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Battlefield 3 Premium subscribers over 4 million, Origin exceeds 50 million
EA has dusted off the Numbers Trumpet™ and is celebrating subscriber milestones for both its Battlefield 3 Premium service and its digital distribution platform, Origin. Battlefield 3 Premium subscribers have surpassed four million in total, up from the 2.9 million subscribers reported in January. As of January, EA secured $108 million in revenue from the shooter's content service, though no update on that figure is available in the latest financial report. Over 50 million users have registered accounts on Origin, an increase of over 20 million users since October of last year. EA's DRM and content delivery service was introduced in June of 2011 and, according to comments from EA VP Andrew Wilson earlier this year, is currently shifting away from a means of driving transactions into "a service to gamers."
Origin deploys sale on all things Battlefield
Soldiers, sweep your sectors – discounts are creeping in the brush. Select Battlefield games are up to 75% off until February 27 on EA's Origin online store, with discounts applying to both digital and physical products.Highlights include Battlefield 3 for $10 as a download on PC or $20 for a physical copy on all platforms. A Battlefield 3 Premium subscription is also on sale for $30, a discount of $20 – Battlefield 3: Premium Edition physical copies are on sale for $40; $35 for a PC download. Bad Company 2 is also on sale for $5, with its Vietnam expansion's price tag a hot $5 compared to its usual $15 asking price.
Battlefield 3 Premium hits 2.9 million subscribers, earns $108 million for EA
As part of its fiscal third quarter earnings release (PDF), EA has revealed that the Battlefield 3 Premium service has garnered a total of 2.9 million subscribers, nearly a million more than the publisher reported in October. Additionally, the service has netted Electronic Arts $108 million in sales.Available either as an individual $50 purchase or as an included bonus with the Battlefield 3 Premium Edition, the Battlefield 3 Premium service offers in-game items, access to DLC and special Battlelog features like the ability to reset stats and gain server queue priority.
EA posts $381 million loss in Q2, offset by 38.5% digital upswing
Electronic Arts posted a net loss of $381 million for the second fiscal quarter ending September 30, a year-on-year increase of 12.1 percent. Net revenue also suffered a slight decline, down to $711 million from $715 million for the same period last year.The company did enjoy an upswing in digital sales this quarter, with a 38.5 percent rise in digital revenue from last year's Q2, and mobile digital revenue up 36.4 percent. EA's online boom was offset by a retail decline, with "Publishing Packaged Goods and Other Net Revenue" down year-on-year by 18.9 percent.Software-wise, FIFA 13 scored 7.4 million sales (excluding mobile downloads) in its first four weeks, while Battlefield 3 Premium subscriptions are now over the 2 million mark. EA is, however, bracing itself for a "soft" Q3 following the the weak critical reception to Medal of Honor: Warfighter and the cancellation of NBA Live 13.
Battlefield 3 Premium sells 2M subscriptions, FIFA 13 sells 7.4M units
Electronic Arts announced massive sales for its Battlefield and FIFA franchises as part of its second quarter earnings today. Battlefield 3 Premium, which had over 1.3 million subscribers in late July, now has surpassed 2 million.The publisher also announced that FIFA 13 has gone on to sell 7.4 million units (excluding mobile downloads) during its first four weeks on the retail field. This makes the latest installment in the footie franchise the "biggest sports launch of all time" for the company.Oh, and don't you fret none about the legacy versions of those two franchises. Battlefield 3 and FIFA 12 together sold "nearly 4 million units" since April, the beginning of EA's current fiscal year.
