Feature: EA vs. Activision: Genre by genre Subscribe to this RSS feed
EA and Activision have been cutting no costs to be the world's top third party publisher. In wake of recent acquisitions, we compare each company's potential in all of the major genres.
In the wake of the flurry of developer acquisitions in recent weeks, it's become apparent that the battle for third-party supremacy will be hard fought. With Bizarre joining Activision, and EA acquiring Pandemic and Bioware, we thought we'd figure out which company truly has the upper hand by comparing the top titles each company has in each of the major genres.
Tony Hawk's Proving Ground
ALT SPORTS:
EA: With the recently released skate, EA has provided Tony Hawk its biggest competition in, well, ever. So far, the reception has been slightly positive, though not at the level of Tony's top titles. SSX has had its moments, but it's been going downhill as of late.
ACTIVISION: While Tony Hawk may be a bit long in the tooth, it's still the top dog in the industry. Project 8 infused some much-needed life into the series, and Proving Ground looks to follow that trend.
Edge: Activision. skate is a good start, but it'll take a few sequels before it has a real shot at dethroning Tony.
FIRST-PERSON SHOOTERS:
EA: EA develops two of the genre's most well-known series in Battlefield, which continues to impress, and Medal of Honor, which hasn't been quite the same since several of its developers left to form Infinity Ward. EA also has a few key publishing deals in place, publishing two of the year's most anticipated shooters in Half-Life: The Orange Box and Crysis, thanks to deals with Valve and Crytek, respectively.
ACTIVISION: EA may own the holiday season, but Activision's strong history in the FPS genre is difficult to dismiss. With Infinity Ward in its stable, Activision has consistently delivered with the Call of Duty series, which has yet to see a significant misstep. Activision also publishes the majority of id Software's FPS franchises, which include Quake, Doom and Wolfenstein.
Edge: Activision. EA may be publishing some heavy hitters this year, but Activision has stronger ties to the genre, which will serve the company better in the long run.
ACTION:
Army of Two
EA: Up until recently, EA's presence in this category was average at best, with various licensed titles like Bond, Lord of the Rings, and The Godfather performing decently. The company has really kicked it up a notch with the development of Army of Two, and the acquisition of Pandemic, developers of such titles as Mercenaries, Saboteur and Destroy All Humans.
ACTIVISION: Activision hasn't quite taken the action-gaming market by storm. Titles like GUN, Spider-Man and True Crime, though certainly worth merit, aren't among the upper-echelon of the genre. We don't really see the company making great strides to the effect of EA. Better open those purse-strings!
Edge: EA Besides the uncontested categories, this is one where Activision just can't match up to EA, particularly in the face of the Pandemic acquisition.
