There has never 
been a lot of love lost between Activision and Electronic Arts. The two video game publishers fight over just about everything.
But with Tuesday’s launch of EA’s “Battlefield 3,” the clash is taking on a particular sense of importance. At stake: The supremely profitable shooter genre – and possibly the fate of EA’s long-in-the-making turnaround.
For the past few 
months, the war of words between Activision and Electronic Arts over their respective modern military shooters has been intense, to say the least. EA has been eager to unseat Call of Duty from its king-of-the-hill spot and hasn’t shied away from trash talking to do so.
On Tuesday, the company’s best bet to accomplish this — Battlefield 3 — will hit store shelves. And while EA’s marketing machine is about to go into overdrive, analysts say the fight may be over before it starts.
With the upcoming 
Modern Warfare 3 looking to set new industry sales records when it launches later this year, Gamasutra’s Chris Morris questions whether Activision’s behemoth franchise can keep it up.
Even if you slept through your high school physics courses, you’re probably pretty familiar with the concept of what goes up, must come down. And given how high up the Call of Duty franchise has gotten in the past few years, there’s a very vocal segment of the gaming world waiting for it to fall.
Part of that is this industry’s insatiable need to declare the leading publisher evil and wish them harm. Part of it is rooting for an underdog. But whatever the reason, it looks like despite all the bellyaching by Activision opponents, gravity’s not going to be pulling the franchise from orbit this year either.
Electronic Arts is hoping 
for first blood in the slugfest of realistic military action games this fall.
The publisher announced at its pre-E3 press conference that “Battlefield 3” would hit shelves Oct. 25, two weeks before Activision releases its much-anticipated “Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3.” Both titles are expected to be massive hits this holiday.
Gamasutra editor-at-large Chris Morris examines 
Activision’s move to bring a subscription option toCall of Duty players, and how the decision could hint at a wider subscription strategy at the publisher.
So now it’s official. The long-awaited (and, in some cases, long-feared) subscription service for Call of Duty is a reality. And while players pore through the previews and press release to determine exactly what Elite entails, I’m finding it a lot more interesting to look further down the road.
Make no mistake, Elite is a bold move by Activision – and one that could ultimately change the way the industry operates when it comes to user communities and digital add-ons.
There’s no love lost between leading game 
publishers Activision and Electronic Arts, but this November the studios are planning their biggest battle yet.
EA CEO John Riccitiello, speaking at the Ad Age Digital Conference this week, confirmed that upcoming shooter Battlefield 3 will be released in November, putting it in a head-to-head battle with the latest Call of Duty game — widely expected to be Modern Warfare 3.
The countdown is on for the next
installment in the “Call of Duty” franchise – and all signs are pointing to “Modern Warfare 3”.
Activision has sent out dog tags to select members of the press that include the message “end the war” and refer to athe website FindMakarov.com. That site (which is getting hammered right now) features a countdown clock that’s set to expire Wed. March 2 at 7am PST.
[UPDATED: Activision has issued a statement that the site has no ties to the “Call of Duty” franchise. The publisher has further clarified it had nothing to do with the dogtags sent to some media outlets, either.]
Chris Morris: Journalist 