DICE: Difference between PC and console audiences "not that big any more"

EA DICE's Patrick Bailey, speaking on the eve of Bad Company 2's launch, thinks shooter audiences on console and PC are now "more or less the same".

"We've been building PC Battlefield games for many, many years," said the developer, speaking to Major Nelson in his latest podcast.

"We know the platform, and we know what the benefits are and, of course, its limitations. Building Bad Company 1 for consoles taught us a lot about those platforms as well. By combining them into one, and also getting a more and more mature audience, the difference is not that big any more.

Bailey went further, admitting the player-base is basically identical.

"It's actually more or less the same audience, but there are some more hardcore features that we present to the PC audience," he said, adding that the studios makes "sure that the same accessibility we have on the consoles is available for the PC audience as well.

"The difference is not that big any more. It used to be bigger," he said.

DICE has a team specifically focused on the PC version, which includes features dedicated to the format as seen in a recent video.

Bad Company 2 releases in the US today and in Europe later this week.