Battlefield 4 could mean no new Xbox or PS4 in 2013.

UPDATE: Obviously this opinion piece is flawed and dated as we all know both next-gen systems are coming holiday 2013. Oh, the silly things we say in the past!

ORIGINAL POST:

EA has officially announced what you already knew. Customers who pre-order Medal of Honor: Warfighter will get access to the Battlefield 4 beta.

They made it official today but what makes this most interesting is that EA confirmed they are targeting fall 2013 as when the beta will start.

Usually betas take place 3-6 months before a game releases in order to correct bugs. This would mean that Battlefield 4 won’t ship until early 2014.

So Battlefield 4 in 2014 is the most important part of this story right? Wrong. EA wouldn’t be sending out BF4 beta invites to 360/PS3 owners if they thought the next Xbox or PS4 were coming out in 2013.

Can you imagine how insulting that would be to Medal of Honor buyers if they gave them beta invites to a game on another unreleased system?

“Hey buy this new $400 system to have the privilege to play our next game dude in 2013,” isn’t what consumers want to hear when they pay $60+ for new games. Electronic Arts is giving these beta invites out with Medal of Honor because Battlefield 4 will be and quite possibly designed for PS3 and Xbox 360.

I’d say this is possibly the biggest piece of evidence that we won’t see new consoles from Sony and Microsoft in 2013. With a line up like God of War: Ascension, Tomb Raider, The Last of Us, Grand Theft Auto V, Bioshock Infinite and Beyond: Two Souls it doesn’t seem like 2013 will be the year of new consoles. These developers and publishers wouldn’t be investing so heavily in 360/PS3 games if they had any concrete information about next generation devices.

With rumors of a new PS3 model allowing the system’s price to finally hit sub-$200 and with the 360 still costing $300 for the hard drive SKU it seems like price drops may be coming in a big last push for current gen console sales before next gen arrives.

Battlefield 4′s announcement isn’t just important because it’s a highly anticipated game. It is important because it means that the 360 and PS3 have much more life left in them, possibly into 2014.

EA wouldn’t be making beta invites for the 360/PS3 versions of BF4 a priority for Medal of Honor’s release if they were actually planning to ship BF4 for new consoles in 2013 so this would indicate that EA has no actual idea if these devices exist.

While EA wouldn’t say they were making a PS4/Xbox 720 version of Battlefield 4 even if they were. The fact that there will be a beta for the 360/PS3 versions as a pre-order bonus for a current gen game speaks about how much confidence they have in releasing games on those current platforms.

It’s no secret that once new consoles release older generation software sales take a nose dive. If EA had knowledge of a 2013 release of the PS4/Xbox 720 then you can imagine they could (and it is in their history that they would) rush Battlefield 4 out for a fall 2013 release to meet the launches of those new devices and capitalize on early adopters. Releasing a game, even one with Battlefield’s popularity, months after new consoles arrive will have a negative effect on the sales of the game on the older platforms it releases on in addition to the new console versions.

Electronic Arts wouldn’t send a game like Battlefield into a situation like that.

But a fall 2013 beta for the game indicates that no version, next-gen or current gen will be finished before 2014 if we were talking about anyone other than EA who had a Battlefield 3 beta only a month before release.

CVG is reporting that Ian Tornay from Electronic Arts has confirmed a release date of Fall 2013 for Battlefield 4. Tornay said:

“We don’t have a BF4 release date yet but, of course, it will be after the beta.”

I don’t really understand how this is a confirmation of a fall 2013 release for the game. It’s common knowledge that a beta comes before a final product. That’s the purpose of the beta, duh. If anything I’d say that Tornay isn’t willing to say “Fall 2013″ as a definitive release as a sign that it could slip to early 2014.

But this is EA we’re talking about. They’ll get it out whenever they want it to be released. I still wouldn’t rule out an early 2014 release much like the Bad Company games had early in the new year releases but let’s count on EA getting into to stores by Christmas 2013 anyway.

There is actually a very good chance that if EA doesn’t have a release window for the PS4 and next Xbox to plan Battlefield 4′s release around then that could mean that not even Sony or Microsoft have sent out development kits to third parties. While this is just our opinion we think it means that next generation consoles are much further away than most think.

