DICE’s latest shooter sees fewer Xbox Live players than either of Activision’s last two military shooters during its first week of release.
It’s no secret that Battlefield 3 is EA’s big attempt to grab a piece of Activision’s military-based first-person shooter pie. The vehicle-heavy shooter came out of the gate with 5 million in sales, but even before the launch of Modern Warfare 3, its success is put into perspective when pitted against past installments of the Call of Duty franchise.
Xbox Live usage stats posted on Xbox Live director of programming Larry “Major Nelson” Hryb’s blog reveal that Battlefield 3 has garnered a chunk of Xbox Live players in the week following its launch, but the past two Call of Duty games still managed to best it. Stats accounting for unique users from October 24-30 reveal that Call of Duty: Black Ops and Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 each had more active players than DICE’s latest, putting the Frostbite 2-powered shooter in the third spot.
Those numbers may not come as a shock to EA. During a recent interview, EA COO Peter Moore told GameSpot that the publisher would be happy if Battlefield 3 could bring Call of Duty’s 90 percent market share from last year down to around 70 percent. “We don’t have to outsell Call of Duty to have a very successful year,” said Moore.
For more on EA’s latest shooter, check out GameSpot’s review of Battlefield 3.
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