Electronic Arts has announced that 3.5 million copies of Mass Effect 3 have been shipped worldwide. The number makes Mass Effect 3 the largest entertainment launch of the year thus far. EA boss John Riccitello has stated that customers bought 890,000 copies in North America alone on launch day earlier this week, reports VentureBeat. The executive's comments were made during the Wedbush Technology, Media and Telecommunications Conference, where he noted that Mass Effect 3 is meeting EA's expectations and that the company is "happy" about the results so far.

Riccitiello also mentioned sales of Mass Effect 3 downloadable content, which are already doing quite well. 40 percent of customers who purchased Mass Effect 3 from a local GameStop also purchased DLC, the highest tie ratio for downloadable content the retailer has ever seen.

Concerning EA's other major sci-fi property, Riccitiello said that Star Wars: The Old Republic is still doing well for the company. The MMO currently has 1.7 million active subscribers. Those keeping score will remember that this is the same number EA reported last month. The important distinction is that now, according to Riccitiello, the "vast majority" of players have passed the free 30 day trial period that comes with new copies of the game, meaning they are now paying subscribers.