This fall, two military-shooter juggernauts will face off for your – or your awesome grandma's – holiday dollars. Both Activision's "Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3" and EA's "Battlefield 3" are worthy contenders, but in the end, one title will likely draw the most sales. Fans of the genre are well aware that Microsoft have paid, we assume, quite handsomely for the right to timed exclusives in regards to ever-popular "Call of Duty" downloadable-content. PlayStation 3 and PC players have waited a month longer to receive the same map packs.
Well, EA is looking to stake their own console exclusivity claim, thanks to a deal with Sony. "Battlefield 3" downloadable-content will come to the PlayStation 3 one week before other platforms.
Writing on the PlayStation Blog this morning, DICE junior product manager Tommy Riddling announced that starting with the first downloadable-content pack, "Back To Karkand," all upcoming "full-blown" content will arrive on the PlayStation 3 one week early. Presumably, the "full-blown" would mean full map packs, as opposed to general updates.
This isn't all that surprising, as DICE have made a point to show the PlayStation 3 version of "Battlefield 3" whenever they had the chance. A recent GamesCom demo was shown exclusively on the Sony system, and the company have repeatedly shied away from presenting Xbox 360 footage of the game in action.
Essentially, this little debate for first-person shooter domination has actually tapped into the ever-present console fanboy fanaticism. EA has chosen to align itself with Sony, Activision with Microsoft. One can assume that those alliances will continue into the foreseeable future, which should serve to get the console devotees worked into a good, frothy lather.
One question though: what about the PC players? Who will lay down the proverbial money-hat for timed computer exclusivity? Unfortunately, unless Alienware suddenly decides to jump into the software exclusives market – not likely – that's not going to happen. Whether PC gamers are playing "Call of Duty" or "Battlefield," they'll have to wait on those map packs. Which seems ironic, considering their platform is where the genre began.