Editorial: How the Concessions Stand in Battlefield 4

EA seized an entire movie theater in San Francisco in the midst of GDC 2013 to demonstrate nearly 20 minutes of Battlefield 4, which is also a video game. The venue was large and loud enough to encapsulate the shooter's cinematic aspirations, and flaunt every extravagant detail manifested in the weapons, soldiers, lighting and urban environments - right down to the cracking, withered paint on a door. Battlefield 4 belonged on every inch of that big screen.

And that's fine. I enjoy shooters, I adore movies, and I think there's a valid convergence to be found between the two. It's rarely a shortcut for superior storytelling, but the medium is malleable and fit for many authors. Some strive for realism, others seek expression in the abstract, and some guys prefer to make a crazy game about shipping soup to other planets.

None of those, however, have claimed responsibility for a "new era of interactive entertainment." That would be Battlefield 4, according to EA Games Vice President Patrick Söderlund. "Revealing the game to you all today is a big deal for us," he said in epilogue to the game's exquisitely rendered destruction. "It signals a new era of Battlefield and, frankly, a new era of interactive entertainment."

Gallery: Battlefield 4 (Fishing in Baku)

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Editorial: How the Concessions Stand in Battlefield 4 originally appeared on Joystiq on Wed, 27 Mar 2013 10:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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