Battlefield Heroes is a living, breathing experiment in online gaming for Electronic Arts. It’s also one that I’m particularly fond of. But just how successful has it been for the company?
https://kotaku.com/battlefield-heroes-review-the-great-cartoon-war-5305840
Going by these numbers, I’d say “very.” EA have sat down with the game’s statistics and whittled them down into some palatable, practical numbers. Like:
– There are around 1.5 million people counted as “users”. Whether they’re active users or that’s the all-time registration count wasn’t specified.
– 50.4% of players are Nationals, 49.6% are Royals. That’s an amazingly narrow margin for a game played by so many people.
– 40% of players choose to play as Commandos, 37% are Soldiers, and 23% are Gunners.
– EA say that, on average, each player in the game has spent $20, mostly on upgraded outfits for their soldiers. Multiply $20 by 1.5 million people and you get $30 million. Not bad for a game that’s supposedly “free.”
Seeing as I’m a Royal Commando who’s spent around $10 on the game, I’d say those numbers are spot-on. Except for maybe the class breakdowns. I seem to always end up on maps full of Gunners…
By the Numbers: Battlefield Heroes [IGN]
UPDATE – EA got in touch to let us know that the IGN piece was a little off. They say that the average buyer is spending $20, not the average player. So revise that number – and your respect for the sum – downwards a touch.
