Battlefield 3 week-one sales top 5 million

Electronic Arts' opening salvo in the Battlefield-versus-Call of Duty conflict landed in resounding fashion, when the publisher announced last week that Battlefield 3 first-week retail shipments totaled 10 million. With EA claiming that retail reorders for Battlefield 3 are coming in steadily, the publisher announced today that the game has sold through to consumers some 5 million units globally during its first week of availability.

Battlefield 3 now holds EA's record for fastest-selling game, the publisher said. The modern-day first-person shooter earned critical praise following its October 25 launch for the Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, and PC.

In its announcement, EA also recognized reports of server instability following the game's launch. However, citing internal figures, the publisher said that "servers and service uptime" came out to around 98.9 percent throughout the weekend. EA also said that its online servers experienced their highest-ever usage rates during the game's first weekend.

Last week, Wedbush analyst Michael Pachter predicted Battlefield 3 will sell 8 million units this year alone. While that figure is impressive relative to most games' totals, Pachter believes it will be eclipsed by Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3. The analyst has projected that Activision's entrant into the FPS field will sell 16 million units this year.

For more information, check out GameSpot's previous coverage of Battlefield 3.