It’s been a theory that has been discussed plenty this year, that AAA games are suffering in sales when compared to their predecessors. The “issue” is further compounded by the fact that some are putting of their Battlefield 4 purchase, for example, for the next-gen version.
EA is seemingly not too perturbed by the lesser sales of the AAA game, citing that the nex-generation of consoles will see a rise in AAA games’ sales.
Battlefield 4, Assassin’s Creed IV, Call of Duty: Ghosts and, to a lesser extent, FIFA 14, have all suffered steep declines in sales over their predecessors.
MCV But says the difficult few weeks is due to consumers saving up and waiting for the launch of PS4 and Xbox One.
“It is always going to be difficult to sell games on an older platform when something new is coming,” EA Studios EVP Patrick Soderlund told MCV.
“More now than previously, it feels like people are really waiting for something new. I think with the games we have and our competitor games, you will see a big attach rate on the next-gen.
“There’s a lot of people waiting for the new, just like when a new iPhone comes out, and they hold off buying an iPhone 4S before the iPhone 5 comes out.
“I think it is that simple. There are people waiting, they will get a machine, and look at the games and say: ‘If I want a shooter and I want the best one. If I want a racing game and I want the best one. If I want a soccer game and I want FIFA.’
