1.5 million Battlefield 3 pre-orders

By Wesley Yin-Poole Published 22 September, 2011

Review scores "should be at least 80".

EA has received a whopping 1.5 million pre-orders for upcoming first-person shooter Battlefield 3, an analyst has revealed.

That's up from the 1.25 million pre-orders EA reported two weeks ago, IndustryGamers noted.

A pre-order bonus map pack helped boost the figure, Sterne Agee analyst Arvind Bhatia said. "Note that BF3 will include a map pack if the game is pre-ordered. This $15 to $20 value should be a big incentive for customers to pre-order BF3."

Bhatia expects Battlefield 3 to outsell all other games in the Battlefield series, including the superb Battlefield: Bad Company 2.

"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," he said.

The Battlefield Call of Duty showdown is expected to be one of the biggest in gaming history, with both EA and Activision primed to spend millions of dollars promoting both FPS games in the run up to Christmas.

"Critical ratings for BF3 should be at least 80," Bhatia continued. "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. 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. At peak, BF3 had more than 100 developers. The mix of BF3 should be 60 per cent US and 40 per cent international."

Picture of Wesley.

About Wesley Yin-Poole

Wesley is Eurogamer's news editor. He likes news, interviews, and more news. He also likes Street Fighter more than anyone can get him to shut up about it.

Read more articles from Wesley by visiting the Wesley Yin-Poole archive page.

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Comments (41) Latest comment 8 months ago

Comments for this article are now closed, but please feel free to continue chatting on the forum!

  • thenastypasty #1 8 months ago

    I can't stand analysts!

  • Murton #2 8 months ago

    Of course reviews will be higher than 80, anyone who reviews it lower will be told to retract/reprint and threatened with a snub on future review copies. Happens with pretty much every established franchise going, it's why reviews aren't taken as seriously as they once were.

  • BillMurray #3 8 months ago

    Is the news that pre orders have increased over a period of time really worth a new article?

  • obihobson #4 8 months ago

    I predict an 8

  • CrunchinJelly #5 8 months ago

    8/10

  • jablonski #6 8 months ago

    "Critical ratings for BF3 should be at least 80," Bhatia continued. "The combined marketing dollars for BF3 and Call of Duty: MW 3 could reach $100 million this year.

    Funny those two sentences are put together. It doesn't sound like a prediction, more like an order.
    The marketing money being spent with places like Eurogamer ensure it will receive no less than an 8/10.

  • Cosquae #7 8 months ago

    Go on... give it a 7/10.

    I promise I'll come visit you in the hospital afterwards.

  • Shikasama #8 8 months ago

    BFBC2 is one of the most popular and loved games on the EG forums. If BF3 scores 8/10 or more I would suggest it has nothing to do with outside pressure and more to do with a rather good game.

    Now, Brink on the other hand....

  • Dizzy #9 8 months ago

    1.5m...Is that really stunningly high these days for big AAA games? Gears 3, as a single platform games, already had more preorders.

  • Puriel #10 8 months ago

    brink got 8/10 so i expect this to get 14/10

  • Bullet_Tunnel #11 8 months ago

    i dont give a shit how much money some milionare shareholders are going to make EG. Stick to reporting on actual games and stop filling your site with uninteresting shite.

  • jablonski #12 8 months ago

    I guarantee right now Eurogamer will give this a 9/10.
    That has been set in stone for months.

    But I'm intrigued as to what MW3 will get.
    I'm pretty sure there is an unspoken agreement that it has to get the same score as Battlefield.

    I remember when that rule applied to FIFA and PES (until PES got unspeakably shit and Konami had no clout)

  • aphex187 #13 8 months ago

    @Puriel

    Hoohoo classic m8 ;D

  • geeza2020 #14 8 months ago

    Just wake me when the games out, I couldnt give a shit about EA's number men and their worries/hopes.

  • bionic #15 8 months ago

    didn't know it was EA. Count me out then.

    The 1st rule of gaming, donot buy EA. The 2nd rule of gaming, donot buy EA

  • Goodfella #16 8 months ago

    I predict a riot.

  • Markitron #17 8 months ago

    forget about marketing pressure, look at the other games in the series, they were all brilliant. Theres a good chance this will be magnificent. Imo an average campaign will result in a 9/10, if the campaign is good it could be a 10..............

  • joelstinton #18 8 months ago

    The Beta next week will decide whether i will place a pre-order down. Simple as. No marketing shit talk will, no flamewars between fans, or companies. Just pure gameplay.

  • Hindle #19 8 months ago

    Post deleted at 23:04:43 04-04-2012

  • Darren #20 8 months ago

    If a rubbish game like Brink can get 8/10 on EG then I've no doubt that Battlefield 3 will secure an 8 too regardless of its quality! :p

    P.S. I haven't pre-ordered it! :D

  • Darren #21 8 months ago

    @bionic - What the heck? Have you just arrived from 2002 or something? EA make and publish great games these days and have come a long way IMO this generation of console hardware from the awfulness of FIFA RTWC 06 on the Xbox 360, focusing more on quality than quantity.

