Black Ops 3 -Vs- Star Wars, If You Had to Pick One?

Both of these are going to be blockbusters, without question, but only one of these two titles is going to be able to be the runaways success that puts the title at the top of the sales charts.

Now to be fair this battle would be different if it was our normal battle of Battlefield vs Call of Duty. But, Interestingly enough DICE has moved to making Star Wars -(Mistake or genius move, hard to say right now. Will be a lot easier to tell once we see some in-game gameplay at E3.)

So which one do you get? Call of Duty is already the biggest blockbusters going into 2015 as is every Call of Duty coming out in the fall, (it’s never a fair fight) but this time it’s different. Black Ops is out of all the COD’s the most loved by gamers. It’s the series that people have really enjoyed the most when comparing all the Call of Dutys made by the other studios. Treyarch could be the best studio for making this type of game, as they were very close to the original Infinity Ward before the key guys left the company, and Treyarch has the most experience. Most likely only one of these juggernauts is about to completely control the end of the year, and own the holiday shopping season.

DICE has said they expect to sell as many as 9 million copies of Star Wars, and those numbers could be a little bit high. Considering, there are a lot of things I will admit I don’t like about the new game, no iron sights, no squads, no campaign. They might be getting ahead of themselves. I must admit the game so far sounds like nothing I would want to run out and buy, I have to wait to see some reviews.

Black Ops 3 on the other hand seems to be more of the same, but in a good way. I’m looking forward to getting back to the older style of call of duty as I’m sure a lot of gamers are probably tired of the jet pack suit, and just want to play a normal game again.

Not to mention Zombies, this is the series that has always done zombies the right way, and I think this will also be a plus, because at this point I just want to get back to how I use to kill zombies in the old Treyarch games. So I think with that being said, Call of Duty Black Ops 3 could do those super numbers the series is known for.

Sure, most gamers are going to get both, but the average gamer is only getting one, and the real question will come down to if you could only get one, which one is more likely your first pick?

That’s the only way we can see how this battle will play out. I personally am leaning towards Black Ops 3, and I’ll tell you why.

I actually like the story in Black Ops 1 & 2 and thought it was done really well, with Mason getting those numbers in his head and being a secret cell designed to try and kill the president. The whole thing played out really well and was pretty interesting. So if they can somehow do that again for Black Ops 3 then this is just another plus for the game. Of course Multi-player is the real bread and butter but don’t ever write off a good campaign.

When you start talking value, it’s one of the biggest factors as to why people pick of the game, even if they never even finish it, or in some cases never even play the campaign. Star Wars has no campaign at all, so on the bang for buck consumers it's already at a serious disadvantage.

It's going to be a good battle, but like in any battle there can only be one real winner, and in this case, we will let the sales be the deciding factor. So with that being said which one do you think get's more sales this year? End of 2015 is not even near and it's already looking like it's going to be packed with titles, some are going to be must haves. And in that list of must haves, I believe one of these titles will be coming home with you.

Now in recent years though, the Call of Duty games are selling less and less. Now this is not a big deal because it still sells far above the average game. So no alarms going off just yet. But if you're Activision I’m sure it’s starting to become concerning.

So if you could only get one, which one is the one you grab this holiday season? Have you already made up your mind? Who is it going to be Black Ops or Star Wars? And if you want my prediction I'm going to say Black Ops 3 hands down. (and I think it will do a little over 22 million copies when all the smoke clears)

[ChronoJoe]

Star Wars.

At the end of the day, Black Ops 3 isn't going to offer an experience that distinct from Advanced Warfare in respect to gameplay. In contrast, Battlefront is rather unique in what it aims to achieve.

[mikeslemonade]

Black Ops, because they are still the king of shooters. As underwhelming the COD games have been, the EA shooters have been worst.

[wakeNbake]

Battlefield 3/4/Hardline all have better gameplay than the past 4 CODs.

[HammadTheBeast]

No way. Battlefield 4 blows any FPS out of the water as it stands now. Hardline was a mistake, but BF4 is easily the best shooter on the market right now.

