EA Makes Nice With Activision and Modern Warfare 3

Electronic Arts suddenly and for no reason wants to make nice with Activision and Modern Warfare 3.

A quick refresher course:

“[Battlefield 3] is designed to take that game down… [We] think we’ve got the better product.” – John Riccitiello, April 2011

“It’s the beginning of the war [between Battlefield 3 and Modern Warfare 3] and [Kotick] recognizes they’re going to be threatened… If that’s all he’s got to say, it’s obviously going to evaporate as we launch all three. If you went to our press conference, you saw the PS3 footage and the Xbox footage. If Bobby thinks that is PC footage, he’s in real trouble.” – John Riccitiello, June 2011

“Welcome to the big leagues Eric – I know you’re new in the job but someone should have told you this is an competitive industry… You’ve got every reason to be nervous. Last year Activision had a 90 [percent] share in the shooter category. This year, Battlefield 3 is going to take you down to 60 or 70. At that rate, you’ll be out of the category in 2-3 years.” – Jeff Brown, August 2011

Oh, but what a difference a week makes, particularly when it’s the week following the launch of Battlefield 3. EA’s much-ballyhooed military shooter did very well for itself in its first week of release, with an estimated five million copies sold. That puts it absolutely nowhere near the monster numbers of the Call of Duty franchise, which rang up seven million copies of Modern Warfare 2 in its first day.

And now EA seems to be singing a bit of a different different tune. “We all respect what Call of Duty brings and what they’re going to come with. Right now we’re out in the market, and that’s all I know. When they come out, they come out, and I wish them the best of luck,” Executive Vice President Patrick Soderlund told IGN. “They’re partners in this industry, and I play all their games and I look forward to many of them, and all I can do is try and make sure that people stay interested and want to have more Battlefield.”

Bit of a far cry from hoping the series “rots from the core,” wouldn’t you say? Modern Warfare 3 comes out on November 8 for the Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, PC, Wii and Nintendo DS.