Dragon Age DLC nets $1 million, BF1943 sells 1.2M

Electronic Arts drops sales figures for BioWare's just-launched multiplatform role-playing game, DICE-developed online-exclusive shooter.

Publishers have been citing digital distribution as a source of incremental revenue for years, but those increments are clearly growing. Speaking at the BMO Capital Markets 17th Annual Digital Entertainment Conference today, Electronic Arts executive vice president and CFO Eric Brown provided investors with sales figures for recent downloadable add-ons and games.

Cheer up! You're a millionaire!

Brown recapped the nearly instantaneous success of Dragon Age: Origins, the BioWare fantasy role-playing game that arrived in stores early last week. The executive said that sales of Dragon Age downloadable content are already "well past $1 million" collectively. Brown also reiterated the company's intent to support the game with new add-ons for an entire year after launch.

Dragon Age launched alongside a handful of add-ons, including the $15 (but free for preorders) Stone Prisoner expansion, and the $7 Warden's Keep. EA is also selling a handful of premium Dragon Age themes for 240 Microsoft points ($3) each on the Xbox Live Marketplace.

The EA executive also talked about the company's success with full downloadable games. Specifically, he called out Battlefield 1943, the download-only first-person shooter for the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3. Despite hiccups at launch, the DICE-developed WWII game racked up 1.2 million sales between the two platforms. During Battlefield 1943's debut month, EA proclaimed it the fastest-selling day-one and week-one downloadable exclusive title on Xbox Live worldwide, or on PSN in North America. Battlefield 1943 sells for 1,200 Microsoft points ($15).

For more on DICE's WWII shooter and BioWare's latest RPG, check out GameSpot's reviews of Battlefield 1943 and Dragon Age: Origins.

92 Comments

  • jpri26

    Posted Nov 19, 2009 8:43 am PT

    Seems like there are two different discussions going on here.

    1. Is down-loadable content and digital distribution good?
    2. Should developers charge for DLC at game release (with the subtext that the developers held this content off the disc specifically so they could sell it at a premium)?

    With respect to #2 i think DLC that was developed alongside the primary game should be included in the game. Content that is developed after the game releases should rightly be sold at a reasonable price. Taking into account the timing involved with the DA DLC, it *seems* that this content could have been available with the game, and that is unfortunate because with the success of this DLC developers have an incentive to withhold content from their games.

  • Deity_Dude

    Posted Nov 17, 2009 3:47 pm PT

    Good for Battlefield 1943!

  • Humorguy_basic

    Posted Nov 17, 2009 3:19 am PT

    Everyonee is aware, with the Warden's Keep DLC, that once you complet th story and leave th Keep, you cannot go back in it? You didn't? I wondr if that's becauas the info was hidden from you by the media and Bioware!

  • sircyrus

    Posted Nov 16, 2009 11:03 pm PT

    @Racebannon_
    "They refuse to believe they're not the majority, and as always the truth is shown by the sheer number of satisfied gamers who don't go cold and hungry every month because they had to spend a half-hour's or less worth of pay on something that isn't required to progress through or even enjoy the game they already paid for."

    From what I understand, the DLC contributes quite a fair amount to enjoying the game because of the storage chest. Otherwise the player is forced to deal with a small inventory amidst too many items.

    If you'd bothered to read most of the negative comments about DLC's, I think you'd have found that the people don't have a problem with paying for content. But they want the content to be worth the cost, and they don't want to have to pay for additional content on the launch day. That's a cash grab.

    Your last sentence sums it up, "the game they already paid for."

    Compare the complaints about these DLC's to Baldur's Gate 2's Throne of Bhaal. Do so and you'll find that there is no comparison, because people don't have an issue paying for content when it's worth it. $30 for an estimated 30-40 additional hours of gameplay, or $7 for an estimated 30-60minutes.

    It isn't about not being able to afford it. It's about it simply not being worth it, and the player being gouged compared to what we used to get for our money.

  • Taffelost

    Posted Nov 16, 2009 9:42 am PT

    I like DLC myself. I like it because I can choose wheather I want to buy it or not. I live in the free capitalistic part of the world where developers can charge whatever they want for their products. The same goes for me as a consumer as I can choose myself where to spend my money. I got all the major DLC's of Dragon Age because I pre-ordered and bought the digital deluxe version. I won't however buy separated items, companions or any other DLC that doesn't bring anything really new to the game in the future. If they add new dungeons or maybe even new classes I might be interested. Dragon Age is one hell of a game. I hope they prolong it's lifetime as long as possible.

