Battlefield 3 week 1 sales failed to outsell Modern Warfare 2 and Black Ops

Msxbox-world.com looks at the facts and hype surrounding EA's Battlfield 3 and its first week sales in comparison to Activision's Call of Duty.

[Dart89]

OMG no way /s.

We all knew it wouldn't outsell them anyone who thought that was very delusional.Just cuz it sells alot don't mean it's a great game you can polish a turd but it's still a turd.Quantity<quality

[NYC_Gamer]

many people enjoy call of duty and think the franchise is good.....just like i think saint's row is horrible but others would disagree.

[dangert12]

I don't like the both of those...the irony lol

[awi5951]

They dont know how many digital copies sold.

[Kurt Russell]

What's ironic about you not liking either game dangert12???

[Shackdaddy836]

I don't mind Cod. I will always like BF much more but I've played CoD since the very first one on PC so it has its place.

I just wish they'd get a new engine. The one they have is really really old...

[Captain Qwark 9]

I dont like COD at all but even i know its not a bad game man. its still one of the top multiplayer games with BF, Halo and COD. just becuase we dont like it doesnt mean its bad. you want a bad shooter there is an endless list and COD is not on there......

i do agree completely though with this "Just cuz it sells alot don't mean it's a great game you can polish a turd but it's still a turd.Quantity<quality"

just dont think it applies here

[Trunkz]

Read Below.

[Trunkz]

BF3 still sold more on PC then Black ops and MW2 ^^ who cares if millions of kiddie nubs like to play CoD cause it makes them feel cool, it's because of them that CoD will always sell more regardless of how good/bad the game is, their parents will dish the money.

You know how cool you are if you wear Nike shoes? Their cheaply made but people will still buy and wear'em because of the name!

[Kenshin_BATT0USAI]

It's funny I was surprised to see the first few comments actually being sensible and fair for once,but then I saw your comment...
For the record most of my friends are getting the game, funny thing is we're all in our 2nd last year of university. So we're all 20+ I guess an 'adult' is a 'kiddie' now right? Though frankly I'd rather be a 'kiddie' than someone who uses the words like 'kiddie', and 'nub'(whatever the hell that is).

[Cosmit]

@Trunkz

We get it, you don't like CoD. Now shut up.

Your whole comments just shows how immature you are. You damn hipster.

[one2thr]

Yeah just the same as people prefer to play Laser tag, instead of going Paint Balling...... Correct, yes?

[Kewl_Kat]

i honestly haven't read any other comparison just like yours. it's a pretty interesting analogy. both fun, basically comes down to preference. i would just take a guess that paintballing is to battlefield 3 just as laser tag is to modern warfare 3? :D

[one2thr]

Exactemundo!!!

[ShottySnipa417]

Didn't CoD XP have a paintball arena though?... XD

[Oschino1907]

Cod = speed ball paintball or indoor laser tag
BF = outdoor paintball or military style outdoor laser tag

[Kenshin_BATT0USAI]

I'm more of a laser tag person, paintballs are painful. LOL

Good analogy

[marioPSUC]

I think everyone knew it wouldnt sell more than COD.....
But it did sell a lot in its launch week and broke sale records for EA so its doing really good

[BeaArthur]

Not surprised by that. Better doesn't always mean more. I'm sure plenty of people were intimidated by the game and just decided to wait for the familiar.

[Fishy Fingers]

Nobody expected it to, including EA.

[Kewl_Kat]

As long as EA is happy with the profits, then they'll continue to support the game and the franchise. More money for EA, more games for everyone else... win-win.

[Optical_Matrix]

People need to stop comparing the two the games sales wise. They're going after completely different audiences in my honest opinion. A lot of the people I know who played it and didn't like it, didn't like it not because BF3 is a bad game but because they like arcady, quick, jump in FPS that offer you some mindless fun. Which is fair. The drawn out tactical shooters like BF3 aren't for them. However I prefer them, to FPS like COD.

This was never gonna sell more than COD but the games doing damn well regardless. 5-6 million already? Nothing to scoff at I can assure you.

[Kenshin_BATT0USAI]

I get your point but, BF3 is no killzone(not saying killzone is better it's just a very different type of shooter). That game was aiming for a different shooter audience. BF3 is in it for the same people as CoD is. Yeah there are differences such as BF3 being more strategy oriented, but you can play CoD strategically as well. Though it really doesn't matter overall, sales have nothing to do with quality, both are basically the best shooters in the business.

[StayStatic]

Hmmm , don't think its that relevent as its not really the same crowd , what would be interesting to see is how much less MW3 sells.

Assuming it will sell less but probs won't now little timmy has an xbarxxxxx from last years xmas holiday.

[pucpop]

I prefer laser tag to paintball. No question.

[bumnut]

Who cares? I bought the game I wanted (BF3) and am having fun playing it.

[TheWeepingKiller]

how is this news?

[maxqubit]

BF3/PC outsells MW2/PC
BF3/combined outsells Halo:Reach, outsells GoW

Imho BF3 is 'flanking' 360 strongholds by first going for PC (lead platform). With new consoles still far away 2013+ PC is future proof and BF3 makes that its priority. PC version is very much better than the console version. I'm surprised so many console gamers buy it (a lesser version)

For me that worked. After 10 years (Xbox/Halo) I'm back on PC because of the BF3 64 player MP. And I'm guessing that I'm not the only one migrating to PC esp. if gamers have to wait another 2 years for a possible new console, and even then you are stuck with first gen games on that new console.

