Battlefield 3 Ready to Take Down Call of Duty?

Today saw the CEO of Electronic Arts, John Riccitiello, confirming that the sequel to the hugely successful Battlefield: Bad Company 2 is set for a November release this year, and has pretty much assured all fans that the next instalment will not only be a ‘great’ title, but will be a title specifically designed to remove the videogame juggernaut, Call of Duty, from its FPS throne.

Speaking at the Ad Age Digital Conference in New York, Riccitiello openly stated that although Activision’s Call of Duty series is arguably the most successful gaming franchise in the industry at the moment, this does not dampen Electronic Arts determination to make Battlefield 3 come out as a winner in what Riccitiello has dubbed the “Battle of the Titans”.

Riccitiello said “This November, we’re launching Battlefield 3. It’s going up against the next Call of Duty, which is presently the #1 game in the game industry. A game that last year did $400 million dollars in revenue on day one. [Battlefield 3] is designed to take that game down.”

Determined to push their upcoming First-Person-Shooter to the top of customer’s wish lists, Electronic Arts also confirmed that approximately $100 million (£61.3 million) will be spent on marketing Battlefield 3. Expecting that Activision will do the same to promote their upcoming Call of Duty title; Riccitiello said “There will be a couple hundred million dollars of marketing against these two products going head to head. We think we have the better product [.] “

The next Call of Duty game is yet to be announced, however based on history; an official reveal is expected sometime this month by Activision, setting it up for a retail release later in the same year, around the same time that Battlefield 3 will will hit the shelves. Many are expecting the upcoming Call of Duty game to be the third instalment of the Modern Warfare series.

Battlefield 3 will be available on Playstation 3, Xbox 360 and PC.

Here is a trailer, presenting exactly what developer DICE has been able to do with their newest game engine, Frostbite 2.