Xbox Gaming in South Africa

EA's CEO John Riccitiello has set the tone for the upcoming war between the two biggest first-person shooter franchises, Battlefield and Call of Duty, later this year, calling it the "battle of the titans".

"This November we're launching Battlefield 3. It's going up against the next Call of Duty, which is presently the number one game in the industry – a game that last year did $400 million in revenue on day one," said Riccitiello during a presentation at the Ad Age Conference in New York.

"This game is designed to take that game down. If you're looking for a battle of the titans – Red Sox vs Yankees... Microsoft or Google - and what the tip-off point is for this holiday season, this is it.

"There will be a couple of hundred million dollars of marketing against these two products going head to head. Similar designs – we think we've got the better product – it's going to be a blast."

Battlefield 3 is expected to deploy early November, and although Activision hasn't formally announced this year's Call of Duty title, it usually releases around the same time. Sounds like it's going to be one helluva showdown.

[via Eurogamer]