By Sam van Zoest | August 13, 2011 | Features
With the release date of Battlefield 3 closing in, now seems like a good time to sit down for a moment with some of the most notable and respected people within the Battlefield scene to highlight their views on the hottest topics regarding this game. We gathered people from all around the globe, including fans, site admins, Battlefield veterans, developers and even a marketing analyst to ask them about their expectations, concerns, opinions and views on the upcoming game, as well as the impending war with BF‘s main competitor, Call of Duty.
Daniel Matros
Daniel “zh1nt0″ Matros is the Global Battlefield Community Manager at DICE.
“The development is going very well and the mood in the office is very positive and confident. This is by far, our biggest project ever and with this game, we are innovating the FPS scene in every aspect. All thanks to the talented developers and amazing ideas being pitched around the Studio.”
“For those who played the Alpha Trial, they did notice some things that really makes this an amazing game. The physical feeling of the game as well as through the gun experience and the Frostbite 2 engine are some of my favorites. I could say that some parts of the game will be more successfull than others depending on taste and what I prioritize in a game but then again, I just love the idea behind Battlefield 3. I love the way we´re heading with our design and gameplay choices.”
“I´m very sure people will receive this very well! They´ve been waiting for this game for 6 years and this is the game everyone has been wanting to make as well.”
Scott Dupler
Scott Dupler runs Planet Battlefield, one of the oldest and most respected BF fansites around. His interest in the Battlefield franchise began with the release of BF2, and from that moment he began playing classic Battlefield games like BF1942 as well.
“I don’t really have any concerns about Battlefield 3 at this point, but there is still a lot we haven’t seen. I have faith in DICE and believe they can pull off a great game. I know a lot of the community likes to dwell on little issues here and there, but you have to look at the game as a whole. Play the game, then decide if something is really needed.”
“What I really miss are those large scale battles from Battlefield 2 with 64 players duking it out on a huge map, jets and helicopters overhead and squads pushing up all over the map. The Battlefield 2 demo on Gulf of Oman comes to mind and how much fun that was. I hope Battlefield 3 can bring that back and judging by what we’ve seen so far it has a very good chance.”
“It’s going to be interesting to see what happens in this FPS war between Battlefield and Call of Duty, but I think Battlefield 3 will pull a good amount of CoD fans over to our side. To be honest, I saw MW3 at E3 and it really didn’t look like anything new, although maybe I’m a bit biases.”
Michael Pachter
Michael Pachter is a high-profile gaming research analyst, working for Wedbush Securities. That basically means he is responsible for predicting how much a game is going to sell, informing investors, and a lot more.
“I think the Battlefield/Call of Duty war is a bunch of hype by EA to drive interest in their game. There is no question that BF3 will be a great game, and no question that it will sell millions of units, but that doesn’t necessarily mean that it will take market share from CoD. The FPS category generates around $4 – 5 billion in sales each year, and CoD does around $1 billion, so BF3 can do quite well without causing CoD sales to decline.”
“Battlefield won’t defeat Call of Duty. The former will probably sell 8 million, and could sell 12 million if it is game of the year. The latter will probably sell 20 million, and could sell 16 million if it gets horrible ratings.”
“Only a few will swap from CoD to BF3. Most CoD players will buy the next one for two reasons: 1) they love the Modern Warfare brand; and 2) their friends are all on CoD multiplayer. That makes switching very difficult. If CoD gets bad reviews, it’s possible that more will switch; if it gets great reviews, it’s likely that very few will switch.”
Karl Magnus Troedsson
Karl Magnus Troedsson is the General Manager at DICE. He is a passionate gamer with a thing for motorcycles.
“The team is currently hard at work with polishing all the different pieces of Battlefield 3. It’s busy days for sure! Battlefield 3 is the biggest and most ambitious thing we’ve ever set out to do so naturally there’s a lot of work to be done.”
