EA: Mass Effect 3 pre-orders "well ahead" of ME2

Pre-orders of Mass Effect 3 in the UK are "well ahead" of those with Mass Effect 2, EA UK product manager Will Graham has told MCV.

It comes as EA launched this morning a balloon in London into space that contain copies of the RPG.

"Currently our pre-orders have broken the targets set, we are well ahead of where we were at the same point with Mass Effect 2 and we have all of the platforms aligned for launch, which is a first for the Mass Effect franchise," he said.

EA's also promising a mammoth "triple-A" ad campaign to support the game before release.

"TV, cinema, online, print and outdoor activity will help capture the mainstream audience," Graham added. "For the core Mass Effect fan, we’ve been building on the immersive nature of the game with a host of trailers, social media activity and fan site activation."

Shepard's finale launches on March 6 in the US and March 9 in the UK for PS3, 360 and PC.