Over 8 million people played Battlefield 3 during the open beta with 47 billion shots fired and 1.5 billion kills racked up. At this rate, Battlefield 3 looks very likely to achieve record sales and take some of the shine away from its rival, Activision’s Modern Warfare 3 which is released on November 8th.
Click for larger image
In September, EA revealed that 1.25 million copies of Battlefield 3 had been pre-ordered, surpassing preorder figures of all previous Battlefield games. Judging by these stats, that figure has likely rocketed over the beta phase.
Due for release on PC, Xbox 360 and PS3, Battlefield 3 puts players into role of the elite US Marines as they fight against the People's Liberation and Resistance (PLR) near the Iraq/Iran border.
Much has been made of the enhanced level of destruction you can cause in the game and the exciting blend of ground and vehicle-based warfare across sprawling, open environments. Battlefield 3’s crowning gem, however, looks likely to be the multiplayer mode, which features 64-player battles on PC, a host of great game modes and some stunning-looking maps.