  • Raxous

    Posted Nov 16, 2009 7:54 am PT

    Guys really!

    "If the games market goes DLC only it will be the end of gaming"

    Seriously, does anyone believe this?

    Of course all game will be download only in the future.

    This is a good thing.

    Will this be a failure? Lets have a little think... has iTunes been a failure? erm... no... Is Steam a failure?.. erm no...

    Get with the program and stop whining! Less postage, less raw resources used, no transport to damage environment, no manufacturing costs / damage to the environment, no more media size limits, no delays for gamers waiting for delayed post, easier access globally, specially where there are no game shops etc, instant download of back catalog, centralised savegames to play anywhere, no "damaged" media, less piracy, instant patch rollouts, better integrated game / player communities, lower cost of entry for "indie" games developers, etc, etc, etc

    Maybe you find cars a little too progressive and would like to go back to horses! Or ditch mobile phones in favour of letters?

    The future is DLC, we should all get used to it.

  • houdeany

    Posted Nov 16, 2009 2:42 am PT

    I think they had the DLC out too soon.
    If they had've combined them, and bought them out later, there would be less fuss.
    I'm not a fan of paying for extra content, but if it is worth buying, i will buy it.

  • Racebannon_

    Posted Nov 16, 2009 12:52 am PT

    It's nice to know that the people who cried over $7 optional DLC for a game that offers ten-times as much unique gameplay than most games have now been shown how petty they are by the sheer success of it, although I would never, ever expect them to admit it, because being wrong is a terrible, unthinkable thing. Seeing the majority opinion of an internet community who bothers to post their feelings about how mistreated they are and how unfair DLC is... it's like going into the ICU and asking patients their opinion of life. They refuse to believe they're not the majority, and as always the truth is shown by the sheer number of satisfied gamers who don't go cold and hungry every month because they had to spend a half-hour's or less worth of pay on something that isn't required to progress through or even enjoy the game they already paid for.

  • Marcelloz

    Posted Nov 15, 2009 7:29 am PT

    Bah, I was hoping this would not be a succes. They just cut some parts from the game to add as DLC. I expect a complete game for a normal retail price, not a crippled one. I expect this to be the beginning of the end...

  • demi_veritaz

    Posted Nov 14, 2009 10:29 pm PT

    From what I hear, the DLC for DA was developed by different teams than the ones working on the main campaign.
    I can't blame people for being mad though. I won't be buying it until they release everything on disc, and even then it's iffy.

  • Franko_3

    Posted Nov 14, 2009 3:44 pm PT

    I just bought the complete Overlord series for 8.50$ on steam. yet, these fantastics games all failed to get attention, but garbage like these insane, overpriced dlc (who the hell will pay 3$ for a theme...) sold for 1 million$. Gaming is getting so sad

  • sircyrus

    Posted Nov 14, 2009 11:55 am PT

    Not surprising that they'd rake in $1million based off of a $7 DLC.

    What is surprising is that gamers will dish out that $7 for what amounts to 1 hour of content. DLC's are a rip-off.

    Anyone who has purchased a past expansion should be disgusted by the way DLC's are handled. I'm all for proper expansions, but not nickel-and-diming gamers with DLC's and MT's.

  • wexorian

    Posted Nov 13, 2009 11:03 pm PT

    Game rocks, and DLC rocks too we need more DLC on D age. Good game = more and more DLC sale.

  • arkadiyk

    Posted Nov 13, 2009 9:22 pm PT

    this game is better lookin then aoc even with dx10 and is more stable, sucks you in like wow, and higher frames with my e6600 9@3.3 GHZ and gtx 285 ftw MAXIMUM POSSIBLE SETTING AVERAGE FRAMES > 75/SEC

  • tommynj

    Posted Nov 13, 2009 3:59 pm PT

    I got all the DLC on day 1 and I'm very happy with it. By far the best rpg Bioware has done in awhile.

  • Supabul

    Posted Nov 13, 2009 3:12 pm PT

    Dragon Age should be GOTY, but that usually goes to the most over hyped game with beautiful graphics

  • meathead86

    Posted Nov 13, 2009 2:38 pm PT

    they sure know how to make money

  • DrBlumpkin

    Posted Nov 13, 2009 1:21 pm PT

    I don't mind that DA has dlc on day one, hell I got the stone prisoner for free with a code in the game. What pisses me off is the stupid npc in my camp trying to sell me the Warden's Keep add on. There should be option to switch that stuff off in game.

