Video Game "Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3" Sales Crosses $1 Billion

[JamesG]

Modern Warfare 3 Smashes Entertainment Launch Records
November 11, 2011
by Keith Stuart


Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 has set a new record for the biggest ever entertainment launch.

The game's publisher, Activision Blizzard, has claimed that in the US and UK alone, the military shooter sold over 6.5m units within 24 hours of its launch on Tuesday, raising $400m in sales revenues.

The figures are based on data from Charttrack as well as customer sell-through information.





It is a third consecutive sales record for the Call of Duty series.

2009's Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 sold 4.7m copies in 24 hours earning $310m in revenue, while last year's Call of Duty: Black Op hit 5.6m copies in its first day.

"We believe the launch of Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 is the biggest entertainment launch of all time in any medium, and we achieved this record with sales from only two territories," said Activision Blizzard chief executive Bobby Kotick.

"Other than Call of Duty, there has never been another entertainment franchise that has set opening day records three years in a row. Life-to-date sales for the Call of Duty franchise exceed worldwide theatrical box office for Star Wars and Lord of the Rings, two of the most successful entertainment franchises of all time."





By contrast, the highest grossing movie of the year so far, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2, made $80m in one day on the global box office – a record figure for the film industry.

Activision claims that 13,000 stores worldwide opened at midnight on Monday to allow queues of gamers to buy the title. Reportedly, Modern Warfare 3 has also set a record for the largest numbers of concurrent players on Xbox Live, the console's multiplayer gaming service.

"Call of Duty is more than a game. It's become a major part of the pop cultural landscape," claimed Activision Publishing chief executive Eric Hirshberg. "It is a game that core enthusiasts love, but that also consistently draws new people into the medium."

http://www.guardian.co.uk/technology/gamesblog/2011/nov/11/modern-warfare-3-breaks-sales-records?

[JamesG]

Activision: Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 Sets Five-Day Sales Record
11/17/2011
by Georg Szalai


Video game giant Activision Blizzard said Thursday that Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 has "shattered theatrical box office, book and video game sales records" for five-day worldwide sell-through in dollars, crossing the $775 million mark.

That beat the company's own previous record of $650 million set a year ago by Call of Duty: Black Ops.

Activision had recorded $550 million two years ago for Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2.






The company cited Charttrack and retail customer sell-through data.

"With $775 million of sales of Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 in its first five days, Call of Duty has become the first entertainment property in history to set five-day launch records for three consecutive years across all forms of entertainment," said Activision Blizzard CEO Robert Kotick.

Life-to-date retail sales for the Call of Duty franchise have exceeded $6 billion worldwide, making it "one of the most valuable entertainment properties in the world," he said.

http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/activision-call-duty-modern-warfare-263074

[JamesG]

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 Crosses $1 Billion Sales Mark
12/12/2011
by Georg Szalai


Activision Blizzard said Monday that Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 has crossed the $1 billion mark in sales after 16 days, eclipsing a record set in 2009 by the film release Avatar, which reached the $1 billion milestone in 17 days.

The latest edition of the Call of Duty franchise launched on Nov. 8 with a one-day sales record of $400 million in North America and the U.K. The gaming giant's Activision Publishing arm cited sales data from Charttrack and retail customer sell-through information.

With more than 30 million gamers, the Call of Duty community now exceeds the combined populations of the cities of New York, London, Tokyo, Paris and Madrid, the firm said.





"Engagement of our Call of Duty audience continues to rise around the world," said Bobby Kotick, CEO of Activision Blizzard.

"Call of Duty as an entertainment franchise has made an indelible mark on popular culture and its broad and continued success is further validation that audiences increasingly value interactive experiences over passive experiences."

He said that the gaming series is among that "rarified group of sustained franchises like Star Wars, Harry Potter, Lord of the Rings and the National Football League (NFL) that attract or engage tens of millions of people every year or every new release."





Activision also said that the Call of Duty Elite online service has registered more than six million players since the game's launch with over 1 million premium subscriptions sold to date.

By comparison, Netflix, Hulu Plus and XBOX Live each reached the 1 million paid subscriber milestone after about a year, it highlighted.

http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/call-duty-modern-warfare-3-272307