    Sure, the odd duff title still slips though, Army of 2 for example was dreadful IMO, but I'd consider them to be one of the best publishers, especially now they're on the verge of releasing a 'complete' version of FIFA on the PC! /thumbs up

  • TheEarlOfZinger #22 8 months ago

    So you'll ignore a (hopefully) great game because It's published by EA. What about all the girls and boys at DICE, don't they deserve the success?

    Also, Battlefield has been published by EA for as long as I can remember, have you been living under a rock?

  • iamtheoneneo #23 8 months ago

    an 8 would be perfect for EG's reviewing ethos and code of reviews. look forward to reading the 8/10 review.

  • afghan_jones #24 8 months ago

    Meanwhile, Gears 3 just delivered a multiplayer experience far superior to anything else on the market. And they did it without all the childish smacktalk.

  • bratmandu #25 8 months ago

    6/10 - Edge.

    I'd put money on it, the '6' button on the keyboard gathers no dust in Edgeland.
    Edited by bratmandu at 22/09/11 @ 16:50

  • Otis_Inf #26 8 months ago

    "Critical ratings for BF3 should be at least 80," Bhatia continued.

    So, you payed top-dollar to make sure 'critics' give it an 80+ ? Let critics become real critics like in the movie industry where a good movie won't receive a 10, but a decent 8, and a less than perfect movie will simply receive a 4 because it deserves it.

  • Nephirion #27 8 months ago

    I haven't preordered.

  • BigDaddy82 #28 8 months ago

    Pre-ordered this ages ago, very much looking forward to it as well as COD. Still playing Black Ops at the moment, gave GOW3 a go but a bit bored already

  • Deckard1 #29 8 months ago

    Anyone want to buy a tinfoil hat?

  • Blazewamp #30 8 months ago

    must as i love BF and as much as iam waiting for BF3 iam sick and fed the feck up about hearing about it now :p

  • Lunastra78 #31 8 months ago

    It's gotta be difficult being reviewer in these fanboy days. Someone will always be displeased, no matter how high the score is.

    Besides, a game with such separate campaign and online modes must also be difficult to give a score. BC2 for example, I would give the campaign a 5/10 and the online a 9/10. It'd be hard to find an intbetween score that applied to both those interested mainly in single player and those interested only in mp.

  • bionic #32 8 months ago

    Battlefield 3 might be an except to buying an EA game. I'll wait for the reviews. Anything less than 10/10 then..

    To be fair to EA Black/PS2 was excellent, although the cut scenes sucked big time, as did the Loader screen. Niggles aside, Blaack was possibly one of the best FPS i've ever played.
    Edited by bionic at 22/09/11 @ 13:29

  • rudedudejude #33 8 months ago

    MW3: 8/10 - More of the same, set pieces to fook, infinite spawning enemies (again) multi-player more of the same.

    BF3: 9-10/10 - Immersive single player, amazing sound, deeper online play, greater realism, more focus on teamwork.

    If you like the fast arcadey feel, go for MW3.

    If you like slower paced tactical games, go for BF3.

    Reviews finished.

    Right EG, where's my job offer?

  • Gunship #34 8 months ago

    They're managing expectations well. No way will this get an 8. 9 at least with that marketing budget. And if it's more like like BC2 and less like MW2, 9+ will even be an accurate score (shock! but fair scores can happen, even today).

    Not buying it until EA softens down the spyware that comes bundled with it (Origin) at least down to Steam levels. They already backed out of the delete game rights after 2 years bit, so fingers crossed.

  • arcam #35 8 months ago

    EA might be scummy (IMO) but they are only producing the game, not developing it.

    It'll play out exactly as you might expect - the bits that DICE are responsible for (gameplay, graphics, sound etc.) will be awesome, while the bits that EA are responsible for (pre-order bonuses, online passes, DLC map packs etc.) will be annoying, but we'll put up with it because they are not the bits that really matter :)

  • Spekingur #36 8 months ago

    "...should be..."
    Sounds like a threat to me.

  • TagemandBagem #37 8 months ago

    "At peak, BF3 had more than 100 developers."

    Yes, 270 is, technically, more than 100.

  • Bravestinsane #38 8 months ago

    Would be nice to know what platforms those pre-orders are on as well.

    As much as i would love PC to have the most i think it will be the worst thanks to Origin, but then again they might also go up even further after the open beta next week.

    48/60

  • Mr.Spo #39 8 months ago

    I despise this kind of expectation of a certain metacritic or threshold score for the big games--they should get the score they deserve, despite whatever inflated marketing budget is attached.

    Hell, that stands for all anticipated releases this summer--whether it's Zelda, Battlefield, Batman, Call of Duty or Skyrim, they should get reviews that reflect the quality of the game as a final product, not scores reflective of the hype, advertising budget or pressures publishers put on sites to achieve a good metacritic.

  • Penguinzoot #40 8 months ago

    brink got 8/10 so i expect this to get 14/10

    14/10 you say?

    /preorders*

    *Actually, I've already preordered ;)
    Edited by Penguinzoot at 22/09/11 @ 17:28

  • Quixz #41 8 months ago

    @Dizzy

    You are right man, 1.5mil is not a lot considering that these are combined preorders from 3 platforms. Gears did 1.9+ mil and so far MW3 is at 1.2 mil on the 360 alone.

    I preordered my 2 copies of BF3 last week, I want EA to WIN!