EA is ready for Activision Blizzard

It's only been a few days since the Activision Blizzard merger announcement and there's already commentary coming in from EA's direction.

In a statement to Next-Gen by an unnamed EA representative, the website was able to get down and dirty about the merger.

“…We're always at our best when we have a clearly defined competitor,” head said to Next-Gen. “[The Activision/Vivendi merger] doesn’t change our strategy. Our CEO John Riccitiello has been encouraging senior managers to think of all other publishers as one large competitor--he's been encouraging them to think like challengers.”

So then, EA is happier than ever to finally have someone who can stroll into their ballpark and play a game or two, even with the reports that Activision Blizzard's 2007 earnings will trump EA's fiscal year earnings expectations for March 2008 by over half a billion dollars.

“…We wish them good luck and look forward to the competition. We believe that EA still has the industry's strongest portfolio of game franchises.” he added to finish things off. EA is very proud of their staple game franchises -- and with every right -- but will their 2008 lineup truly be able to stand up against the likes of Guitar Hero IV, Wrath of the Lich King and possibly StarCraft II?

Only time will tell, but EA will be bringing the big guns as well with Warhammer Online -- a game many expect to be the closest thing to a competitor World of Warcraft has faced so far.