Blog: Why ‘Battlefield 3 vs MW3′ is bad for games this Christmas

Posted October 30, 2011 by Kyle MacKinnon in News, Opinion.

With Battlefield 3 already out, and Modern Warfare 3 following suit next week, the holiday season could be looking bleak for some other excellent games. Kyle MacKinnon explains why EA and Activision might be ruining Christmas for the games industry…

It’s the year of the shooter and – perhaps thankfully – it’s almost over. Two of the biggest contenders for your gaming dollars – Battlefield 3 and Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 (pictured) – are in the process of waging total war. As with any war, however, there are going to be some casualties: namely, some unexpected games that shouldn’t fail but easily could thanks to their steep competition.

That competition is primarily based around how much money one has to spend on videogames this holiday season. There’s an over-saturation in the industry that means, at least in the short term, some great games won’t be as financially successful as they should be. And neither EA nor Activision are going to let failure come to those shooters of theirs.

So, who’s on the chopping block? Broadly, two categories of games: fellow first-person shooters and action-adventure games.

First up we have Rage, the game many wanted to do well – it’s one of few shooters lacking a ’3′ in the title. A wholly unique IP with a generic title, Rage is a serviceable shooter. But with no brand recognition, being “serviceable” just isn’t enough to generate sales.

Then there’s Resistance 3 which overcame many of Rage’s deficiencies: it’s an instalment in a popular franchise and we even think it has the potential to become “one of the finest first-person shooters on the market”. Resistance 3 has other setbacks for sales. There’s the fact it’s a PS3 exclusive. There’s also the fact it faced Gears of War 3 on one end, but more damning is that Call of Duty and Battlefield are direct competitors. Being sandwiched between releases has led to disappointing initial sales.

More Activision

That’s quite enough of looking in the rear-view window, though. An upcoming shooter features everyone’s favourite 00 Agent James Bond. Which, quite frankly, makes no sense at all. Yes, it has Goldeneye in the title. But it’s an enhanced port of a Wii game. These aren’t areas that will necessarily stop the game from achieving sales. The fact it’s yet another Activision shooter will. Little to no marketing has gone on for the release, as Activision gears up to promote Call of Duty. And with several of the online features lining up with Call of Duty’s, there’s little reason for consumers to double dip.

Plus, believe it or not, non-shooting-based games are out or set to be out this holiday season. And of those, it is perhaps only Bethesda behemoth Skyrim that’s going to have a remotely easy ride.

Batman: Arkham City (pictured) is, by all rights, doing everything right. There was big advertising push, and more importantly it’s actually a very good game. Even major retailers like Wal-Mart got on board with the title to advertise on television and beyond. Slight issue though…that marketing has since eroded as retailers prepare for the great shoot-em-up of 2011. Initial sales will undoubtedly be strong, but whether or not Batman survives the war is yet to be seen. Oh, and if you’re thinking that T/PEGI 16 rating is going to help it get in the hands of more kids, guess again. Many kids want Call of Duty, and Call of Duty is what they’ll get. Silly parents.

How about the next Assassin’s Creed game? There’s little to no marketing for the release right now, which does not bode well for a game already in a packed genre. More than that, though, Ubisoft have acknowledged the dangers of annual instalments.

Not too soon

The Modern Warfare brand is released semi-annually, while we haven’t seen a proper Battlefield game for more than six years. Sooner or later, Assassin’s Creed is going to face sales stagnation if it keeps up its current release schedule. War has sent many prematurely to the grave.

And of course, we have The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword. It’s bound to be a critical darling and one of the Wii’s top-sellers long term. But it’s victim to Nintendo’s short-sightedness: no matter how strong one player on a team is, he can’t win a championship himself. There’s little in the way of support to bring consumer attention to the Wii section at the store. Many of the so-called “core” gamers have since given up hope for the Wii (and, by extension, physically given up the Wii) and moved on to the HD consoles where Battlefield and Call of Duty will dominate the marquee. Will these consumers jump back in and spend money on both a Wii and Skyward Sword? I’m not so sure.

There’s one factor ultimately at play here: the economy. While the economy is stuttering, the purchase of new games is bound to decline. Many consumers will buy just one game and play it obsessively through the holiday season and beyond – the so-called ‘mono-gamer’ – which means games that aren’t at the centre of attention won’t make an impact. Activision and EA have set the stage for war, and nothing else. The games listed above could be the casualties of that war.

Have a read of our Battlefield 3 review, and keep an eye open for our Modern Warfare 3 review around the time of its release!

Tagged as Battlefield 3, Call of Duty, Modern Warfare 3