Battlefield 1 Xbox One branding doesn't turn off PS4 gamers, EA says
"This is a game for PlayStation as much as it is for Xbox as much as it is for PC."
Sony's PlayStation 4 is leading the current-generation sales race, but one of this year's biggest shooters, Battlefield 1, has aligned with Microsoft's Xbox One for a co-marketing deal. During EA's Investor Day briefing this week, EA was asked if it had any fears about this arrangement impacting sales.
EA CEO Andrew Wilson said PlayStation gamers won't be turned off by the fact that the game carries Xbox branding. Chief marketing officer Chris Bruzzo agreed.
"This is a game for PlayStation as much as it is for Xbox as much as it is for PC," he said. "I don't see any limiters to our ability reach a really broad audience of gamers across the whole shooter spectrum."
These kinds of arrangements are commonplace in games. Sony has co-marketing deals in place for Star Wars: Battlefront, the Call of Duty franchise and Destiny, while Microsoft and Bethesda partnered to promote Fallout 4.
Wilson said when a game has some kind of arrangement in place for a console you might not own, it can in fact raise awareness for the game in question across the board.
"Our console partners want to stand right next to the biggest and best games in the industry," Wilson said. "Typically, what we see is that just aids awareness. It aids awareness whether you're a PC gamer or an Xbox gamer or a PlayStation gamer."
Microsoft and Sony secure these co-marketing deals because they believe it will drive "disproportionate awareness around the game as it relates to their particular console," Wilson said. However, this may not actually be the case.
"But what we have seen--and we've seen the analytics against it--is if you're a PlayStation gamer, you do not reject it because it is brought to you by a potential console partner. You understand deeply that it's also available on your console. And what we get is just a multiplier effect of greater awareness in the marketplace."
Battlefield 1 launches on October 21, though people with an EA/Origin Access membership or those who pick up the deluxe edition can get in on October 18. Additionally, a beta will be held sometime before launch.
For more on EA's Investor Day briefing, check out the stories below:
- EA Boss Originally Rejected WW1 Battlefield Pitch
- EA Forms New Team to Explore Future Tech, Including Virtual Humans for VR
- BioWare Could Be Working on an "Action" Game, EA Suggests
- EA Explains Why Star Wars: Battlefront Didn't Have Single-Player and Teases Sequel Might
- EA-Published Indie Game Unravel Getting Sequel