[Crazyglues]

@ ChronoJoe

I'm going to have to go Black Ops even though I agree with everything you said. I think Star Wars is going to be new and fresh but I'm not sure yet if the new things are things I want, or will even like. -no squad - no iron sights, (like for example I hated the way they changed the driving mechanic's in BF4 from BF3 - it was perfect in BF3) When you start making design mistakes like that it doesn't look like the same people that made the awesome games before are still at the company) I guess I just need to see it.

@ Mikeslemonade

Yeah and as bad as it's been Treyach in my opinion does seem to be the studio that does COD better then the other studios these days.. So I hate to say it but I just want to go back to something that was good and turned out to be fun to play - Black ops 2, I was having fun there, so if 3 is more like that instead of like Advance Warfare I'll be really happy.

[Baka-akaB]

Not only i'm biased against CoD and got nothing positive to say about any game in the serie post COD4 ... but come on it's Star Wars ...

Any underwhelming EA/Dice Battlefield are still arguably better when it comes to the gameplay and definitively better when it comes to graphics .

Should the fears of it being "Battlefield Star Wars Edition" prove to be true ... it will still be the superior game for me , and still have the extra edge of proposing a beloved franchise

[Kavorklestein]

Star Wars! Advanced Warfare is all the COD I need for a few years.

[NWOslave]

As much as I hate to say this but i think COD will outsell SW. This is coming from a gamer that played the original two SW games. I pick COD because every year there is some twelve year old and that release will be their first COD game.It caters the most casual gamer on the planet an It will also leave in the horrid QS function to allow youtubers to create their montage for click bait follow me videos. For the record i still play mw3 for my COD habit. ive tried battlefield games but just didnt have the same snap crackle pop action as COD.

For me though COD is a day one rental before I purchase it. BO2 burned me and since then i only rent them. Which is why SW is a must for me. I have been looking for an alternative to COD, which to be fair mw3 was the most fun for me out of all the most recent iterations. I have no desire to relive AW part deux from Treyarch. Future warfare via activision is just so meh. oh look at me i can double jump. whooopeeee.

SW will be a day one purchase regardless of no iron sights, or clans which could be added later by updates.

[WizzroSupreme]

I'd go Star Wars! I've been waiting for a third console Battlefront for almost a decade. You get Call of Duty every year.

[chrisco84au]

It's Star Wars!!!!!!! Come on!!!!!
Both will sell like crazy and be financially successful without doubt but from a purely fanboyism perspective, Star Wars wins for me.
Black Ops are my favourite COD games post MW 1-2 and they are always polished and well supported post launch (balancing, stabilising servers etc) but I cannot place that above my love for Star Wars.
I hope both succeed and have staying power.

Now to find the time to play these lol

[Valenka]

Considering that a new Call of Duty is released every year like clockwork, I'm already long since tired of it. Battlefront is fresh, different and a long time coming.

[Crazyglues]

Yeah, I think E3 is where it will become really clear which one is probably going to succeed, if COD has those jet-packs I'm done, and if Star Wars does really look good in-game I could easily come to the dark side of the force.. LoL

[jmc8888]

Huh?

We have...
Rainbow Six: Siege
MGSV (Metal Gear Online)
Battlefront
CoD:MW3
Halo 5

Plus some people will be picking up BF:Hardline and Splatoon still.

In other words, there are going to be a TON of options, probably the most ever in terms of high quality AAA FPS options for gamers to decide upon.

Even people with tons of money are going to be hard pressed to buy FIVE FPS's in a two-three month window, and two more quality titles for some that they might get at a discount BF: Hardline and Splatoon.

If you want to buy those 5 AAA FPS's, that's $300 + tax +shipping which if you buy physical might run you $350 in total...JUST FOR HOLIDAY FPS games. One GENRE! Many people don't like to concentrate everything on one genre. They want variety.

People have been waiting for Battlefront
People have been waiting for Metal Gear Online
People have been waiting for Halo 5
People have been waiting for Rainbow Six: Siege
Have people really been waiting for CoD:BO3? If so, have they been waiting for it more then these others? That's the key.