I do think that new consoles, at least one of them, will ship in 2013 though. It would be odd to see Nintendo have such a large head start on Sony/Microsoft’s next devices. Though with all of the great games coming for current consoles next year (The Last of Us, Tomb Raider, Gears of War Judgment, Beyond: Two Souls) we wonder if that means publishers know they have more time to release current gen games before new hardware is on store shelves than most of us expect.

Check out EA’s press release on Medal of Honor Warfighter’s Limited Edition below.

EA ANNOUNCES MEDAL OF HONOR WARFIGHTER LIMITED EDITION TO INCLUDE ACCESS TO EXCLUSIVE BATTLEFIELD 4 BETA
Guildford, UK. – July 17, 2012 – Electronic Arts Inc. (NASDAQ: EA) today announced access to the exclusive beta for Battlefield 4™, the next entry in DICE’s award-winning shooter series, to players that pre-order Medal of Honor™ Warfighter Limited Edition* prior to the game’s launch on Oct. 23. The most authentic shooter this holiday, Medal of Honor Warfighter is the only game that puts players in the boots of the world’s most aggressive, precise and disciplined warfighters, fighting battles that are ripped from headlines around the globe. Powered by the ground-breaking Frostbite™ 2 engine, Medal of Honor Warfighter delivers tomorrow’s technology on today’s platforms with advanced gameplay, visuals and sound design.

The exclusive Battlefield 4 beta will be available in Fall 2013. Additional details regarding Battlefield 4 will be revealed at a later date.

“Though Battlefield and Medal of Honor Warfighter each offer players a completely unique experience, they are united by their underlying technology base – Frostbite. These are two of the hottest shooters, coming together to deliver a one-two punch of action, intensity and shooter entertainment,” said Frank Gibeau, President of EA Labels.

Written by U.S. Tier 1 Operators while deployed overseas, Medal of Honor Warfighter is set to deliver this year’s most authentic military shooter experience inspired by real warriors, real operations and real places. From rescuing hostages in Abu Sayyaf’s stronghold in the Philippines to assaulting Al-Shabaab’s “Pirate Town” on the Somali Coast, Medal of Honor Warfighter puts players in the boots of today’s most highly trained and skilled warriors to experience missions that have a dotted line to real world terrorist threats. Medal of Honor Warfighter features real world hotspots in the single player campaign and introduces international Tier 1 Operators from 10 different nations in multiplayer allowing players to show their national pride online.

“Frostbite 2 is an amazingly powerful technology that challenges us to break the multiplayer mold. The unique premise of global warfighters in Medal of Honor Warfighter has inspired us to pioneer new multiplayer concepts such as Fire Teams and the idea of having Tier 1 Operators from around the world go head-to-head in online competition,” said Greg Goodrich, Executive Producer, Medal of Honor.

Developed by Danger Close Games, Medal of Honor Warfighter will be available in the UK on October 26, 2012 for the Xbox 360® video game and entertainment system, PlayStation®3 computer entertainment system and PC. For more information on Medal of Honor Warfighter, please visit www.medalofhonor.com, and for the latest news visit www.facebook.com/medalofhonor or follow on Twitter at www.twitter.com/medalofhonor. Press assets are available at www.eagames.co.uk/press.
Conditions and restrictions apply. See http://www.medalofhonor.com/bf4-beta for details.

About Electronic Arts
Electronic Arts (NASDAQ: EA) is a global leader in digital interactive entertainment. The Company delivers games, content and online services for Internet-connected consoles, personal computers, mobile phones, tablets and social networks. EA has more than 220 million registered players and operates in 75 countries.

In fiscal 2012, EA posted GAAP net revenue of $4.1 billion. Headquartered in Redwood City, California, EA is recognized for a portfolio of critically acclaimed, high-quality blockbuster brands such as The Sims™, Madden NFL, FIFA Soccer, Need for Speed™, Battlefield™ and Mass Effect™. More information about EA is available at www.eagames.co.uk/ptress.

Danger Close, Medal of Honor, The Sims and Need for Speed are trademarks of Electronic Arts Inc. Battlefield, Battlefield 4 and Frostbite are trademarks of EA Digital Illusions CE AB. John Madden, NFL, and FIFA are the property of their respective owners and used under license. PlayStation is a registered trademark of Sony Computer Entertainment Inc. Xbox and Xbox 360 are trademarks of the Microsoft group of companies. Twitter is a registered trademark of Twitter, Inc. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners.

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