Pachter: Call of Duty to see lower sales due to EA, Respawn competition

Michael Pachter has predicted that Call of Duty sales will see lowered sales down to competition in future games from EA Games and Battlefield developers DICE, as well as upstart Respawn Entertainment.

"I think that it is likely that future games will sell fewer units in the past," said the Wedbush Morgan analyst, "primarily due to increased competition from Respawn, DICE and EA games that will likely be in the same or similar genres."

He also predicts that most of the general public won't "shun" future Call of Duty titles, saying that only the hardcore will realize that ex-Infinity Ward heads and Respawn bosses Vince Zampella and Jason West were fired from the Modern Warfare developers, stating most people won't either know what happened or won't care.

Overnight, it was revealed that seven staffers who had left IW within the past month had joined the new studio from West and Zampella, who's first game is being published by EA Partners.

Thanks, Joystiq.