During financial presentation, EA COO John Pleasants reveals DICE is already hard at work on a new installment in the shooter franchise, due sometime during publisher's next fiscal year.
Though it helped put military multiplayer first-person shooters on the map, Electronic Arts' Battlefield franchise has seen itself outsold by the Call of Duty series in recent years. Granted, 2005's Battlefield 2 was a hit--selling more than 1 million units in the US, according to the NPD Group--as was its console spin-off, Battlefield 2: Modern Combat, which sold 1.2 million units domestically on the Xbox 360, Xbox, and PlayStation 2. However, 2007's Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare was the overall best-selling game of 2007 and has sold more than 8 million units domestically (according to NPD) and more than 15 million units worldwide (according to Activision).
Now, with the release of archrival Activision's Modern Warfare 2--developed by former EA employees at Infinity Ward--looming, EA is planning a comeback in the military shooter sector. Speaking at the William Blair & Company investor conference this week, EA COO John Pleasants revealed that, in addition to this year's sequel to the critically lauded, multiplatinum Battlefield: Bad Company, EA is planning a new installment in its core Battlefield franchise.
"We have a lot of IP in that [shooter] area, and we have not not noticed that Call of Duty has a significant share of that business," Pleasants told analysts during a question-and-answer session. "We are putting a real concentrated effort behind those titles. Battlefield happens to be one of them. ... I've had the luxury of looking at Battlefield 3 over at DICE over in Sweden. I was highly impressed by the way the people were working on that product. That's not for this fiscal year [ending March 31, 2010], but that is a product that is looking very good."
After saying that work on the download-only Battlefield 1943 (due in September) has been "going well," he said the Battlefield franchise is "strengthening and moving to a service model, and it has multiple titles within it which we can lever off of, so I am bullish on the Battlefield franchise, but it's not our only title which we are hoping to gain share with in the shooter category." He offered the forthcoming third-person shooter Army of Two: The 40th Day as another title that would court shooter fans.
I dont care I want it for ps3, ps3 controller vs mouse? I think it is a matter or taste, I enjoy FPS in both console and PC, but I leave my pc for stuff like total war games or starcraf2 which use a lot of space. love BFBC2 Im sure am gonna love BF3, just hope Dice moves faster this time to support BF3, u know like new maps , add ons, updates and stuff.
Take a pill and relax Ratchet, i agree that there is nothing wrong with consoles, but you have to admit that it's impossible to play a shooter at the same speed with a controller instead of a mouse right? You'd get butchered if you tried ;-)
stop talking $#@& about consoles the it was DICES and EA's choice to have 24 player muiltplayer just look at MAG has over 250 players in one match if they spend the money BF3 could have massive muiltplayer on both PC,PS3 and 360 just look at frontlines fuel of war which had 64 player online(same as BF 1942,VEIT,2,2142) and the people who made it used to make mods for BF2 and these day its the PC that limits gaming the graphical stuff they are using in BF3 has only been used so far in God of war 3 so stop or **** PC gamers if u had read more stuff once in *&^$ing while you would know that dice is making the PC version deserve from the PS3 and 360 so STOP YA **** EVER SINCE BATTLEFIELD WENT CONSOLE IT HAS SOLD MORE AND MADE MORE MONEY SO THEY CAN MAKE BETTER GAMES!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Destruction 2.0 has changed everything for me, Battlefield has my heart as gamer. To me the shooter has evolved, and I think COD needs a shake up.
@Rogue8513 It IS coming for PC. Look up at the consoles. Also, it's BF3! I really can't wait knowing how fun 2142 was!
make it only for pc!!!! im tired of to many good gamesonly being on consoles its time for those console players to know how i feel!!
Judging by how great the graphics are in Bad Company 2 Windows 7 64-bit Battlefield 3 should be a great game! Keyboard and mouse is so much the way to play FPS though. Controllers are just far too slow to aim for the classic headshot. Oh that reminds me of those bomb planting/defusing days on Counterstrike Source :)
Whats with all the hate for a console version? Remember Battlefield 2: Modern Combat? Why not a Battlefield 3: Modern Combat? And who's to say that the awesomeness of the pc version can't be done on the consoles?
I was actually looking forward to a sequel to Battlefield 2142, which was very underrated. the only thing that was wrong with it was the campaign, or rather lack thereof, despite the potential for a good story about Europe and Asia duking it out for the remaining fertile ground in Africa.
ohman judging by how good bc2 was, bf3 will be just amazingly good. it will take a lot of effort from other shooters to compete with bf3. bf3 = win
* Simple >> I play the 2 Best FPS Ever made ! 1 > Battlefield 2 > Awsome Air Dogfights and all 2 > Bad Company 2 > With Frostbite Engine Destruction really Great ! Since you play a Game that is great and you can blow a wall and kill who was beyond that wall, you will never play another ( Normal or More of the Same ) game ! But BATTLEFIELD 3 is comming and i think will " Blow Everyone Away " Cya in Sky Guys !
