The bar has been set high for the future of the Battlefield franchise, and at the Ad Age Digital Conference today, CEO John Riccitiello decided to push that bar up a little higher. There’s no question that Battlefield 3 will be fierce competition for the next Call of Duty title. Few first-person shooters have even begun to approach the mass-market appeal Call of Duty has garnered.

Considering how well it did in the market the past two years, this is quite a lofty goal. Mocking demos aside, Call of Duty is now, after all, the best selling game of all time. So how do DICE and EA plan to topple the most established franchise in years? Well, they designed it specifically for that purpose.

Says John Riccitiello:

The details of the next Call of Duty are still hazy however, it remains one of the most anticipated imminent announcements among the gaming community. There’s no question that both Battlefield 3 and Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3(?) will sell exceptionally well, but as the Game Rant team discussed in our most recent Game Ranter Banter, the November release window is packed with an inordinate amount of AAA releases. It might be a hard choice for the Activision loyalists. Riccitiello still isn’t worried:

“This November, we’re launching Battlefield 3. It’s going up against the next Call of Duty, which is presently the #1 game in the game industry. A game that last year did $400 million dollars in revenue on day one. [Battlefield 3] is designed to take that game down.”

That determination and confidence (along with the millions and millions of dollars) could go a long way in giving Battlefield 3 a chance at the coveted top spot this holiday season (although we heard this before with Medal of Honor). Let’s see if EA can prove Michael Pachter wrong.

“There will be a couple hundred million dollars of marketing against these two products going head to head. We think we have the better product[.]”

Do you think that DICE’s next entry in the Battlefield series can be the first-person shooter to finally top Call of Duty? Are gamers looking for the next big thing, or is Call of Duty still going to be in fashion this fall?

Battlefield 3 storms the shelves this coming November for the PS3, Xbox 360, and PC.

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Source: IGN