You may have seen the latest teaser trailers of both FIFA 17 and Battlefield 1 by now, both of which are incredibly popular franchises with a lot of love behind them. However one thing I noticed when watching both trailers was the well known Xbox splashscreen coming into the frame before the video started.
The reason why this got my attention is because this isn’t featured in any of the older FIFA games, and from what I’ve seen in the previous Battlefield trailers and teaser trailers, it’s not been present. During one of Electronic Arts’ Investor Day conferences, the executive team were asked if the alignment of Battlefield 1 and Xbox One would have issues with the game, however Investor Relations Vice President Chris Evenden explain that the deal with both companies would have no limit on the ability for the game to reach a wider audience:
You know, I think this is a game for PlayStation as much as it is for Xbox as much as it is for PC. I think what DICE has done and the game that they’re building is going to satisfy the battlefield core that continues to play Battlefield 4 and Hardline, and it’s actually gonna bring a lot of additional players into the battlefield franchise.
I don’t think there are limiters to our ability to reach a really broad audience of gamers across the whole shooter spectrum, players who play these games, and also bringing more players in to the genre with Battlefield 1.
All the partnership really means is that in the future of the game to come, any tournaments with the game would be focused around the Xbox – the same can be said about FIFA, as a few years ago, PlayStation and Virgin teamed up to do online tournaments for cash prizes.
As well as this, EA Access is given to owners of FIFA 17 on Xbox One, allowing early access to the owners a few days beforehand. This is a brilliant scheme for Microsoft as both the FIFA and Battlefield series are huge and could bring in much needed revenue and attention close to the upcoming Electronic Expo. A few years prior, FIFA 14’s Ultimate Team also came with Xbox One exclusive content. If the assumptions are true, Microsoft are going down a very good path this year, pulling out all the cards for E3 – especially with the recent revelations about Dead Rising 4.
What are your opinions on this? Do you think Microsoft are trying to get as much exclusivity as they can? Perhaps they’re using this to their advantage and will try to boost Xbox sales for big games such as FIFA or Battlefield? Let us know down below!
