Battlefield 1 Was Originally Rejected
While the public response to Battlefield 1 and its WWI setting has been positive, EA Games itself didn’t have that initial reaction. EA Studios boss Patrick Soderlund confessed today during the annual Investor Day briefing that he rejected the idea when DICE first pitched it to him.
“[World War 1] wasn’t the most obvious choice,” said Soderlund. “If you look at what other partners in the industry are doing, they’re going into sci-fi; we’ve had a lot of success in the modern military space. But we felt like there was a need for a change.” But copying competitors wasn’t the reason he was hesistant.
“When the team presented the idea to me of World War 1, I absolutely rejected it,” Soderlund continued. “I said World War 1, it’s trench warfare; it can’t be fun to play.” DICE, of course, had more in mind than just sitting in trenches — it appears players will be able to utilize horses, tanks and even oldschool biplanes. DICE didn’t give up on the idea and Soderlund eventually came around.
Soderlund says Battefield 1 is “right for the franchise and right for EA. We have to remember that so far, we have only shown one trailer. Yes, it’s gotten a lot of success, but what’s important is that we have to go back and make sure we deliver on the full promise of what Battlefield can be. And that we will do.”
Battlefield 1 comes to current-gen consoles and the PC on October 21.
[Source: Gamespot]