  • protoroc

    Posted Nov 13, 2009 1:03 pm PT

    The only DLC that has been worth it was the two GTA4 expansions in my opinion. For $40 You got about 20-30 hours of new story, more cars, new TV shows, etc etc.

  • Biorges

    Posted Nov 13, 2009 12:32 pm PT

    Will there be a game of the year edition? i might just buy that instead of all the fragmented DLC (both oblivion and fallout 3 GOTY were good)

  • rann89

    Posted Nov 13, 2009 12:27 pm PT

    mrbrown726, you're already being hustled.

  • mbrown726 posted Nov 13, 2009 11:53 am PT (does not meet display criteria. sign in to show)

    mbrown726

    Posted Nov 13, 2009 11:53 am PT (hide)

    I will pay for more DLC, if the Company makes more content. But if they go the route Valve did for L4D & create a whole new game, I start to get the idea that I'm being hustled.

  • Nightrain50

    Posted Nov 13, 2009 11:53 am PT

    waiting for game of the year editions will become the norm if this dlc crap keeps up, whatever happened to full blown expansions for 15 bucks. I'll wait, really want this game too.

  • green_dominator

    Posted Nov 13, 2009 11:23 am PT

    @ Ottozero
    LOL I was half expecting nobody to get it....
    Good sense of humor man.....
    I never tried Oblivions Horse Armor.....
    Like I said DA has some good content already and the DLC just makes it better.....
    Basically what Bioware did was allow anyone who wanted it to buy extra stuff but rewarded their fans like me.
    I came in a little late, during the KOTOR period but I've played NWN and DA is pretty close to that, Still I'm anxious to see Mass Effect 2, That game is gonna be killer.....

  • Humorguy_basic

    Posted Nov 13, 2009 11:20 am PT

    Let's not forget, if you don't have the premium DLC the game will remind you at the appropriate moment. Inside game advertising, as it were. Then you have the problem, that included in the game and it's always there, even if you uninstall the game and don't play it for a year. But what about all the free DLC? The special DLC you got based on the retailer you used? The premium DLC? Where's that a year from now?

  • zequex posted Nov 13, 2009 11:11 am PT (does not meet display criteria. sign in to show)

    zequex

    Posted Nov 13, 2009 11:11 am PT (hide)

    @2bitSmOkEy

    Actually this is more like you pay to see Lord of the Rings in Imax, and then to see all the deleted scenes you have to get the Extended Edition on DVD. If you want it in HD then you have to buy it on BluRay. This isn't new.
    Did anyone complain that they had to pay to watch 2 more movies to find out how Lord of the Rings ended?
    According to that logic, the "should" have released all three movies as a complete 9 hour story.
    Or at LEAST should have given free admission to the second two movies to anyone who payed to see the first one.

  • ParisSun

    Posted Nov 13, 2009 11:09 am PT

    The genie is out of the bottle people. These companies know they can make a killing off of dlc. DAO is the extreme. They basically release they game and dlc on the same day and tell you that if you want the rest of the game, you're going to pay for it. Let's be honest, Stone Prisoner and Warden's Keep could have been packaged in the $60.00 retail. Oh well, no one is holding a gun to our heads to buy it, so I'll be a sucker because it's a really good game.

  • Torque203 posted Nov 13, 2009 10:37 am PT (does not meet display criteria. sign in to show)

    Torque203

    Posted Nov 13, 2009 10:37 am PT (hide)

    im so use to DLC that i stoped caring when they come out and what not. you make them ill buy them simple as that.

  • Jshaw71

    Posted Nov 13, 2009 10:00 am PT

    i didn't buy the wardens keep dlc, but i got the game, and it's good

  • Humorguy_basic

    Posted Nov 13, 2009 8:45 am PT

    DLC on day one is taking the pee, but really, the MW2 PC gamers petition never did a thing, because there were 10x more that agreed and yet still bought the game. There has never been a petition for a coming console game, as far as I am aware of, so really, we have most gamers selfishly just thinking about themselves. The publishers know this and so don't care. Trust me, they don't care. The money we spend, yes. But the rest? Don't care.

  • sammoth

    Posted Nov 13, 2009 8:39 am PT

    DA is a great RPG, I have to agree with others about the DLC. It wasn't that it was released. It was more about the Timming of it. You don't release a game and have DLC the day it comes out. I don't care if it was pushed back etc. It is bad marketing. Also why Offer it for Free with the Digital DL verison of the game and others have to pay says a hell of alot about the company. Let ,e get this straight no disk I get everything a Disk/Collector's I get almost everything and have to pay more for it. I see something wrong with this.

