Battlefield 3 has exceeded 1.5 million pre-orders, according to findings by Sterne Agee financial services firm.

Sterne Agee analyst Arvind Bhatia says that EA revealed the figure earlier this week, and that the publisher is confident Battlefield 3 will receive huge sales.

"Management remains optimistic that the title has potential to exceed sales of its predecessor (Battlefield Bad Company 2), which has sold through 9.5 million units life-to-date," Bhatia said.

Bhatia says EA is also optimistic that Battlefield can keep up with Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 this fall.

"The combined marketing dollars for BF3 and Call of Duty: MW 3 could reach $100 million this year. The two week head start for BF3 versus CoD will facilitate a big launch for BF3," he said. "Once CoD launches, there would be a natural slowdown in sales of BF3. Then, at holiday, momentum for BF3 should rebuild. BF3 is expected to have a long tail as more digital content is introduced over time."

The large pre-order response to Battlefield 3 may be due in part to its inclusion of a free map pack.

"Note that BF3 will include a map pack if the game is pre-ordered," Bhatia added. "This $15 to $20 value should be a big incentive for customers to pre-order BF3."

Source: http://uk.pc.ign.com/articles/119/1195817p1.html

Posted: Sep 22, 2011 1:23 pm