In these austere times, when the Pentagon has to deal with new constraints on its budget, there’s signs that the private sector is not cutting back on its “Battlefield” spending.

California-based Electronic Arts said this week it has sold five million copies of its new first-person shooter game “Battlefield 3” during its first week on sale. Fake war at $60 dollars per game times five million users sounds like the same kind of economic stimulus that real war too often provides.

News that war pays (at least fictional war pays) gave the Marketplace Daily Pulse a bit of stimulus today.