Battlefield 3 Sells Five Million, Doesn’t Crush Call of Duty

Dear Reader,

EA recently announced the sales figures for “Battlefield 3,” which (according to estimates) are topping out at 5 million in a week. Not too shabby, and more than enough to make it EA’s fastest-selling title. Nice job, guys. It looks like you accomplished your goal of challenging “Call of Duty” for the throne of multiplayer king. Hm? What’s that, you say Dear Reader? You say “Call of Duty: Black Ops” sold more than that in a single night? You say that “Black Ops” was not only Activision’s fast-selling title, but the biggest North American video game of all time? Well keep your voice down, Dear Reader. EA is trying to celebrate.

In fairness, I doubt EA ever really thought they were going to overtake “Call of Duty” in sales, and certainly not in the space of a single game. Taking out “Call of Duty” is a marathon, not a sprint, and I’m curious to see if EA is in it for the long haul. “Battlefield 3” had a mostly successful launch, 360 matchmaking issues and a troubling beta aside, and if they stay the course, they could still end up on top. But if they were hoping to sack Rome in a day, they’re in for disappointment.

_AA

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