EA isn't giving up until Battlefield "is number one," says Soderlund

Patrick Soderlund, EVP of EA's games label, has said the firm isn't going to give up until Battlefield bests Call of Duty as the number one shooter.

Speaking with MCV, Soderlund said not only is such competition good for the market, but for both companies as well.

“Competition is good,” said Soderlund. “It brings the best out of people. If there was only Battlefield or only Call of Duty, then the development teams might have been a little bit more content. We don’t look at them necessarily and mimic what they do.

"But we think about them. Maybe they weren’t thinking about us much when we made Battlefield 3, but I can tell you, they are thinking about us now. They need too. We made a dent in the FPS market and we took share from them. And I am not going to give up until I’m No.1 and I am going to make sure I’m No.1.

“We are spending a tonne of money on this, our teams are killing themselves every year to make great games. I want to give our consumers the best I can. We will strive to be No.1. If I said: ‘No.5 is probably fine,’ it’s hard for people to rally behind that message.

"But I wouldn't say we could be No.1 if I didn't think we could. I think I have the right team, the right product and the right strategy to get there.”

We'll see what happens once both shooters are released this fall: Battlefield 4 will be available October 29 for PC, PS3 and Xbox 360. The game will also be made available on PS4 November 12 in North America and in Europe on November 29. The Xbox One version will be released in North America on November 19 and in Europe on November 21.

Call of Duty: Ghosts releases on PC, PS3, Wii U and Xbox 360 on November 5. The PS4 and Xbox One versions land alongside the new consoles.