Battlefield 3 Premium Edition now $59.99, launches today
EA has knocked $10 off its Battlefield 3 re-release, the company announced today. Battlefield 3 Premium Edition was first announced back in August as a $69.99 package, but the publisher has reduced the price of admission to $59.99.Battlefield 3 Premium Edition combines DICE's latest shooter with a Premium membership, necessary to access all of the game's expansions such as the previously released Back to Karkand and Close Quarters, this week's vehicle-based Armored Kill, and the next two packs set to drop later this year, Endgame and Aftermath. A "Multiplayer Head Start Kit" is also included in the package, unlocking "15 different weapons, gadgets and vehicle upgrades" in-game to fast-track newbies to the front lines.Battlefield 3 Premium Edition is available today on the PS3, Xbox 360 and PC.
Battlefield 3 Premium has over 1.3 million subscribers
The Battlefield 3 Premium service shows continued growth, with EA reporting "over 1.3 million subscriptions to date," a significant increase over the 800,000 reported in late June. During an investor conference call, EA revealed that it made $37 million in revenue from the service in June.The $50 service provides early access to expansions and other DLC, along with other in-game items and the option to reset stats.
Battlefield 3: Aftermath DLC adds four maps in post-earthquake Tehran
The Battlefield 3 "Aftermath" DLC is finally official. After getting leaked a few months ago, and being mentioned again last month, the add-on has now been described in more detail by EA. There will be four new maps that take place in "a post-earthquake Tehran," along with new vehicles, a new game mode, and new assignments, achievements and dog tags to earn.This promo page also hints at new weapons for Battlefield 3: Aftermath. There's no indication of what the new game mode is just yet, or when the content will drop. Currently, the release date is listed as "TBA" for both premium and standard BF3 players, but given that EA's shared this information with us, the DLC probably isn't too far off.
Over 800,000 enlisted in Battlefield 3 Premium so far
In its first two weeks of availability, over 800,000 individuals have signed up for Battlefield 3 Premium. "We are very pleased with the performance so far," EA Games' Patrick Soderlund told USA Today. Still, Soderlund exercised caution on the outlook for Premium. "We're actually only two weeks into it, so it's a little early to tell how this is going to pay off. It certainly it looks very promising right now." Since launching in October, Battlefield 3 has shipped 15 million copies, Soderlund says.Battlefield 3 Premium, announced a few weeks back at E3, gives those who plunk down a one-time fee of $50 early access to all DLC content, which non-Premium members must pay for piecemeal. The PS3 also has a weeklong exclusivity window for Battlefield 3 DLC – after that week, the DLC is then available to PC and Xbox 360. The first expansion pack, Close Quarters, is currently available on all platforms.
PSA: Battlefield 3's Close Quarters DLC now on PS3; PC and Xbox get it next week
Those rocking the vanilla Battlefield 3 experience – as opposed to EA's new Premium subscription service – get their first crack at Battlefield 3's first big expansion today. The Close Quarters expansion pack, which aims to offer more personal conflicts in the FPS, is available exclusively to PS3 players today.Premium members have had access to Close Quarters since earlier this month. And while the PS3 has an exclusivity deal in place for Battlefield 3 DLC, Xbox 360 and PC players won't have to wait too long: Close Quarters drops on those platforms next week.%Gallery-157675%
Battlefield 3 Premium's trailer returns, won't be pulled this time
The Battlefield 3 Premium trailer is back, but unlike yesterday's early switch flipping, this time we doubt the clip will oscar mike off the internet again.
Battlefield 3 Premium live 'this very second' on PS3, next week on PC and Xbox
You could be watching news about Battlefield 3, or you could be playing it. Peter Moore and Patrick Bach just revealed the launch date for Battlefield 3 Premium, and, for PS3, it's ... "this very second." The $49.99 service, which offers early access to expansions and other content, is live on PS3 now, and will come to PC and Xbox sometime next week.It offers access to five expansions ... one of which has motorcycles.We also now have a clearer timeline for launches of future expansions: Battlefield 3: Close Quarters – Today. Battlefield 3: Armored Kill – September 2012. Battlefield 3: Aftermath – December 2012. Battlefield 3: End Game – March 2013.
