Like Activision has multiple Call of Duty developers (Infinity Ward, Treyarch, Sledgehammer Games) which allows them to release a new installment every fall, EA is following the exact same strategy. DICE and Danger Close Games will alternate releases each year: Medal of Honor came in 2010, Battlefield 3 in 2011, and this year will see Medal of Honor 2 with Battlefield 4 likely coming in 2013.
Another annualized EA product is Need for Speed which, as of late, has seen more than one Need for Speed release per year on average, and another coming this fall. None of this news regarding these major EA properties comes as surprising, but this morning they confirmed it behind closed doors.
UK video games retailer GAME was invited to an Electronic Arts event where a few new games were shown off and attendees could get hands-on with upcoming titles including one of our most anticipated of the year, SSX. While at the event, GAME's official Twitter kept fans updated
"This morning we're at an EA presentation, where we hope to see some pretty cool games! Don't know what we can say yet but stay tuned!"
Followed by the now-mysteriously-deleted tweet:
"Had mentions of a new Medal of Honor and Need for Speed 13! EA have an exciting year ahead."
Uh oh. They weren't supposed to say that... But really, it doesn't matter. Need for Speed titles now debut annually at the very minimum and we've known all along that Medal of Honor 2 would debut this year. Developer Danger Close revealed they were working on a follow-up since Medal of Honor released in 2010 and more recently, the packaging of Battlefield 3 makes mention of the next MoH game.
Medal of Honor represented a classic case of EA overhyping their own product and when it debuted, it was hit with average review scores for being a solid shooter, but nothing special. It was a rather standard product that suffered from its multiplayer component feeling entirely disconnected from the campaign (because it was developed by DICE separately) and not as appealing as Call of Duty: Black Ops' offerings that year.
EA even admitted to it after the fact, revealing they were disappointed with Medal of Honor reboot and that it "didn’t meet their quality expectations" - One wonders why it was released then...
With Battlefield 3 coming out and offering incredible visuals and vehicular gameplay on larger maps as an alternative to Call of Duty, what will the next Medal of Honor offer that will make players want to switch or play it instead? We'll just have to wait and see but we hope Danger Close is taking notes of the good parts (and bad) of the other franchises' current multiplayer offerings.
As for Need for Speed, it's possible this year's title is a Hot Pursuit sequel or something entirely new since Shift also got a sequel last year.
What would you like to see from a new Need for Speed and Medal of Honor 2?
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