Electronic Arts has heard what Activision has to say about mudslinging and, judging by its official response, it doesn’t feel the same way.
Responding to the war of words that’s taken place between Battlefield and Call of Duty, Activision Publishing boss Eric Hirshberg gave a speech at Gamescom this week in which he called for an end to the trash talking. In his mind, competition is good, but “this type of rhetoric” — referring to EA’s John Riccitiello talking about his wish to see Call of Duty “rot from the core” — “is bad for our industry.” He stated, “…it’s one thing to want your game to be successful. It’s another to actively want the games of others to fail.”
While things are fine on some fronts — Infinity Ward’s Robert Bowling checked out DICE’s Battlefield 3 today — EA’s VP of communications, Jeff Brown, wasn’t especially kind in a statement given to Kotaku, starting out by saying, “Welcome to the big leagues, Eric.”