This would be s o hectic if they get it right. Its gonna be a tough road for DICE. Modern Warfare 2 is gonna be taunting them the whole way.
before i make my statement.. which is basically the same as everyone else below.. I own and have played every battlefield game that there has ever been...1942, BF2, 2142, Vietnam, 1943 & both the Xbox bad companies etc.. and i like them all... a lot. people that take offense to the bad companies series are frootloops.. YES it has the word battlefield in the title... YES we all know its never going to be better then BF2, BF3, BF4 etc.. finally .. YES IT MAKES EA AND DICE MONEY! which is good for everyone who likes the BF series.. stop whining. any way.. i just really hope BF3 DOESN'T go multi platform. give me a keyboard already EA.. and a proper BF3 game with the works.
This "Battlefield 3" as it's called is really just one of the Bad Company games, if you haven't already figured that out by now. Another news update for BF2 talks and says this game will be released in 2008, hmm I wonder, this leads me to believe it is really just BF: BC that they are talking about, if not, BRING ON BF3!
There is not a console that exists that can handle what this game should be. We need 24/7 armed personal watching the development of this game making sure no console "kiddies" get within 25miles of the dev studio. I am not kidding.
BF3 WILL BE THE BEST GAME EVER MADE. BF2 WAS THE BEST, AND THERES ONE SIMPLE BUT WONDERFUL AND AMAZING REASON WHY.....BECAUSE To stand and watch on top of a high hill or building overlooking a map that far proceeds any other gaming map ever created, with large varied and detailed lanscape having tanks, boats, planes, missiles, infantry running, rocketfire gunfire, buggies, explotions, flags going up and down, artillary, uav's in the sky, all in one computer screen is BEAUTIFUL! Conclusion BACK THE F* UP ANY OTHER GAME AND TAKE A HIKE!!!!!!!! OHH AND FOR ALL YOU CONSOLE PEOPLE, IT IS A PC GAME!!!!!!!!!!!!!! SO DONT GO MURDERING A FRANCHISE WITH A JOYSTICK! Thankyou
PC ONLY: Battlefield 1942, Battlefield 2, and Battlefield 2142 are the big brothers to the recent dumbed down console versions Battlefied Bad Company and Modern Combat series. I hope that Battlefield 3 is more like the originals, although destructible environments would be fun and add another layer of strategy to 64 player fights. The Battlefield series used to be the standard to which all online shooters were compared. Battlefied 3 should reclaim the top of the hill. The only way to do that, in my opinion, is to make the best pc online shooter and not try to compete multiplatform. I think most would agree that Battlefield 2 would never have worked on any console (not even today's consoles). Comeon EA, do something right for a change.
If these guys had any brains they would make the console version and the pc version as similar as possible, then they would see a lot more sales. count me in if that does happen.
ahh man i hate the new battlefield (bad company 1&2) their just nothing like battle field 2 they just feel to arcadey and unrealistic, i wish you all the luck Dice and hope you come up on top! Battlefield 2 is still the shinit compaired to the bad company franchise
If BF3 does not have prone,I swear I'm going to shoot the lead project designer for BF3. :P
There's no question that the console games are crap, esp. compared to BF2. Have you guys complaining about the split community even played BF2? Games in the Halo series were designed well for console play, and I'd argue that without changing fundamental aspects of them, we couldn't get an equal or better experience with PC versions (I'm talking about multiplayere here). In the same way, you simply cannot experience the awesome things about a game like BF2 through a gamepad with two analog sticks. What's sad about the split community is that ideally it would be completely pro-PC-exclusive. If you want to play console games you should play good console games, not oversimplified multiplatform BF games. The only support for the BF series should be for PC-exclusive versions - the only versions that can be truly special games.
Finally! Although I still love and play Battlefield 2, I would really welcome a newer version. I would like to see a few new features, better graphics, etc.. but I hope they keep the whole Tactical side of the BF2 games (Joining squads, getting/giving orders, commanders, etc..) Although I've played CoD Modern Warfare alot, I still rather have a Battlefield 2 game anyday! Dice have come a long way, I still remember trying Battlefield 1942 for the first time... I was just totally blown away, same for BF2 and hopefully for the upcomming Bad Company 2 and even more so for BF3!!! Keep up the fatastic work Dice! Don't let us down like the latest CoD games have!
@division_9 I don't really think its the defining game, so much as since its the latest BF game DICE has made, its the latest "true" Battlefield game. And no, I'm not insulting BF3 at all, in fact, i really, really want BF3 as well. However, I find it disturbing that the fan basis is in this much turmoil right now. Which is actually one of the reasons I want BF3 to come out, or at least a spiritual successor of it, so that the BF fan base is whole again.
