Battlefield 3 Vs Modern Warfare 3

There's a fight brewing and it'll be a big one, two of the biggest FPS franchises in videogames will go head to head in an effort to dominate the digital battlefield late in 2011.

So who has the edge, EA's ultra detailed Battlefield franchise from big hitters DICE or Activisions Modern Warfare juggernaut from its triple studio effort Infinity Ward,Sledgehammer and Raven studios?

The interesting thing about both publishers and developers is that the last eighteeen months hasn't all been plain sailing for either of them. Activision are still buffing out the dents from what could be a costly court action and PR mess as former Infinity Ward employees Jason West and Vince Zampella contest ownership and loss of earnings among other things in what could be a very revealing court case. DICE on the other hand have to maintain momentum and get back in gear from the hiccup with the luke warm reception for the Medal of Honor franchise despite a brilliant marketing campaign and P&L targets being met. EA's primary problem is that Medal of Honor and Battlefield are fighting for the same space and the same consumer dollar in a tough economy. This is further compounded by the fact it uses the same dev talent to help develop both internal franchises rather than opt for new teams and a distinctively different look and feel.

Another factor coming into play is the 30 FPS Vs 60 FPS, traditionally the higher framerate is superior so it will be interesting to see how Battlefield 3, a 30 FPS product fares on home console against MW3 superior 60 FPS. Ideally EA needs to define how and when the two franchises can share the same buyer and introduce more innovation to the Medal of Honor franchise sadly lacking in the Afghanistan themed Tier 1 Ops reboot.
For Modern Warfare 3 lead studio Sledgehammer has had considerable financial backing from Activision to prop up the remains of Infinity Wards heavily depleted dev team, Glen Schofield and Michael Condrey founded Activisions Sledgehammer studios back in 2009,the pair previously employed by EA at Visceral Games, the makers of EA's space horror "Dead Space".
Activision will be relying on brand strength and the current strong retailer pre sale backing for its Novemeber launch. It has its work cut out to see if it can't grab the sell through crown from Treyarch who has helped Activision sell through 3.72 million units of COD Black Ops in the UK beating Infinity Wards Modern Warfare 2 tally by twenty thousand units.
DLC will play a major part in maintaining the franchises longevity with fans,Activision no doubt also still confident it can squeeze a cost of 1200 MS points for additional Map packs with its Xbox 360 consumer.

With map packs such as the recent Annihilation pack adding to the ever growing Call of Duty cash cow several months down the line from release it's a big market to dominate and proves that DLC not only maintains brand awareness but enforces brand loyalty to FPS fans.
Battlefield on the other hand has already wowed global audiences and FPS fans with a simply stunning viral campaign of in-game video footage that has underlined its full committment to delivering visceral FPS experiences and incredible attention to detail.

Like I say, there's a fight brewing, its up to you to decide what team you're on.