Real Racing 3 has beaten sales records set by the previous two games to become the series’ best-selling title, according to Electronic Arts.
During the game’s first week in the iOS App Store, Real Racing 3 was downloaded more times that Real Racing and Real Racing 2 have been downloaded in their entire lifetime.
Since its release Real Racing 3 has received a fair amount of criticism for being the first game in the series to be offered on a freemium content model. Despite these complaints, Real Racing 3 has proven to be a solid title for EA, currently sitting in the top spot of the App Store in 90 countries. Expect the US where it lies in tenth place.
“There’s no question that going freemium was the right way to go, “ said Nick Earl, Vice President of EA’s Mobile and Social Studios. “The vocal minority lashed out at freemium. We respect them and understand, but the market has spoken. That’s just where things are going.”
The game is offered on a free-to-download basis, where users can opt to purchase freemium in-app content to upgrade their vehicles, buy new cars, unlock new tracks or shorten delivery times for repairs and upgrades.
Some reviewers have attacked Real Racing 3 for the freemium content, saying it detracts from the Real Racing experience and put a barrier in between the player and the enjoyment of the game. Ion fact, the first released version of the game was deemed too punishing, spiking a wave of angry reviewers punished for not wanting to pay for additional content. EA has since updated the game, tweaking the gameplay so that it now seems much fairer.
Boasting an average review score of 4.5/5 on the App Store, it seems that the freemium content isn’t as off-putting as some first thought.
Earl admitted that fans shouldn’t expect a Real Racing 4 title to appear on the market any time soon though, as EA sees Real Racing 3 to be a flagship title for their brand.
“Our expectation is that this is a service that can live for years,” added Earl, especially as the game’s developer, FireMonkeys, is currently working on additional content for Real Racing 3.
EA recently released an infographic for the game that revealed that over 25 million races are completed on the app every day, whilst more that 14 million hours have been clocked by Real Racing 3 drivers since teh game hit the App Store less than three weeks ago.
What did you think of the Real Racing 3 game? Are the freemium content options distracting? Let us know via the TrustedReviews Facebook and Twitter pages or the comments below.
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Editorial independence
Editorial independence means being able to give an unbiased verdict about a product or company, with the avoidance of conflicts of interest. To ensure this is possible, every member of the editorial staff follows a clear code of conduct.
Professional conduct
We also expect our journalists to follow clear ethical standards in their work. Our staff members must strive for honesty and accuracy in everything they do. We follow the IPSO Editors’ code of practice to underpin these standards.
