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?
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.