Electronic Arts says its hits made up for its misses and posts slight first quarter declines year-over-year; Origin reaches 21M users.
Electronic Arts' Battlefield 3 Premium service hit 1.3 million users as of June 30, but the company's profits and revenue both shrank slightly from the same period last year. EA's report on its first quarter 2013 financial results for the period ended June 30 revealed a growing digital business and shrinking packaged segment. These digital gains included the flourishing Battlefield 3 premium, which EA said made up for disappointing returns on Star Wars: The Old Republic.
EA posted a total revenue of $955 million and a net income of $201 million, compared to $999 million in total revenue and $221 million in net profits from the company's first quarter of 2011. The figures show a 4.4 percent decrease in revenue and a 9 percent decrease in profits year-to-year.
A few highlights from the quarter's performance were given, including Battlefield 3's Premium subscription service's expansion from the 800,000 attracted in the program's first two weeks. President of EA Labels Frank Gibeau said new Premium purchases brought in $37 million in revenue for the month of June alone. EA's Origin download service also reached 21 million subscribers, in comparison to Steam's most-recently reported 41 million.
EA also announced Star Wars: The Old Republic's upcoming tiered free-to-play system and set its projected total revenue for its current fiscal year at $3.9-$4.05 billion.
Connor Sheridan is the News Intern at GameSpot in San Francisco. He loves Super Metroid and has seen "Weird Al" Yankovic in concert three times.
I see this as one of the attempts by EA to mitigate their predicted net loss for 2013. You can check it out on their Q1 FY 2013 report on their website. Not that a predicted $55 million net loss would mean anything to a corporation like E.A., but one shall continue to speculate.
2 Like Yes, it's hard to approve of EA asking for $110 up front for one game, but the amount of hate EA is getting over this seems disproportionate. I see hardly anyone whining about CoD Elite, when it's the exact same program. If a Halo game receives five map packs for $10 each, that's $50, and a large percentage of the player base will buy all of those. EA asking for a single up-front payment is not that big a deal.
I have my own complaints about it, such as them not allowing a discount for people who preordered and already have Back to Karkand, but it's still a good amount of content, and BF3 is a good game.
Back to Karkand was the bonus for pre-ordering the Limited Edition and I didn't count that as part of the Premium. I like Premium so far. Yeah, it would have been nice to get a little discount from the regular cost of Premium. I would like access to the BF4 beta WITHOUT having to buy MOH: War Fighter. I wonder how many gamers will have that access, besides those who buy the game.
1 Like @Spartan_418 i went from COD to BF to get away from that crap, now it starts all over again
@beuneus12 The way DLC works doesn't seem like a good reason to choose one game over another, when there are other more important differences, you know, like gameplay
1 Like Hey, if people love the games and want to pay for it, let em. Who cares? I thought Battlefield 3 premium might be a good idea when it was first announced and may be more fairly priced than COD Elite....then I saw it costed the amount of the game. Myself, I could never justify paying $120 for one game...
the best thing about EA and Origins is that they pulled all their product into a store i will never step digital feet into, so im glad they were nice enough to remove their garbage from my sight.
2 Like i hate people who whine about ea. ea is pretty much the biggest name in the video game industry and they are king. no other company will ever come close to the greatness of electronic arts. so go play your sissy little final fantasy and your little gta bitch.
7 Like I-Is that sarcasm? I have a hard time believing they're the biggest name in the VG industry or that they're anywhere near king status.
You must be trollin.
2 Like yup because i will be trollin in a forum like this. they actually are on king status. look at that mitt romney money that they pull in, man. you need your eyes examined
1 Like @marcusurelius Hey man, I didn't knew u were trolling. I would've joined maybe. Sorry about earlier comment. I actually thought you liked EA.
This comment has been deleted
1 Like @speed45823 More like 200 people who will be pissed and wont stop whining on the internet about EA (Electronic Arts) while the rest couldn't give a toss.
