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Even with all the hiccups, the Battlefield 3 launch has had some pretty impressive returns so far. According to EA and DICE, BF3 represents the biggest day-one shipment in company history. In their July-September earnings report, the publisher revealed that they shipped over 10 million units on opening day, and retailers are renewing orders faster than expected. Unfortunately, all of the Battlefield 3 hype couldn’t save EA from posting a $340 million net loss, even though their revenue rose 13.3 percent. Marketing is expensive. 
We consider Battlefield an online service…The single-player experience is important. It’s a great way to get fans into the experience, have them train up and get ready for multiplayer. And a lot of fans just enjoy having that single-player experience. So I think you have to have both. Clearly the multiplayer is the richer opportunity for us because of the services opportunity in keeping customers engaged 365 [days a year]. Fortunately, Battlefield, as a franchise, since the late ’90s has been configured around multiplayer and I think that’s why you’re seeing such popularity around the design. While I agree with Gibeau on this, it seems like a bad idea for EA to defend the lackluster campaign by discounting its importance so heavily. If it’s not important, don’t include it. If it is, roll up your sleeves and make it fun, and apologize when it’s lame. You can read our full Battlefield 3 review here . By Josh Engen |