‘Battlefield 1’ partnership with Xbox One not a problem to EA, publisher expounds on original idea for the game
“Battlefield 1” has been one of the most successful reveals so far. With over 32.2 million views and counting for its reveal trailer, all eyes are now turned towards what will be coming with the game.
One of the more notable things is that, while “Call of Duty Infinite Warfare” appears to continue the trend for Sony’s partnership with Activision, a new development is ongoing for ‘Battlefield 1.” Now, Xbox One is reportedly more aligned with “Battlefield 1,” as seen in the trailer.
It ends with a promotion of early access on Xbox One via the EA Access. This may make some fans wonder if this will not affect sales for those from the PS4 community.
GameSpot reported that EA is not at all worried, as the execs feel that this marketing scheme will not affect PS4 players’ view of the game. EA CEO Andrew Wilson revealed that partnerships are a natural way of dealing with games. Just last year, “Call of Duty” obtained a long partnership with Sony for early access and some exclusives.
“I don’t see any limiters to our ability to reach a really broad audience of gamers across the whole shooter spectrum,” said Wilson at the EA Investor Day briefing as quoted by DualShockers. “Our console partners want to stand right next to the biggest and best games in the industry.”
For the most part, the goal of these partnerships is awareness. While there is a supposed danger that the game marketed with a particular platform may be a turn off, the source stated that this is not what is happening. Instead, there is greater awareness, as players are already aware of other platforms existing for the game.
“Battlefield 1” was not without its misses. VG 247 reported that even the top exec was not fully sold with the approach that “Battlefield 1” previously took. EA Studios head Patrick Soderlund had previously rejected the original pitch to make use of World War I for the next “Battlefield” title.
“I said World War I, it’s trench warfare; it can’t be fun to play,” said Soderlund as quoted by VG 247.
The good thing was that everyone came around to agree with DICE’s idea. The result was the surprisingly massive and positive reception to the trailer alone. One potential reason for this is that, instead of going with sci-fi, “Battlefield 1” is taking a different turn.
“Battlefield 1” is set to come to the PS4, Xbox One and PC in October.