Battlefield 3 Premium announced, extends PlayStation 3 DLC exclusivity to two weeks
Battlefield 3's "Premium" membership got officially revealed this morning by EA (via an exclusive Reuters piece), and it confirmed many of the details we already knew about the soon-to-be-launched service. "Premium" costs $50 one time, not to mention a variety of other in-game weapons and dog tags, as well as a handful of "enhanced" Battlelog features (such as resetting stats). The piece doesn't mention getting access to the game's five announced map packs, but that seems like an odd omission considering the $50 asking price. It does note, via EA vp Patrick Soderlund, that Premium offers, "savings since access to content included in the membership package would cost $25 more if it was purchased separately."Additionally, the membership gives users two weeks of advanced access to the variety of unreleased DLC packs – except this perk only applies if you're a PlayStation 3 customer. Much like Call of Duty's adherence to an exclusivity window on DLC for Xbox 360, Battlefield 3 is locked to a similar tryst with Sony's PlayStation 3. This means that users who pay for the Premium service on either Xbox 360 or PC won't get that same level of early access, which is ... pretty bizarre to us.The piece doesn't make clear when the service launches, but the perviously leaked memo and yesterday's leaked trailer indicated it would launch as soon as today. The piece also notes that Battlefield 3 has thus far moved 15 million units. Not too shabby! We expect to hear even more about Premium during EA's press conference this afternoon.Update: Further details of Battlefield 3 Premium have since been officially revealed by EA during today's press conference. Check out all the news right here.
Battlefield 3 Premium trailer leaks, 'Aftermath' expansion officially acknowledged [update: removed]
Before it gets disavowed, here's Battlefield 3 Premium. Everything you see above had previously been confirmed in the leaked spec sheet.Also worth noting is that the previously announced pack of three expansions is now four. Close Quarters and Armored Kill are now joined by "Aftermath" before End Game hits this winter.Update: As expected, the video has been removed since going live. We're gonna take a wild guess that you'll see the full video tomorrow.[Thanks, Freddie]
Report: Battlefield 3 'Premium' service costs $50 one time, includes 'all five themed expansion packs'
Reports of Battlefield 3's "Premium" service just got a lot more official looking, with a fact sheet leaking out of Germany containing lots of details. The service apparently costs $50 one time and includes a variety of content, including access to the five released and upcoming Battlefield 3 expansion packs, two weeks of early access to said packs, and "a host of unique in-game items not available anywhere else."That, however, is where the "interesting" part of this ends, and the "pretty gross" part begins. Beyond the DLC access, Premium members are said to get "access to powerful new features." What features might those be? "The ability to reset stats" is listed, but so is "queue priority into servers," which means exactly what it sounds like. As in, "pay for this service and get into servers faster than the rabble."The fact sheet reconfirms what we saw leak out of the EU PlayStation Blog earlier today – Battlefield 3 "Premium" is expected to launch alongside the "Close Quarters" DLC on June 4 across Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, and PC. Head past the break to see the full sheet.Update: EA tells Joystiq, "Looks like the excitement for Battlefield Premium cannot be contained. For details, please visit Battlefield.com on June 4." We'd suggest you check out Joystiq.com on June 4 as well. Just a guess.
Battlefield 3 'Premium' service dated for June 4, alongside 'Close Quarters' DLC pack
Our European friends at the PlayStation Blog made a bit of a mistake this morning, it seems, having accidentally outed an upcoming "Premium" service for Battlefield 3, as well as a date (June 4) and pricing across European/Australian regions (£39.99/€49.99/AU$79.99). The game's upcoming DLC pack "Close Quarters" also got a date and price: June 4, £11.99/€14.99/AU$23.95.As you might imagine, someone at Sony quickly realized the issue and pulled the info ... but not before Google Cache caught it in its icy, permanent grip. We've reached out to EA and Sony for more info, but it sounds like the rumored Call of Duty Elite-esque service for Battlefield 3 is more than just a rumor.