Imho you have to look at the shifts, not at the absolute sales

[killerhog]

I'm quite the opposite. After 10 years of pc, i migrated to console (ps3) for the 256 player MP game MAG. Especially since pc gamers always have to upgrade to play games of that caliber.

[hiredhelp]

@maxqubit

Funny that most of what you said is true for me.
Im going back to pc gaming i have been for past few months after several years out of pc gaming instead playing on ps3.

But it is visually comming to the end on consoles of this gen. Everything is matchmaking and DLC im bit fedup,seen as bf3 is pushing our pc's now is good time to move so i have. Dont blame you dude still enjoy my ps3 exclusives but i am spending more time on pc now.

[Inzo]

I said this before, if EA really wants to threaten Activision and COD's reign they MUST seriously consider continuing Black.

[one2thr]

HELLS YEAH!!!!! BLACK ON A MODERN DAY ENGINE IF DONE RIGHT WOULD BE THE SH#T!!!! excuse my language lol

[csreynolds]

Does. It. Really. Matter?

Whatever happened to just buying a game and just enjoying it, irrespective of sales, popularity and fanboyism?

[aman84r]

That stuff is for normal people not for cult members on n4g.

[csreynolds]

I just get sick of people arguing over sales figures, marketing, popularity, brand loyalty, blah blah blah...

I own Battlefield 3, and I've had a hands-on of MW3's final build. Both games offer totally different gameplay. Trying to compare them is essentially pointless because they're inherently opposite. One's arcade, one's simulation. Both games are great.

B3's sales figures are lower than expected. Does that mean it's a bad game? No. There could be many reasons as to why numbers aren't as high as expected: unrealistic expectations communicated by the media, maybe? Some might be intimidated by its difficulty curve. Heck, some might have their eyes on another game - and possibly not even MW3. Assassin's Creed: Revelations? Need for Speed: The Run? GoldenEye 007: Reloaded? Uncharted 3 perhaps? You know, that third-person adventure game developed by Naughty Dog that's already being pipped for GoTY? Oh, and let's not forget we're all suffering a recession. When you want to buy two/three/four games but can only afford one, a difficult choice must be made.

The point I'm trying to make is low sales doesn't necessarily mean 'bad game'. B3 hasn't outsold previous CoD titles, but it has blown my tiny mind, and I'm loving every second I'm playing of it.

Rant over.

[WorldGamer]

Free range organic chicken sells less than farm raised, hormone infested, mass produced chicken. Guess which one is the better product.

I'm a former Call of Duty player and I can tell you that IMHO the BF series has plenty to offer, arguably more than the CoD series.

They are different games, but BF takes more time to develop your skills than CoD does. No Killstreaks or gun turrets here, pure skill and environmental awareness. All CoD fans should give it a shot, they might be surprised.

MW3 will probably sell more, but I think that the BF series is the alternative we all need.

[MasterD919]

WEEK sales...I mean thats the problem right there...

Lets wait a little longer than a week to see how it does, cool?

[Agent_hitman]

It is called Call of dutyism LOL, most of the gamers these generation have been hypnotized by activision using that franchise, so chances are most (not all) the gamers will ignore others FPS but not COD, cause they find it more iconic, at the same time idotic for blind followers, disagree if you want, just hit the bubbles for me please to reply you back.

[Bornstellar]

And yet, it is better. Sales =/= quality.

[Hicken]

Pardon my language, but who gives a fuk?

... yes, it's spelled wrong.

[csreynolds]

I'm getting tired of people going on about sales figures, marketing, popularity, brand loyalty, blah blah blah...

I own Battlefield 3, and I've had a hands-on of MW3's final build. Both games offer totally different gameplay. Trying to compare them is essentially pointless because they're inherently opposite. One's arcade, one's simulation. Both games are great.

B3's sales figures are lower than expected. Does that mean it's a bad game? No, actually. There could be many reasons as to why numbers aren't as high as expected: unrealistic expectations communicated by the media, maybe? Some might be intimidated by its multiplayer's difficulty curve. Heck, some might have their eyes on another game - and possibly not even MW3. Assassin's Creed: Revelations? Need for Speed: The Run? GoldenEye 007: Reloaded? Uncharted 3 perhaps? You know, that third-person adventure game developed by Naughty Dog that's already being pipped for GoTY?

Oh, and let's not forget we're all suffering a recession. When you want to buy two/three/four games but can only afford one, a difficult choice must be made. Say someone buys NFS:TR over B3. Is that because B3 sucks, or when push comes to shove the person in question would prefer a racer to a shooter? Think about it.

The point I'm trying to make is low sales doesn't necessarily mean 'bad game'. If anything sales correlates with popularity, but as anyone with significant life experience will tell you, being popular doesn't make you better than everyone else. B3 hasn't outsold previous CoD titles, but it has blown my tiny mind, and no statistic can challenge my personal evaluation of it.

Rant over.