It began with EA boss John Riccitiello telling IndustryGamers that he’d like Call of Duty to “rot from the core.” Then, at Gamescom, Activision Publishing CEO Eric Hirshberg took the high road, saying that wishing for the demise of a competitor is simply bad for the industry, and he’d like to see all games succeed. EA then responded by “welcoming” Hirshberg to the industry and warning him that Call of Duty could be dead in a few years.
“What such smack-talk does do is galvanize attention around the coming showdown: A win-win for both sides from the perspective of pure publicity.”
Marketing expert Scott Steinberg of TechSavvy Global sees the EA approach as a “clever ploy” to garner attention. “It reflects just how seriously Electronic Arts and Activision take the coming clash of the titans – and how much each side has invested in the conflict’s outcome. Modern Warfare 3 enjoys tremendous brand recognition and a massive fan following, giving it a marked advantage over Battlefield 3 at the cash register… but Battlefield 3 may very well be the more ambitious, polished and critically-acclaimed of the two titles,” he told us. “Moreover, each side plans to spend well into the eight or nine figures promoting the titles, reinforcing just how high the stakes are they’re playing for.”
Wedbush Securities’ Michael Pachter noted that EA may look bad, but in the end, it’s good to grab attention. “Smart move, AND petty and unprofessional,” he remarked. Pachter also added that Activision isn’t exactly innocent in this scuffle either: “That’s the nature of competition. Bobby was loudly trashing BF3 at E3 (not ready on consoles, 30 frames/sec), so it’s arguable that ATVI ‘started it’ and it’s easier to take the high road when you’re in first place, so they are doing so now.”
Steinberg is in agreement. The industry has seen plenty of mudslinging over the years – it’s nothing new. “From a broader perspective, tasteful or no, the mudslinging means little from the perspective of semantics – subtelty’s never been an industry strong suit, as gaming rivals have been hurling insults since the days of ‘Genesis does what Nintendon’t.’ But what such smack-talk does do is galvanize attention around the coming showdown: A win-win for both sides from the perspective of pure publicity,” he continued.
“Whether or not that’s by design, or simply a natural outpouring of the enthusiasm and emotional investment each publisher has invested in the projects is largely irrelevant. Regardless of your appetite for name-calling, there’s no denying the clear upsides gained via such scuffles, as these heated exchanges help keep both games in the headlines, and top of mind.”
[Via IndustryGamers]