“Battlefield 3 will innovate on several different levels. Our new game engine called Frostbite 2 enables us to do so many things to improve visuals, animations and lighting etc. But innovation also comes in the form of game design which has evolved over time compared to other Battlefield games. Examples such as bringing back the 64 player maps on PC, having jets in the game, the whole new persistence system and the introduction of the social connectivity with Battlelog will all help us building the best Battlefield game we’ve ever created. We’re also adding fundamental parts such as Team Deathmatch and co-op in order to deepen the experience for more gamers.”
“It’s always hard to foresee what media and gamers out there will think and say about your precious game that everyone worked so hard on. We’re staying close in contact with the community to get feedback though and our confidence is pretty high. We believe we have a great game, a game that we want to play ourselves, and really hope that many others will enjoy it as well.”
“At DICE we’re really focused on shipping the best game we can make. The public slugging between the franchises is not something we spend much time considering. But it will be an interesting autumn for sure!”
Erik Zuuring
Erik “Stadler” Zuuring is the admin of one of the most popular Battlefield sites around, BATTLEFIELDO. He considers himself a long time Battlefield veteran, as he has been with the series all the way from Codename Eagle.
“Personally, I am looking forward to seeing what competitive support DICE gives Battlefield 3. BF2 had a great competitive scene and it would be great to see that come back this fall but in a much more exciting way. I know there is speculation to what support for eSports there will be, but I hope that it is a priority. In my personal opinion, there are two key things that will keep on FPS Community going. That being modding support and/or competitive features. Major League Gaming is at its peak right now with titles such as Starcraft II. If Battlefield 3 provides the support, I have no doubt in my mind that it could easily become the crown of the competitive scene for first person shooters.”
“From what has been shown so far on Battlefield 3, it’s obvious that DICE have been pouring a lot of love into this title. Without breaking my NDA, from my experience playing the game so far, I was blown away. The videos, articles, and screenshots do not do this game justice compared to the physical gameplay. There is nothing to compare it with.”
“And regarding that CoD/BF war: it’s all smoke and mirrors in my opinion. The two games are unique in their own way. Call of Duty is for your quick fix when Battlefield is all about scale battles. The reason why I keep on coming back to Battlefield is how each gameplay experience can be something unique. From inside a packed transport helicopter to rolling in columns of armor support, it’s all there in the sandbox. It’s up to the players to decide what to do with the tools available.”
Chris Anderson
Chris Anderson, also known as redd_dragons, is the admin of the Battlefield community site Don’t Revie Me Bro. He started playing Bad Company 1 on PS3, and later on he branched out to Bad Company 2, 1943 and BF2.
“My biggest concern with BF3 right now is the lack of killcam. When I played it at E3 that was notability lacking. I sincerely hope this will put it in the final release. For it to be a flop it would have to have a broken spawn system and major bugs lasting for weeks after release.”
“My expectations for Battlefield 3 is for it to be a legitimate contender to the Call of Duty series. Meaning that it will have a similar player base and similar sales.”
“My opinion on the BF/CoD war is that it’s all marketing talk. DICE doesn’t care about the “war”, they just want to make the best game possible. I think the marketers make it a bigger deal than it is.”
-Vp-
Dominic, also known as -Vp- used to be a community moderator on the Battlefield Heroes forum, but now he prefers to be “just a fan stalking the developers at DICE on Twitter”. He started playing BF1942 when he was a kid and instantly fell in love with it. Later on, he played a lot of BF2, BF2142, BFH and last but not least Bad Company 2.
“I expect Battlefield 3 to be not just be a great game but something that will shape and set the bar for future FPS titles. So many things start popping in my mind when I’m asked why it’s going to be awesome. The large scale battles we loved from the previous Battlefield series are coming back and with such a beautifully crafted engine, I can’t wait!”
“I do not actually believe that the game will be a flop even if the developers suddenly changed all soldiers into dinosaurs. DICE is known to make great multiplayer games and I believe they will not do something too drastic that will damage their very supporting fan base.”
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I would like to thank all the people listed above for their time to share their opinions and expectations. And now it’s your turn guys! What are your expectations, wishes and opinions regarding Battlefield 3?
so i dont have to be a hypocrite.
If you guys want one, register for the EA Gun Club and wait for the welcome email.
Was it in the Welcome letter or a following one?