Activision just look at the numbers, after all, sales are all that matter when you get down to the nitty gritty. This is where I think Battlefield is being too ambitious. It constantly berates CoD insisting it has the upper-edge "this time" and it has learned it's lessons from "last-time". If only it was actually that easy.
Battlefield doesn't have a average fanbase nevermind one that practically powers the gaming industry (sad but true). The prospect of tanks look incredible, the multiplayer engrossing, the single-player...decent (which is saying something for FPS as of recent.). I'm actually say it; Most people who play Battlefield do so because they want to be "anti-CoD" and with EA coming out with statements that constantly comapre it to the opposition, no bloody wonder. Free advertising really, EA are like a whining little brother who wants to be a "big boy". In charge and powerful. Although, not very likely, someone might not know what CoD is but be interested in Battlefield, see the constant comparisons. Decide to check CoD out and then as a result become another player in the CoD empire. As EA shove the game in everyone's faces with it's amazing wow-factor, Activision simply release a trailer with release date...cue mass-hysteria and excitement.
So, it should be intersting if EA's claims cut the mustard but my money is on MW3 for obvious reasons. However, if EA do prove me wrong I will be ecstatic. On a side note, there's some other games coming out in November too, Uncharted 3, WipEout 2048 etc. but no-one really cares about that....sadly.
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