@Grif-yes You know why the name "BF3" is so sought after?, Battlefield 2 for alot of guys including myself was the star of the series, and so naturally when we see what looks like a direct sequel WE KNOW ITS NONE OF THIS "BAD COMPANY" or "2142" stuff I don't want to play because to put it plainly for us BF2 was the perfect package, the commander, artillery, UAV, squad system, no vehicles, vehicles, large maps, large scale, fast paced, tactically friendly(by this I mean if I flank a squad it actually helps my team out ALOT), prone friendly, weapon variation, no lock on, front line based, map variation(close quater maps and woodlands etc). Basically it had just the right combination for me to enjoy it ALOT. For us BF2 was the game that defined the series and not all of us accept Bad Company or 1943, Bad Company might just be different because of the fact it is on a console and has a limited amount of buttons and so everyone naturally has lock on, but either way I didn't enjoy it and so I'm hoping "BF3" for the PC will bring back what was for me the good old days of BF2. For you guys who feel 2142 or Bad Company may be the defining game, good for you so don't turn BF3, the fist direct sequel in 5 ish years into another game like Bad Company that incorporates lock on and the rest of the stuff we generally don't like. Remember were part of the market to and we won't be happy if BF3 is giving up any single feature for a more Bad Company orientated feel.
wouldn't it be better to keep bad company on consoles and not on pc? i mean wouldn't bad company on pc and bf3 hinder each others sales in some way? but anyhow battlefield is awesome, one of my favorite franchise out there.
BF3 Will probably be purely multiplayer bigger maps more players per game and, hopefully lots of cool new multiplayer innovations>
i don't think BF3 will be released on any console. it should be released exclusively for PC. But since BC2 is coming to pc there is a possibility that ea will release BF 3 for consoles too. I am going to buy both Bad Company 2 and BF 3 when released next year
Bad company was a spin-off, I enjoyed BF2 for my ps2, the rank up system was great. But BF bad company plays like a third rate COD4 While BF2 and possibly 3 you control the whole army so it's no biggy if you die, but try and stay alive. I'm wondering was there like a private to General thing in BF:BC? If not then thank God I didn't buy it.
I don't get it? what is the difference between the badcompany games and the normal battlefield games? they both let you control vehicles they are set in the modern era, so what's different? I do know you can blow up buildings in badcompany, but they eventually want that to be implemented aswell in the normal battlefield series don't they?
I'm just happy they announced BF3. So we know it will come. There is no better team, tactical, big map, cars ,tanks ,planes ,helicopters, boats, medics, sniper, and much more game like that :) so BF3 FTW.
Ok this is sad... The Battlefield community has been split into two with the two being: 1. People who will not be picky and play the BF games they are given (BFBC, 1943, ect.). 2. The people who have been whining about all the new console battlefields, and will only buy a BF game if it is called BF 3. Its pathetic. Even if BF:BC 2 has 64 players, more hit damage, and other things BF2 had, there are still many who wont get it because its not called BF 3. I'm as excited about BF3 as the next guy because Ive been a fan since Vietnam came out. But I just think its pathetic that the BF community is split in half.
Ok this is sad... The Battlefield community has been split into two with the two being: 1. People who will not be picky and play the BF games they are given (BFBC, 1943, ect.). 2. The people who have been whining about all the new console battlefields, and will only buy a BF game if it is called BF 3. Its pathetic. Even if BF:BC 2 has 64 players, more hit damage, and other things BF2 had, there are still many who wont get it because its not called BF 3. I'm as excited about BF3 as the next guy because Ive been a fan since Vietnam came out. But I just think its pathetic that the BF community is split in half.
If DICE/EA is listening... where have you been? BF2 and BF2142 were brilliant- hours of fun... COD4 and 5 are good/great but not the big environements on the PC... Why do you let Activision take over???? EA is a big company(the biggest??) Though I love COD 4,5 theres no helicopters...surely you can hire or have tons of programmers that could have been putting out more BF games. Ive played COD4-5 to death and BFBC is unplayable (shooting dynamics suck) Where have you been ???? we need you ... Ive overplayed COD4-5 , I p[lay 1943- pretty good- why cant you crank them out??/
This is bar none the best combat shooter out there! No room for newbies realistic graphics and game-play make this game the best! As for people taking to many bullets real soldiers wear armor so shooting some in the body may not be affective but shooting them in the head works one shot dead. newbies stick with COD. Real gamers try BF BC or BC2 squad up with GUTE360 and take real strategic approach to devastating a whole map!!!!
Bad company's major problem for me was that it took a whole magazine to kill somebody, and 2 shots from a sniper rifle to get a kill. when in close quarter combat having to reload after every kill is extremely annoying. the guns felt like airsoft guns because people could take 10 rounds or so and still keep running like they havent been touched.
i think EA and dice will screw this game hard and develop it with consoles firmly in mind. instead of being a true successor to BF2 and 1942 we will get a watered down console game to keep the masses happy.
343 Industries' new shooter making its tournament debut at Major League Gaming Fall Championship from November 2-4; four vs four tournament offers $40,000 in prizes.
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