There was a lot of skepticism preceding the launch of “Battlefield: Hardline”, and many were convinced that the new title would flop due to the dramatic change in its design direction. And while it’s true that the game changed the face of “Battlefield” significantly, if the current sales trends are of any indication, this change is exactly what fans have been asking for.
Currently, the game is dominating the UK sales charts quite strongly, pulling ahead in front of even “Final Fantasy Type-0 HD” and “Grand Theft Auto 5”, both very successful titles in commercial terms. It seems like people have really been waiting to get their hands on the new “Battlefield” for some time now.
Why was there so much negativity in the community before the game came out though? The problem, according to most, was that EA decided to make a very drastic change in the way the overall game is presented, moving away from the large-scaled epic battlefield settings, and towards an urban environment with cops fighting against robbers.
A theme which, some said, doesn’t work too well with the gameplay style of “Battlefield”, because it leads to situations that are seriously over the top in terms of realism. However, “Battlefield” has never been a franchise aiming at realism, so those arguments weren’t really taken seriously.
On the other hand, some players were of the opinion that the change has been needed for a long time, as the series had become stale and repetitive over the last few years. It’s definitely true that EA toned down the innovation significantly lately, in favor of polishing the game’s strong points, and this could be the company’s response to those criticisms.
In any case, looking at the way the game is performing on the market, its release has been a very successful one. As long as players are happy with the way the gameplay meshes with the new setting, “Battlefield: Hardline” should enjoy a very long lifetime on the market, and should be able to keep players entertained for a long time.
Whether or not EA will decide to keep the new style for any subsequent releases is a bit too early to say, and it depends entirely on how the game performs over the next few months. Customer feedback will be critical here, and EA should do their best to make sure that they listen. The franchise can live on for a very long time still, but it has to be developed carefully, without forcing any harsh changes on the players unexpectedly. So far, reception to the new style is seemingly positive, but hopefully EA don’t take this as a sign that they should implement any even more drastic changes too quickly.