Titanfall beat EA's sales expectations (but they still have no figures to share); consoles retain a strong online community but PC is dipping

[BillyBong]

LudicrousSpeed said:

gamemaster4747 said:
I suspect that EA may actually be disappointed. With all the hype, one would have expected it to sell two million day one on xb1 alone. I consider it's sales to be moderate at best.

lol, if they expected it to sell that much, wouldn't they have shipped that much?

Too many people confuse the hype and marketing MS created with actual EA expectations. Remember, this is a game that wouldn't exist had MS not stepped in and saved it. If EA had these "2 million day one" and "COD killer" from day one expectations then they would have continued pumping whatever it took into the game to get it out the door. They wouldn't have allowed MS to partially fund it in exchange for the platforms it would need to reach those silly expectations.

If anything, one could easily say TF was a test for EA to see how the market would respond and if the IP was worth trying to continue, so that it could become a "COD killer". And I don't see how anyone could formulate any sort of rational argument that would say the test was a failure. It has almost 2 million in sales, not counting what are sure to be large digital sales, on a platform with just over 4 million sales. It is a success. They will make more.

what a spin.  If TF was a market test, then it wouldn't of gone MS exclusive.  EA expectations were only scaled back solely due to the "uh oh" moment when EA realized the X1 was getting trumped by the PS4 in HW sales 4-5 months after signing the exclusivity deal and after seeing the X1+TF launch sales couldn't beat out the PS4+no games in March.  Also, given the attachment rates for many 3rd party IPs favoring the ps4 this gen, like WD, wolfenstein, COD, and Battlefied, and then seeing a new IP sales, like WD on the PS4 trump/match your 3 month TF X1 exclusive sales in 1 wk, EA just gambled wrong with TF, thus explaining why EA is quick to point out that any future TF titles will no longer be a MS exclusive.  It also doesn't help with the low attachment rates on the 360 if NPD are to go by.

Lastly, without releasing any numbers, EA could say anything they want to the public.  Doesn't mean internally they aren't disappointed they gambled wrong on a potential gangbuster IP.