Call of Duty has been a massive entertainment event, setting new sales records for two years in a row. Publishers are sure to take note of the latest game in the blockbuster franchise to plan their own release schedules accordingly. With Activision having just announced its November 8 release date for Modern Warfare 3, one publisher in particular is likely to pay very close attention: EA.

It's no secret that EA is gunning to take back the shooter category and has "designed" Battlefield 3 to "take down" Call of Duty. The team at EA recently detailed its "aggressive" marketing plans to go up against Call of Duty this fall. And now that EA knows the release date of its main competitor in the shooter space, the publisher could conceivably gain a first-mover advantage if it can release Battlefield 3 in October or even September.

For its part, EA told IndustryGamers that while the competition does affect plans at times, EA wanted to wait until this year's E3 to reveal more about Battlefield 3. "We unveiled the game at GDC where we had announced a Fall ship date. We've been holding out for our next big beat which is at E3 where we will be debuting new gameplay," a spokesperson told us.

"With all our marketing/PR campaigns for all of our titles, we do look at competitors and the overall market but this is one of many factors that affect when we do and do not show/announce new gameplay/ship date/game features/etc."

The ball's now in your court, EA.

Posted: May 26, 2011 2:54 pm

Source: http://www.industrygamers.com/news/call-of-duty-vs-battlefield-ea-could-grab-first-mover-advantage/