I buy Call of Duty every year. This year, with all this out there, I might not.

There simply is so much for FPS fans, and very diverse.

Call of Duty sales have been dropping like a rock for years. Of course it's dropping from a very high place, and still amazingly high, but that said, with all this competition, it would not surprise me to see Call of Duty to see a very steep drop that might take them out of #1 and perhaps even all the way to #3. Battlefront and MGS:V TPP both might sell more then CoD. Rainbow Six:Siege is a bit more niche, so I expect them to be last, but still sell very respectably.

I would say Halo 5, but it's an exclusive, so I will say that on Xbox One, it is very likely that it will sell more on Xbox One then CoD:BO3.

This article is flawed because it fails to think about all these other entrants. These all are going to soak up the video game funds of many people, and people are going to be making hard choices of which one or three they or going to buy.

They also know they are sure to see another Call of Duty next year, or at the least get a discount on it a few months later like in the spring. In the course of waiting, they may find that they aren't missing it much and might skip it. If you take 100 people that say that they will buy it early next year at discount, you can be sure that not all 100 will actually go through with that.

Either way, everything is lining up for there to be a Call of Duty killer, except while one might win that honor, it really should be seen as a team victory because all of these games are going to take a whack out of CoD:BO3 sales. Each one has the ability to take a million or two or so sales away from CoD:BO3, and thus together, victory will likely be at hand for some other FPS, and yes, I do think at this point that will be Battlefront.

If I'm wrong about the ultimate victor, I won't be by much.

[Crazyglues]

Wow well said my friend well said... I wish I could give you five bubbles for that comment...

Excellent point, this Holiday Season is going to be packed, it will be interesting to see if COD;BO3 can still hold the crown as the highest selling FPS, with this much competition..

[jmc8888]

Additionally we still have E3 to come, and a surprise or two might be thrown down there altering the situation by increasing FPS/TPS options. Beyond that, gamers might find surprises in other genres that suddenly take up that money spot CoD would otherwise occupy.

We have all the games that came out earlier this year which will probably be on discount (besides Splatoon and BF:Hardline)...you might be able to get Evolve, The Order, Dying Light, Sniper Elite, Bloodbourne all at extreme discount. These games might be had for 20-30, at which point people might choose to get 2-3 of these rather then get CoD. The vast majority of gamers don't have unlimited funds.

Newness/Anticipation/discount s will play a factor in how the holiday FPS/TPS season unfolds, along with other genres and any E3 surprises. Also people are still making massive purchases of the consoles, which also limits availability of funds for games. For instance, I wouldn't be surprised that 60-70 percent of people that are going to buy Halo 5 probably already have their Xbox One, but the other 30-40 percent are likely waiting for a discount and/or Halo 5 bundle.

These people are different from 2013 and 2014 buyers as they are more cost conscious and more limited in the availability to buy or willingness to buy all these things. Will these consoles sold be a net positive in sales of CoD:BO3? Sure. But they just might add more sales to these competitors of CoD:BO3, then CoD:BO3 itself. So net versus of it's competitors, it might help push these other games higher.

Finally we simply cannot overlook other genres, they too take a piece of the pie. E3 we might find the next awesome RPG to buy, or something else. A true sleeper that might sell millions is the new Mad Max game. (or maybe it turns out to suck big time... either way E3 probably is going to be our first look at gameplay and that of a bunch of other games).

[DefenderOfDoom2]

To jmc8888 , I totally agree with your first 2 bubbles . I think like crazyglue said in the beginning of the blog, that CODBO3 will be the sales winner . A lot of people are curious of what Treyarch can do with a 3 year development cycle . At my local Gamestop, the game advisor told me today that CODBO3 has had over 12hundred pre-orders in just the last 2 weeks . I have so many games on my back log, that i doubt i will buy either game in the first week of release .

[Helloween13]

Black Ops 3 and only cos it has a co op campaign

[MRMagoo123]

I dont like star wars at all or COD (any more) but if I had to play one of the other it would probably be star wars because I like the battlefield games more than COD.