EA boss on why reviews are frustrating

EA boss John Riccitiello has said he will be upset if Battlefield: Bad Company gets less than 7/10 when it comes out later this month.

He feels the game, along with Mercenaries 2, Dead Space and Spore, are probably the best examples of EA titles that should rate highly this year.

"If I move to the games line-up, I am really proud of Mercenaries. I am really proud of Bad Company; I'd be disappointed if it was below high 70s. It is a really good game," said Riccitiello during a stock conference.

He also believes the EA Sports titles he's carefully looked at are better than their predecessors. Peter Moore will be happy.

But predicting scores is something Riccitiello finds frustrating, as a "certain cadre of journalists" would simply love to prove his guesstimates wrong.

Plus, Riccitiello is under the impression that the EA label has never been able to attract the cult "everybody-has-to-rate-it-one-hundred" following among critics that others have - presumably referring to things like BioShock, Metal Gear Solid 4 and so on.

The EA boss also questioned the number of videogames journalists there are knocking around these days, suggesting the old way of gathering 10 or so professional and trusted opinions may have been better.

"It used to be [that] all Metacritic [averages] were higher once upon a time because it was 10 professionals rating them," said Riccitiello. "Now, sort of anybody with a pen can rate them and it ends up with a bit of a wider track sometimes."

Battlefield: Bad Company is due out for PS3 and Xbox 360 on 27th June.