  • gdelaroc

    Posted Nov 13, 2009 8:34 am PT

    Maybe people are too young to remember but DLC is no different than back in the day when we played pen and paper AD&D and we as players and DMs went out and bought content/manuals/reference books etc. on a regular basis that supported whatever gaming experience we were playing.

    DLC as long as it is of quality etc..is great!

  • Frankasti

    Posted Nov 13, 2009 8:33 am PT

    DLC on release date is pure garbage.. games are now 60$ for 75% of it... if you want it all, it's 90$. EA buys every good companies and turn it into milking industries... commercial fail for me (hope it is also for you)

  • Humorguy_basic

    Posted Nov 13, 2009 8:12 am PT

    @Cabal23, music is 0.60c games are $60.00, that's why. And people never read what they read. A million dollars worth of DLC, well, with one DLC $15 and one $7, which means somewhere around 100,000 downloads. 100,000? That's a huge number is it? I don't think so.

  • razorback187

    Posted Nov 13, 2009 8:09 am PT

    Its really lame that in-game characters try to sell you DLC. I will not be buying this game.
    Maybe in a year or two when I can get a bundle with all the DLC for $20.

  • rann89

    Posted Nov 13, 2009 7:50 am PT

    Thanks a lot to you idiots that keep encouraging developers to take stuff out of the game so they can sell it to you for even more.

    I wonder how much of Bioshock 2 they'll take out to sell later on.

    "Brown also reiterated the company's intent to support the game with new add-ons for an entire year after launch."

    None of which will be free.

  • Cabal23 posted Nov 13, 2009 7:10 am PT (does not meet display criteria. sign in to show)

    Cabal23

    Posted Nov 13, 2009 7:10 am PT (hide)

    @ Humorguy_basic
    Sorry, but the success of DLC is already proven you wrong. So what you are saying is gamers will give up gaming if it goes digital. Yeah ok. So while the rest of us play our games on the release day because they have been downloaded to our machines and are ready to be played, you can go skip rocks in a pond. Most people take their games out of the box and never crack a manual. And manuals these days are garbage. No discs to get scratched. This will effectively end piracy because they will be able to code scripts into the game that defeat piracy techniques. Not only that but update those scripts as new exploits are revealed. The reasons are many for this paradigm shift in the industry. Worked for music and books, why wouldn't it work for games?

  • HazyNimbus

    Posted Nov 13, 2009 7:07 am PT

    If I'm repeating anyone I apologize - Digital distribution is fine if the fine print says you actually own a copy of something. If it doesn't, then you don't and you are only renting. If their servers turn off, so does your game even if it is installed on your hard drive. Often you need to link to a server to get it to play and that trend will only increase (probably). Digital Distribution is a REALLY mixed bag.

  • Cabal23

    Posted Nov 13, 2009 7:04 am PT

    1943 has kept me going for months. Totally worth every cent. Not only that but a remake of a classic game many PC gamers played religiously. It was nice to see an old friend with a face lift.

  • noodles297

    Posted Nov 13, 2009 6:20 am PT

    1943 is garbage. Really not even worth the what..15 dollars or something? that I spent on it. really boring, crap maps, crap gameplay.

  • djpetitte

    Posted Nov 13, 2009 6:02 am PT

    bf 1943 is raw!

  • FlashCharge

    Posted Nov 13, 2009 5:35 am PT

    Downloadable gaming is great but having the disc is awesome. Just can not put DLC on the shelf for everyone to see.

  • Humorguy_basic

    Posted Nov 13, 2009 5:18 am PT

    The industry, along with the media's help, is going to move gaming to download only. It's vastly more profitable for the publishers (no manufacturing or distribution costs) and the media is here to help the industry gets what it wants. Should the gaming market go download only though, I predict it's quick demise. There will only ever be a large minority that will accept buying 'data' - the majority will just walk away. Hang on to your games my friends, because soon prices on ebay are going to shoot through the roof for games that come in actual boxes and printed manuals, etc!

  • Chickenesta

    Posted Nov 13, 2009 5:15 am PT

    Shame the quality of DLC can often be lacking, the trend won't continue if this does.

  • Richmaester6907

    Posted Nov 13, 2009 4:49 am PT

    are you guys all poor or something seriously they arent forcing you to buy anything

  • VasileCelMare

    Posted Nov 13, 2009 4:25 am PT

    SillySkeleton is absolutely true about EA. As working in the game industry, I know how these companies use any kind of resource to get $$$ during the crisis. And guess why are so many people fired regardless to the sales.

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