To say that EA and Activision are business rivals are a bit of an understatement, EA was once what Activision is now – a giant publishing company with two mega franchises that are so big that no company would even dare take them head-on.

The franchises I’m referring to are of course, World of Warcraft and Call of Duty. Oh, and that part where no other company would take them head-on?

No company other than EA that is. The Madden publisher has not been coy about its goal of “taking down” Activision’s Call of Duty franchise, their “weapon” of choice? It’s none other than Battlefield 3.

The DICE developed shooter has been making waves since its impressive gameplay display at this year’s Games Developers Conference (GDC).

Is Activision concerned with Battlefield 3 going head-to-head later this year against its own Modern Warfare 3?

Activision CEO Eric Hirshberg shares his thoughts on the matter.

It sounds trite but it’s true: we focus on what we need to do to make the best games we can. We don’t pay much mind looking at what the competitors are doing. I know they are focused on us… well that’s all I’ll say.
EA’s own CEO, John Riccitiello has been very vocal about this rivalry, even going as far as saying that he’ll “be very surprised if Battlefield 3 doesn’t take a significant share” out of Call of Duty this year.

Of course all that name-calling and mudslinging can also work the other way, as Hirshberg himself admits.

Well, I think EA might talk about our games in the press more than we do,” he adds in, “So, the first thing I say to them is ‘Thanks for the assistance in building awareness.
Of course, the Activision CEO does admit that they take their competition very seriously, and he even acknowledges their competitors.

But when you think about it, we’ve had tough competition every year for Call of Duty. It’s never been easy. This is one of the most competitive genres in one of the most competitive industries. Last year we had Halo: Reach and Medal of Honor, and it’s not like they weren’t amazing developers gunning for the top of this mountain either. And it’s the same this year – Gears of War is back along with lots of other games.
So, of course, we take all the competition really seriously. But at the end of the day I really mean it when I say we are focusing on the finish line, not the competition. We are making the best game we can, and are throwing every resource, innovation and all the creativity we can at it. And hopefully that will maintain our position.

Posted: Jun 02, 2011 8:52 pm

Source: http://deltagamer.com/5408/activision-ceo-to-ea-thanks-for-the-assistance-in-building-awareness