Ben-DutkaIt's an interesting question.
In my personal experience, it does seem like those who prefer the PlayStation 3 aren't so big on Call of Duty , while they are Battlefield fans. In contrast, most hardcore Xbox 360 fans I know will invariably choose CoD over Battlefield . …but why?
That's merely anecdotal evidence but perhaps some statistics support the theory. It's no secret that the 360 version of every new CoD iteration sells a lot more than the PS3 version. That's all the more telling, as the worldwide tally for the two systems is almost identical these days (although shooters are certainly more popular in the US, where the 360 is most prevalent). Furthermore, new stats from Battlelog show that the PS3 userbase is quite a bit bigger than the 360 userbase for Battlefield 3 .
Do you believe that the majority of 360 fans opt for CoD while the majority of PS3 fans go with Battlefield ? And if so, how do you explain this split?
Interesting stats. I think it's a given that there is this split though, considering that both games offers timed exclusive content to each platform and that is enough to sway a decision one way or the other. At the same time, I think there's a bit of a fallacy to be found in this. 311,000 people isn't really a huge contingency and I'd set my watch and warrant that there are more PS3 owners playing Call of Duty than that. It depends on how you look at it.
It's my belief that Xboxers are typically more oriented towards shooters in general, while PS3 gamers prefer action/adventure games. And looking at a broad spectrum of games and sales… there is debatable evidence that it is true.
I don't think it is that easy; how do we then explain why Skyrim sold that much more on the x360? I don't remember the exact numbers but there really was a *huge* difference, like 2/3 were sold to x360 or thereabouts. It was major, and this is long before the troubles with the ps3 version were known.
Well that is true, but Skyrim is an exception. Devil May Cry 4, Dante's Inferno, Darksiders II, Assassin's Creed 2/3, PoP '08 and The Forgotten Sands, L.A. Noire, Ninja Gaiden 3 and Asura's Wrath.
Maybe it isn't fair to say either/or in this case, but there is a strong case to be made for a greater proliferation of that type of game on the PS3, whereas the likes of Max Payne 3, Homefront, Far Cry 3, GR:FS, Transformers, Borderlands 2. Maybe I'm just trying to fit square pegs into round holes, I dunno.
Of course examples can be found to the very inverse as well so. I dunno. Maybe gamers are just gamers?
I tend to favour your conclusion at the end, but I have very little to back that up. I just remember I was very surprised when I read those numbers for Skyrim, it made me think that perhaps the picture is a bit more nuanced than what is often drawn of the x360 gamer around here.
If someone had pulled down a bunch of numbers from vgchartz and categorized them it would make one hell of an interesting article to read. (hint hint, Ben 😉 )
Last edited by Beamboom on 1/1/2013 11:22:32 AM
Can't comment on Battlefield, but I have Black Ops 2 for the 360 for the first time and was surprised to see the online numbers to be not really all that different from past PS3 CODs. In fact, I read some of the Digital Foundry face off and in the online portion of their analysis they said that there was more players on the ps3 version compared to 360 when they logged on. That's my personal experience.
Maybe it's due to age, if the average ps3 gamer is older? Almost all of my personal gamer-friends who are into competitive multiplayer, whom most are in their late 30s/early 40s play Battlefield on their ps3 today, not COD.
And since Battlefield is quite more advanced and teamplay-oriented, it might be for the older gamers?
Last edited by Beamboom on 1/1/2013 12:51:34 AM
COD is definitely more kid-friendly than Battlefield, so being a older gamer who are into a lot of war shooters makes it makes more sense.
Last edited by AcHiLLiA on 1/1/2013 3:46:18 PM
Who ever can play CoD over BF is beyond me.
Whoever can play any shooter over SOCOM is beyond me :).
i dunno about that, 99% of my friends list plays nothing but COD!
maybe its a technical issue, i remember when the game came out there was allot of texture loading issues for the 360 along with server problems.
maybe it has something to do with ps3 users getting the DLC sooner, like what M$ did with COD?
It's sad, but same thing here. Almost everyone plays cod on my friends list. While I get new games like Most Wanted and Far Cry, these mo's keep playing cod. I keep hoping when I get a game that I'll see someone on there playing it, but nope! That is obviously partly my fault for picking these friends but still!
Stay Classy PSX…
To be honest, I have never met anyone face to face that plays Battlefield. It's all COD. Mind you, I don't play either, but my son and all his friends, my co-workers, family, everyone I know that plays those games (including those that I have run into in PS Home), all say that they have never tried Battlfield. Obviously, I am not the gauge that these things are measured by, but all the talk I see about Battlefield is in forums like this; so this does surprise me.
Interesting article!
I once read somewhere in the interwebz about an experiment where a hardcore CoD player was told to play Battlefield. At first he was a lone wolf (a trait very common in CoD players…I believe he tends to curse alot too) eventually he learned to play as a team (and curse less). Unfortunately, he reverts back to his CoD mindset…Don`t quote me on this though. Its an article Ive read years ago so everything kinda hazy.
I've got a good bunch on my FL playing both – probably about 60/40 towards CoD over the long term. Not enough SOCOM and BIRDS OF STEEL I tells ya. They do also play a lot of other stuff, and Far Cry 3's getting a good run atm.
Pretty sure COD numbers destroy BF on the PS3 as well. Im just happy we get to play both.
Not sure why even less xboxers play BF3 – possibly due to Halo 4 as their secondary shooter?
I've never had that. Everyone I know has played Call of Duty and many still do on a regular basis. PC gamers, PS3 gamers, Xbox gamers.
Yea, I don't think theres any relevant evidence to support this. Not that PS3 players arent playing more of BF but that its split between consoles. Even then, based on my friends list – which isnt any indication whatsoever – I have one friend who regularly plays BF3. I dont know that just seems like a whack statistuc to me.
What? I find this outrageous. I've logged countless hours in BF3 on my 360 (70 I believe?) and aside from renting or borrowing the recent COD entries (to simply play their campaigns) the last COD I truly own was Modern Warfare 2 haha
Thus, in my experience I find this theory outrageous 🙂
I do. PS3 is full of friends wanting to work together to win or just to have fun. While on the 360 you have people wanting to win and brag about how you got a 34/4 kill death ratio. I mean sure i've heard one or two people on bf3 being douchy but mainly its friends playing together to have fun, and not to try hard to win.
easy most teenage kids own an xbox and is the go too system for most teens ,for if there friends have one more than likely they would get there parents to get them one , the ps3 is a more mature system most that own a ps3 are adults and with that said i think that ps3 owners prefer quality rather than quantity and battlefield 3 is about quality but lately the game is suffering with all the tweaks ea/dice is doing to make it more main stream for a less mature gamer and it is frustrating
Yes and no – most of my friends on ps3 are 40 -50 and all play cod with a few playing bf3 and moh as well.
Xboxers have halo4 as their secondary shooter.
BF is a vastly superior experience on the pc. COD is more of a console experience
I have both a 360 and a PS3 and don't play either of them any more. I played a little bit of Blops when it first came out and ran through the campaign some on CoD4 but the last time I even touched a CoD game was about 2 years ago and it was CoD 2 with a gaming community I'm a part of.