2 Like @DarkSaber2k You either work for EA (Egotistical A-holes) or a EA's bitch. Either way, no one appreciates getting ripped off by EA. Forget the stats. Ask all the sane people. Ask why EA's been voted the worst company in U.S.
1 Like @speed45823 I do not work for EA (Electronic Arts) and haven't bought an EA (Electronic Arts) game since 2002. EA (Electronic Arts) was voted worst company because it was open to everyone online, including rabid little shitheads like you who voted for them as far FAR worse than companies that have been actively sabotaging the worlds economies. Because milking for DLC and Mass Effect 3s' ending was far FAR worse than anything the banks did that year, amirite? Your move chumpbrain.
2 Like Hello, here is my opinion on the aforementioned matter. Seeing as I already received the "Back to Karkand" expansion pack with my pre-order, I don't see how Premium is at all a plausible option. I would effectively be spending $50 for content that would normally cost me $50 considering I already have "Back to Karkand". Now this would not be an issue if it weren't for the sketchy quality of the DLC packs. Close Quarters is not what I got Battlefield for and does not look to be worth the $15. Armored Kill on the other hand looks fantastic and is very much what Battlefield is all about. Aftermath looks decent with it's earthquake ravaged maps but it's hard to say, and End Game could be fantastic or rubbish. No one even knows what End Game's theme is. So to buy Prenium even after pre-ordering would result in some useless apparel and cosmetic options and 2 week early access to the DLC packs. I can wait those 2 weeks and in the process possibly avoid rubbish DLC packs by evaluating them before buying. I will not be getting Close Quarters as of yet so already this seems to be a sensible decision. Nothing wrong with buying it though if you like what it offers.
1 Like @beuneus12 With the inherent anonymity of the internet it is often said that one can become anything, I choose to be somewhat sophisticated.
You know, all these people taking a go at BF3, it really confuses me. Sure, bash the premium all you want but why bash the original game. I stopped playing for about 2 weeks recently and I played various other shooting games, like Crysis 2 for example. 2 days ago I booted up BF3 and I was blown away, just like the first day I got it. It just feels so good, like that pee you take in the morning after waking up(hehe that good). Sure it's got a few bugs, but honestly what game doesn't. BF3 is brilliant game, whether it's your cup of tea or not doesn't matter. I bought premium because its going to save me money, FACT. If you are not going to buy everything then just don't buy it, simple. It's there to make money, yes, but I save a couple bucks too.
1 Like @10V3n0M01 Completely understandable that you want to save money. The problem is the extremely high prices that both EA and Activision are charging for these map packs. $15 for a few multiplayer maps is just absurd! And as long as there are people willing to blindly bend over, holding out your wallet for the taking, these consumer rapists will just keep on having their way with us. Until individuals can show some principles and restraint, and refuse to be treated like a door mat, it's only gonna get worse. EA and Activision only understand one thing... money. Gamers, as a community, should really try to not buy into the price-gouging tactics that EA lives by. The only way we're gonna be able to take back OUR industry is to show them we're not gonna tolerate being abused any longer. THEY NEED US, WE DON'T NEED THEM!!!
@Vodoo You cannot really compare BF's mappacks against CoD's mappacks. As CoD's DLC are just maps. Whereass BF's DLC is Weapons,Vehicles,Game modes,maps,cutomization among other things. As I see it they put more work in BF3's DLC which would make the 15$ a not so bad price. Time = Money. But if it was maps only like CoD's.. Then .. It would have been expensive.
1 Like Battlefield 3 flopped followed by a continuous decline from the Star Wars flop.
EA share price on BF3 release was at a high of about $25 per share
EA share price now is at a low of about $11 per share....
That's all you really need to know.
@eric_neo3 it flopped in console probably but not on pc bf2 fans have been waiting for bf3 for years and pc fans really never stop playing BF games unlike console folks.
1 Like @eric_neo3 battlefield flopped? dude, you must not play it at all. every time i play it i am in a queue because everyone plays it. i take it you are a call of duty fan?
