EA Shipping Battlefield 3 In October 2011, Mass Effect 3 In March 2012

Electronic Arts announced expected release dates for two of its marquee titles -- first-person shooter Battlefield 3 on October 25 this year, and action RPG Mass Effect 3 on March 6 in 2012. Developed by EA's internal DICE team and built on the studio's new Frostbite 2.0 engine, Battlefield 3 will release for PS3, Xbox 360, and Windows PC. The game aims to capture "the intense reality of modern warfare," with various vehicles, and in locations around the world. Mass Effect 3, the latest in BioWare's popular space opera series, will also release on PS3, PC, and Xbox 360, but only the Xbox 360 version will feature support for Kinect's voice recognition technology for dialogue choices and giving orders to party members. EA revealed today that the action RPG will ship with a $79.99 "N7 Collector's Edition" that includes a Dark Horse comic book, a hardcover art book, an extended soundtrack, a lithograph, an N7 patch, and bonus in-game content (exclusive weapons, in-game appearance packs). "With Mass Effect 3, we are delivering blockbuster action and heart-wrenching emotion on a scale that far exceeds anything we've ever done before," says Mass Effect series executive producer Casey Hudson.