Moore: 'Softness' on EA Sports pre-orders due to next-gen, will be alleviated

EA Sports is recording soft pre-orders on current-gen games in the next-gen run-up, but according to brand president Peter Moore that's "as anticipated" and "as planned." Moore added he expects a boost closer to the Xbox One and PS4 hitting retail shelves, as consumers realize there may not be enough next-gen hardware to go around initially.

During EA's financial conference call yesterday, Moore said he believes, as per previous generational transitions, the state of current-gen pre-orders reflects consumer interest in next-gen hardware.

"We're seeing softness in particular on our key sports titles on current-gen pre-orders," Moore said," I think consumers anticipate getting the new hardware. We certainly came out of E3 with renewed enthusiasm for new hardware, and I think that's been reflected in current-gen pre-orders."

In terms of EA's overall library, Moore noted Battlefield 4 as seeing "strong" pre-orders compared to Battlefield 3 at the same time prior to its launch. On the EA Sports side, Moore pointed out soccer sim FIFA as an exception, for which "anticipation" remains high - not surprising given the $70 million in digital revenue netted by FIFA 13 alone last quarter.

All of which suggests we may see further incentives for next-gen EA Sports upgrades as per Madden 25. EA revealed yesterday it'll let players transfer Ultimate Team items from Xbox 360 or PS3 to either Xbox One or PS4, and retain those items in current-gen copies.