SEPT. 7, 2011 • Electronic Arts said 1.25 million pre-orders had been taken for its upcoming Battlefield 3. That number tracked ahead of Battlefield: Bad Company 2, which has sold more than 5 million units on all platforms.

Impact: The $100 million plus marketing campaign for Battlefield 3 was well under way several months before the end of October launch. This will be EA’s attempt to go up against Activision’s Call of Duty franchise, the top selling first-person shooter series of all-time.  Battlefield 3 is the type of big budget product where anything less than 10 million units in sales will be considered a disappointment.  The massive success of these games is a clear indication that even in the face of social network games and free-to-play consumers, consumers still like to spend big money on the blockbusters.