Shack: How far have you been able to push the player count? Can the Frostbite engine do 64 players on PC?

Van Dyke: Those are questions I can't answer. I mean, right now, we're not in a position where we want to start answering really heavy details about the PC version. That time is gonna come, I mean, we've got plenty of time to go.

Right now, we don't want to say "yes" or "no" to something because we do have that extra development time, and that's where we're going to be able to explore. One we get this [console build] and we put it to bed and we let it to rest then a lot more attention is going to go into exploring those additional things, above and beyond what this one has

Shack: With the delayed PC release of 1943 stemming from the desire to properly bring the Frostbite engine to PC, will Battlefield: Bad Company 2, the next Frostbite-powered game, be hitting PC and consoles simultaneously?

Van Dyke: I'm not sure. It depends on the development of the PC version and then the console version.

Nothing's ever done intentionally. I know a whole lot of people think that there's these evil doctor genius-type guys up at the top of the ivory tower of EA going "one million dollars" with their pinky to their lip but it doesn't happen like that.

It's just about resources, it's about planning, it's about timing, it's about unforeseen things coming up that, you know, could affect it and change everything. There's a real ripple effect in game development. It's a very orchestrated event, and if you have one person that's just sick for a day, it could cause a ripple effect for the whole development and change everything.

To delay anything costs so much more money than it would to actually release it, ahead of time. If you ever hear of a game being delayed, it's definitely not this plan to make

"I came from the PC audience before starting up here and for a long, long time - to be honest all the way up to Bad Company - I was knee-deep in PC titles, which probably coloured my opinion on what a shooter is, and what it should be," he explained.

"To me, Battlefield: Bad Company was an eye-opener, and for a very long time I think the PC audience was seen as the hardcore, the most competitive and dedicated audience. Maybe at one time that was partially true, but now we definitely see a fanatic shooter audience on console.

"I think one of our biggest mistakes with Battlefield: Bad Company for example was that when we started making it, laying out the plans, the view on the gamer was that it's a console audience, and we need to treat them a bit more gently, since they're less experienced...