Game Earns Rave Reviews, Sells 2 Million Units in Week One
EDMONTON, Alberta, Jan 29, 2010 (BUSINESS WIRE) -- 40 perfect scores. 2 million units. One pop culture phenomenon.
BioWare(TM), a division of Electronic Arts Inc. (NASDAQ: ERTS), announced
today that Mass Effect(TM) 2 has sold-in over two million units
worldwide in its first week of release*. Lauded for its
intense shooter gameplay and deep, hand-crafted story, Mass Effect 2
has earned an average review score of 96** -- making it the
second highest rated game of all time on the Xbox 360(R) platform***.
Mass Effect 2 has earned 40 perfect scores, amassed over 30
editor's choice awards and has donned the covers of 45 magazines
worldwide. On launch day, the term "Mass Effect" was in the top 10
trending topics on Twitter and most searched on Google News. MSNBC.com
said, "Mass Effect will go down as one of the most influential
video game series of all-time."
Dr. Ray Muzyka, co-founder, BioWare and Group General Manager of the
RPG/MMO Group of EA said, "Mass Effect 2 is poised to be one of
the biggest games of 2010. We could not be more proud of the game's
universal acclaim and early commercial success."
Mass Effect 2 launched this week hot on the heels of BioWare's Dragon
Age: Origins, the studio's dark fantasy RPG which shipped in fall
2009. Dragon Age: Origins has earned an average review score of 91****,
making it the highest rated original intellectual property from EA in
the last year. Mass Effect 2 follows in BioWare's tradition of
delivering excellence on every front: gameplay, story, character
development and visuals. Mass Effect 2 is an epic shooter/RPG set
in a vast universe filled with dangerous alien life and mysterious,
uncharted planets. In Mass Effect 2, players step into the role
of the heroic Commander Shepard, leading a crew of some of the most
dangerous operatives from across the galaxy on a mission so challenging
that it's potentially suicidal. Featuring intense action, a rich
storyline, space exploration and engaging character interaction, Mass
Effect 2 delivers an unparalleled gaming experience.
Mass Effect 2 is available for the Xbox 360 videogame and
entertainment system and the PC and is rated 'M' for Mature by the ESRB
and '18+' by PEGI. For more information, follow the development team on
Twitter at http://twitter.com/masseffect2
or visit http://masseffect.bioware.com/.
* According to internal EA data.
** On Xbox 360 platform according to Metacritic.com.
*** Mass Effect 2 is tied for second place according to
Metacritic.com.
**** On PC according to Metacritic.com.
About BioWare
BioWare develops high quality console, PC and online role-playing games,
focused on rich stories, unforgettable characters and vast worlds to
discover. Since 1995, BioWare has created some of the world's most
critically acclaimed titles, including Baldur's Gate(TM), Neverwinter
Nights(TM), Star Wars(R): Knights of the Old Republic(TM), Jade
Empire(TM) and Mass Effect(TM). BioWare operates in Edmonton
(Alberta, Canada), Montreal (Quebec) and Austin (Texas). BioWare's
announced projects include the dark heroic fantasy game Dragon Age:
Origins, as well as Mass Effect 2(TM), the epic sequel to Mass
Effect, and the story-driven massively multiplayer online game, Star
Wars(R): The Old Republic(TM). In 2008, BioWare was acquired by
Electronic Arts, a leading global interactive entertainment publisher.
For more information on BioWare, visit www.bioware.com;
to join the millions of fans already registered on our community, go to
social.bioware.com.
About Electronic Arts
Electronic Arts Inc. (EA), headquartered in Redwood City, California, is
a leading global interactive entertainment software company. Founded in
1982, the Company develops, publishes, and distributes interactive
software worldwide for video game systems, personal computers, wireless
devices and the Internet. Electronic Arts markets its products under
four brand names: EA(TM), EA SPORTS(TM), EA Mobile(TM)
and POGO(TM). In fiscal 2009, EA posted GAAP net revenue of $4.2
billion and had 31 titles that sold more than one million copies. EA's
homepage and online game site is www.ea.com.
More information about EA's products and full text of press releases can
be found on the Internet at http://info.ea.com.
BioWare, Mass Effect, Dragon Age and Jade Empire are trademarks or
registered trademarks owned by EA International (Studio and Publishing)
Ltd. in the U.S. and/or other countries. EA, EA SPORTS, EA Mobile and
POGO are trademarks or registered trademarks of Electronic Arts Inc. in
the U.S. and/or other countries. Xbox and Xbox 360 are trademarks of the
Microsoft group of companies. All other trademarks are the property of
their respective owners.
SOURCE: Electronic Arts Inc.
EA
Andrew Wong, 650-628-2781
Sr. PR Manager
anwong@ea.com
Tammy Schachter, 650-628-7223
Senior Director, PR
tschachter@ea.com
Jeff Brown, 650-628-7922
VP of Corporate Communications
jbrown@ea.com
Copyright Business Wire 2010