DAILY MANIFESTO

The "War" Between Call of Duty and Battlefield 3 Is Entirely Orchestrated

Posted on Wednesday, September 28 @ 09:30:00 Eastern by Daniel Bischoff

It's not hard to connect two very loud, very explosive dots. Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 and Battlefield 3 are direct competitors if there ever was such a thing. As first-person shooters launching simultaneously across consoles and PC, there should be no doubt in your mind that EA and Activision intend for you to buy their game and not the other's.

Unfortunately for the brand managers, marketers, and publishing executives, the developers themselves can't stop gushing about each other. Take the latest Battlefield 3 tagline for example:

Above and Beyond the Call.

Those are fighting words, but in seeming lockstep, DICE developers are there to praise the competition:

DICE has nothing to do with the bashing of COD. We have mad love for [Infinity Ward] and Treyarch, anyone who thinks otherwise is wrong.

This epidemic of fanboy-mongering is boiling over. I know Battlefield 3's release is only a month away and its highly anticipated beta is landing on consoles and PCs everywhere now, but the developers themselves are being shouted over by the fans.

Both games will likely be first-rate experiences. It's true that not everyone can afford both titles, but the venomous cross banter between both camps is borderline laughable. Each title will have strengths and each will have weaknesses, but the least you could do is remove yourself from the equation by thinking before you post your inane comments.

The fanboys out there were originally victims, but now they purport the supposed "battle" between these two franchises themselves. If you're reading this: You aren't just being played by the marketing. You're a part of the machine now. It's time to stop.

Related Games: Battlefield 3, Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3

Tags: Battlefield, Call of Duty, Activision, EA

Comments

Klandathu
Joined: Apr 2008

Posted: Sep 28th, 2011 at 10:55 am
I love me some Call of Duty. I'll most definitely be picking up MW3 as soon as I can. I've honestly never played a Battlefield title, but I'd give it a fair, open-minded, objective chance if someone handed it to me and said "here, play this."

I've actually heard someone say the phrase "Call of Duty sucks because Battlefield is a better game." I was rather dumbfounded for a few seconds. Not because of he preferred Battlefield to Call of Duty, but because of his bass-ackwards logic. One game is bad simply because another is good? It doesn't really work that way.

This isn't Jesus vs. Satan or anything like that. It is entirely possible to like (or dislike) both titles if your little heart so chooses. You don't have to hate one in order to like the other.

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tinymhg
Joined: Jun 2011

Posted: Sep 28th, 2011 at 7:43 pm
Amen Brother!

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tinymhg
Joined: Jun 2011

Posted: Sep 28th, 2011 at 11:35 pm
I also want to nominate Klandathu to The People Speak.

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Ashalar
Joined: Jan 2008

Posted: Sep 28th, 2011 at 11:33 am
I love both franchises. Yes, even their bastard children Battlefield: Vietnam and Call of Duty 3.
I will probably own both new games, for the first time in a very long time not on the X360 but on the PC.
I am curious which direction the storyline of MW3 will end up going in the post-Infinity Ward walkout era. Will it wrap up the story and remain faithful to it?

As for BF3... I am hoping for the level of detail and destruction Bad Company 2 had to offer, while combined with the excellent feel and gameplay of Battlefield 2 (PC), the best game in the franchise as far as I am concerned.

Sure, I will not get them at launch, I am looking at Arkham City, Sonic Generations, Skyrim and the Old Republic first in the coming weeks/months (and all at the more expensive pre-ordered collector editions for that matter), however I will get them both at one point or another.

You know, I think 2011 rivaled 1998 as a good gaming year, if not surpassing it.

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tinymhg
Joined: Jun 2011

Posted: Sep 28th, 2011 at 7:53 pm
BF3 and MW3 aren’t my type of game, Skyrim on the other hand is my type of game. MW3 is also available on the DS so if I was to get it would be for the single player campaign on the DS, but I’m trying to save up for a new computer right now, so I’ll probably pass.

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GuerillaMatzilla
Joined: May 2011

Posted: Sep 28th, 2011 at 12:09 pm
I'll more than likely be getting both but I'm only pre-ordering Battlefield. It's not MW3's fault, but COD Elite that turns me off

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nihm
Joined: Jan 2011

Posted: Sep 28th, 2011 at 3:00 pm
I mostly dislike Call of Duty because of the people who play it. Every mode is full of people who ONLY care about their own kill/death ratio and they use whatever gimmick loadout they can in order to increase their score. From what I've played in Battlefield Bad Company 2, players tend to work more as a team and help each other out. CoD is well-made but I think its community lets it down. I'll be skipping it and spending my time in BF3

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Ranim
Joined: Nov 2005

Posted: Sep 28th, 2011 at 3:41 pm
The Madden of FPS.

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Bras
Joined: Jul 2008

Posted: Sep 28th, 2011 at 3:59 pm
I've heard CoD is like Need for Speed: Hot Pursuit and BF is like Gran Turismo,

Personally, I won't spend a buck on neither, I'm waiting for Counter Strike, the momma hen of both chicks.

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xxlordskullxx
Joined: Nov 2007

Posted: Sep 28th, 2011 at 6:56 pm
I'll be getting Battlefield since I loved the crap out of Bad Company 2. Maybe I'll get CoD after they pry Skyrim from my hands in the three months after it's release,

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DumbRodent42
Joined: May 2011

Posted: Sep 28th, 2011 at 9:12 pm
Perhaps the two companies truly are best buds, and the whole 'war' is just a scripted lil' play to intentionally build hype for the opposing brands, in return for said other brand doing the same for themselves.

No, I'm stupid. Just a fun thought though.

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