Gamers who pre-order
Electronic Arts Inc.
's (
EA
) Dead Space 3 from
GameStop Corp.
(
GME
) and
Amazon.com Inc.
(
AMZN
) will receive special bonus weapons. Moreover, gamers will also
be entitled to a special
Dead Space 3 Limited Edition
package on pre-ordering the game. The bonus weapons are an
EarthGov-issued sub machinegun (EG-900 SMG) and a Tesla
Enervator.
Dead Space 3
is being developed by Visceral Games and published by EA. The
first installment,
Dead Space
, was released in 2008.
Dead Space 2
, the sequel to the science fiction game first came to market in
2011. Other than these, two prequel games were also released.
All these games have garnered good ratings from
metacritic.
Moreover, the Dead Space franchise has sold in excess of 6.7
million copies. The upcoming release of
Dead Space 3
on February 5, 2013 (in North America) is expected to be
incrementally beneficial to EA's top line. In Europe, the game is
scheduled to be released on February 8, 2013.
Dead Space 3 will be available on
Microsoft
's (
MSFT
) Xbox 360,
Sony
's (
SNE
) PS3 and PC.
The marketing strategy to entice gamers with bonus weapons and
other game packages prior to the game's release should definitely
work in favor of EA. The company will get a better idea about the
title's popularity and its future performance. Moreover, EA will
be generating revenue from the game even before it is
released.
We believe that EA's high-quality titles and a robust product
pipeline along with the increasing online exposure and traction
in the social and mobile gaming market will boost its top-line
growth over the long term.
However, we remain cautious on EA due to sluggish consumer
spending, dismal video game sales and increasing competition.
Considering these factors, we have a Neutral recommendation on EA
over the long term.
Currently, EA has a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold).
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