Electronic Arts has avoided annualizing the Battlefield series, in spite of the success Activision has had with the Call of Duty franchise. EA CFO Blake Jorgensen pointed out the many reasons why the company doesn't believe that's a smart decision for them.

"It's a two year project," he said, pointing out that "Battlefield takes us about two years to develop." Indeed, two years separate Battlefield 3 and 4. However, he also added that "Battlefield is a product that doesn't just sell once; it sells for 24 months associated with not just Battlefield, but all the additional Battlefield Premium activities that the consumer wants."

"You've got to be careful that you don't destroy some of that tail that is on the Battlefield product," he told investors at the UBS Global Technology Conference (via Gamespot).

Of course, another reason you want to avoid annualizing a series is "you also want to be really careful that you don't destroy the franchise along the way. You've got to make it exciting and different." It's an interesting statement, given that outside of Battlefield, EA is quite masterful at the art of the annual release.