@mrzero1982pt2 Dude they have been quietly (and no so quietly) shutting down and selling off servers for a couple of months now. THERE'S the cause of your queues.
1 Like I entertained the notion of it but i dont give a crap until i see the maps,. i only have BTk, and hope to get AK (for pc, thats a no brainer ). i mean all id get is a damn knife and a stupid dogtag whoopi f'n doo. if the next map packs convince me other wise, or some of the content drops do i might , but i dont think i will. The announcement of BF4 so soon also made me reconsider because i foresee EA killing this franchise because now they are making a huge profit (just look at the copy paste MOH games now, and the video GS did, they are the same damn game).
@MW2ismygame you said what i said. they still have it spaced out that you can get the packs that you want if you do not get premium. i want armored kill because of the vehicle combat. but that is also something. you notice they are making the maps cater to certain playtypes? the most recent one is for folks who like close quarter combat and love shotguns. the only big thing that comes from premium is the double xp weekends, and that gets boring after a while.
People have a problem with season passes?
"Oh no! Paying a discounted lump sum up front for all subsequent DLC! We might as well let them charge us $1000 to sexually abuse us!"
It's a money-making scheme (There are business models not intended to make money?), but it is beneficial to anyone who pays for it.
The only people that could have a legit gripe are those who feel that all DLC is content that should have been in the game day 1 for free, but those people are off in their own delusional little world.
1 Like @hockeybub89 Um with BC2 they released the DLC for free if you had an online pass. there your investment into the game actaully mattered. BC1 the DLC was all free. In those games they had the sense to advertise ingame for an extra buck in BF3 they are just milking it. I dont hate prenium entirely TBH but i think they should have at least released a little bit of content per pack (maybe 1 map per pack and a couple assingments) so they dont take a crap all over players who paid for a full investment into a game. EA should have comprimsed instead many non prenium players are just going to ditch the game and say @#$# it.
@helldew BC2 DLC was a joke. Free? No. You bought it with the game. They just released content that was already in the game(which was locked) then called it "FREE".Please. BC2 fans make me laugh all day long.
3 Like i got premium and i hate EA :(
But i have alot of hours in BF3 and since i want all DLC anyways i guess it pays off for me personally. Doesn't mean I like the pricepoint of $50, $30/40 sounds more like it. I mean it's an expansion, don't care for the new knife/camos and crap like that.
Also i already bought back to karkhand, so no $15 refund? :P
And i still need to pay for those exclusive dogtags? I thought this was the all -inclusive PREMIUM service. Hate to support EA though, to bad they own DICE :(
8 Like I stopped playing BF3 after BF2k came out. I'm convinced Dice cant make or remake good maps to save their life at least not anymore. I think they just design the maps for optimal sun glare.
1 Like I play BF3...but I won't pay for premium. Nor will I pay for COD Elite I would rather that money go towards other games.
EA to offer bundle that includes base game, all expansion packs, and a multiplayer "head start" kit for PS3, Xbox 360, and PC next month.
Users who looked at this article also looked at these content items.
United States Vice President Joe Biden believes there is no legal restriction on ability to tax violent media. Full Story
Avalanche Studios co-founder says developer's ambition is for action, not moments that make players cry; steampunk-style game on hold. Full Story
Developer confirms image suggesting version of upcoming shared-world shooter in development for Sony's latest portable is a fake. Full Story
Assassin's Creed and Far Cry publisher says its network of 26 studios and over 7,000 developers will allow company to ship major franchises more regularly. Full Story
4A Games creative director Andrew Prokhorov thanks Jason Rubin for telling the studio's story, but says, "We deserve the ratings we get." Full Story
DICE head would also like to poach top talent from rivals Infinity Ward and Treyarch. Full Story
Future EA games won't require Online Passes; the service is being scrapped after tepid player response. Full Story
Layoffs at Defiance dev - Report
Trion Worlds confirms job cuts as part of company reorganization, says 80 percent layoff figure "definitely exaggerated"; development on Rift, future...
