You may have noticed that the early marketing material for Battlefield 1 is heavily branded with Microsoft’s Xbox One logos and slogans. Don’t adjust your set, though; this is a very conscious decision following EA’s move to partner with Microsoft for the shooter’s pre-release promotional material.
The interesting move has led some commentators to ask the question of whether PS4 players – who reportedly outnumber Xbox One owners 2-to-1 at present – would be turned off from the game by its association to the rival console. EA boss Andrew Wilson recently addressed this concern at an investor day and explained that the studio are far from worried by this possibility:
Our console partners want to stand right next to the biggest and best games in the industry; typically what we see is that just aids awareness. It aids awareness whether you’re a PC gamer or an Xbox gamer or a PlayStation gamer […] But what we have seen – and we’ve seen the analytics against it – is if you’re a PlayStation gamer, you do not reject it because it is brought to you by a potential console parter.
Put simply, EA are not afraid that their marketing deal with Microsoft will be alienating any gamers away from their huge new title. While it’s true that Microsoft stand to gain a lot more exposure for their flagship console in all of the promos and trailers, there really isn’t anything that should concern PS4 players who are watching all the same footage.
Battlefield 1‘s exclusive deal with Microsoft does raise an interesting question around the treatment games get in their pre-release marketing however. Would you find yourself ignoring a universally available game just because its trailers aligned with a different console or device to your own? Sound off with your take on the debate in the comments below.