Tag Archives: Call of Duty

‘Call of Duty: Black Ops II’ generates $500 million in 24 hours, continues the record-streak

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Another Call of Duty game released, another record is set. On November 13 Call of Duty: Black Ops II came out and in 24 hours the shooter generated more than $500 million worldwide. For the fourth consecutive year, Call of Duty is the biggest entertainment launch of the year following Modern Warfare 2 (generated $310 million in 24 hours in 2009), Black Ops ($360 million in 2010), and Modern Warfare 3 ($400 million in 2011). “Life-to-date sales for the Call of Duty franchise have exceeded worldwide theatrical box office receipts for Harry Potter and Star Wars, the two most successful movie franchises of all time,” said Activision Blizzard CEO Bobby Kotick in a press release.

In other video game sales news, Halo 4 released last Tuesday on November 6 and raked in over $220 million on launch day. This makes it the most successful Halo launch in the franchise’s history, narrowly beating sales of Halo: Reach which generated $200 million in 2010. It was expected that Halo 4 sales would surpass the $300 million mark during its first week on the market, but that figure has not been made official yet. Stay tuned.

‘Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3’ generates $400 million in 24 hours, bests its predecessors to become biggest entertainment launch of all time

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Infinity Ward’s latest first-person shooter Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 launched one week ago on November 8 and on that day the game sold over 6.5 million units in North America and the UK generating over $400 million in sales. MW3 is the biggest entertainment launch of all time. Does this all sound familiar to you? Well that’s because this is the third consecutive year that the Call of Duty franchise has set day one launch records across all forms of entertainment. It started in 2009 when Modern Warfare 2 sold 4.7 million copies and generated $310 million in sales; and then it happened again the very next year when Black Ops sold 5.6 million copies and made $310 million.

Activision CEO Bobby Kotick shared his enthusiasm about the franchise’s success in a press release. “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. 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.”

Same time, same place next year, people?

[Via PRNewsWire]

Game trailer: Black Ops, with star-studded zombies!

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Is this the greatest zombified video game trailer after Dead Island? I think so. To promote the latest DLC for Call of Duty: Black Ops, Activision put together this insanely awesome trailer that stars Sarah Michelle Gellar (Buffy), Robert Englund (A Nightmare on Elm Street), Danny Trejo (Machete) Michael Rooker (The Walking Dead), and the father of zombie films George A. Romero (Night of the Living Dead). The DLC content pack is called “Escalation” and it’s described like this: “Set in a mysterious, ice-covered, remote Siberian island and inspired by legendary writer and director George A. Romero, a group of four fearless explorers fight for their lives amidst an army of bloodthirsty Soviet zombies.” Watch the Robert Rodriguez-inspired (Planet Terror) trailer above and anticipate Escalation’s May 3 release.

[Via Joystiq]

Call of Duty: Black Ops becomes the best-selling game ever

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After being hailed for the biggest entertainment launch in history, Call of Duty: Black Ops has become the best-selling game ever in the US. According to NPD analyst Anita Frazier, Black Ops has surpassed Wii Play as the best-selling game. Though Activision has yet to officially announce the news, we know that the game sold 5.6 million copes ($360 million in revenue) on November 9, the day it launched in the US and UK. And according to Joystiq, as of October Nintendo sold 13 million copies of Wii Play, the game that ships with the console. So we can surmise that the Black Ops has sold, um, more than that. Way to go Activision & Treyarch!

[Via Joystiq]

CoD Black Ops tops Modern Warfare 2 in day one sales to become biggest entertainment launch in history

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The video games industry has done it again.  More specifically, Activition has pushed out another Call of Duty game that has managed to break launch day records and become the biggest entertainment launch in history.  Call of Duty: Black Ops garnered $360 million during its first day on sale in the United States and United Kingdom, according to internal Activision estimates.  This sales figure beats out MW2 which generated $310 million almost exactly one year ago.  5.6 million copes of Black Ops were sold on day one, topping MW2‘s 4.2 million copies sold.

Says Activision CEO Bobby Kotick: “There has never been another entertainment franchise that has set opening day records for two consecutive years and we are on track to outperform last year’s five-day global sales record of $550 million.  The game’s success underscores the pop culture appeal of the brand. Call of Duty: Black Ops is the finest game that Treyarch has ever made and raises the bar for online gameplay by delivering the deepest and most intense Call of Duty experience yet.  The Call of Duty franchise has over 25 million players around the world that are engaged in billions of hours of online gameplay, and we are committed to supporting them with new content and features on a more frequent and regular basis.”

Yes, that feeling of speechlessness is normal.  Wowzers.

[Via Activision; Joystiq]

Trailer: Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 Stimulus Package

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The first piece of downloadbale content for the world’s best-selling video game Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 will ship in the form of a map pack.  It will include 5 maps–three new ones (Bailout, Storm, and Salvage) and two old ones from the original CoD: MW (Crash and Overgrown).  The DLC will hit the Xbox 360 first on March 30 for a whopping $15 and will appear on the PSN and PCs later this year.  But you know all this already!  Check out the brand new teaser trailer for “Stimulus Package” above.

[Via Gametrailers]

First CoD: MW2 map pack gets detailed, outrageously priced

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The first Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 downloadable content will come in the form of a map pack.  The “Stimulus Package” will consist of five maps, two of them being old maps, “fan-favorites” from the original Modern Warfare game.  A description of the map pack was posted on the Xbox Live Marketplace (and has since been taken down for unknown reasons):

The best-selling Xbox 360 game of all-time just got bigger, with more epic multiplayer content, first on Xbox LIVE! The Stimulus Package delivers 5 additional action-packed multiplayer maps featuring a variety of locations: “Bailout,” a multi-level apartment complex; “Storm,” an open industrial park littered with heavy machinery; “Salvage,” a snowy junkyard fortified by stacked debris and crushed cars. Two legendary fan-favorites from Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare return, including “Crash,” [pictured above] a war-torn urban environment; and “Overgrown,” which features a massive dry creek bed.

“Stimulus Package” will land on Xbox Live as a 328MB download on March 30 for a whopping 1,200 Microsoft points (that’s $15!).  It will be made available on the PlayStation Network and PC at an undisclosed date.  Still feeling down about the hefty price tag for three new maps and two old ones, and remembering that popular map packs for World At War only cost $10 when they released?  Share your greif with other gamers by signing this petition.  Hopefully Activision will get wind of it and make things right before the 30th.

[Via Gamespot; Kotaku]

Call of Duty franchise has made $3 billion+ in worldwide sales

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Activision announced that its Call of Duty franchise has officially generated over three billion dollars in worldwide retail sales, making it one of the biggest and most successful video game franchises in history.

Bobby Kotick, CEO of Activision Blizzard: Call Of Duty has become one of the greatest entertainment franchises of all time.  If you consider the number of hours our audiences are engaged in playing Call of Duty games, it is likely to be one of the most viewed of all entertainment experiences in modern history.”

Well I think we all know what led to this historic claim–cough, Modern Warfare 2, cough.

[Via IGN]

CoD: Modern Warfare 2 launch was a HUGE success

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And that’s an understatement.  In fact, IGN calls it “the biggest launch in the history of all forms of entertainment.”  And we’re talking about the video games industry here.  Good stuff!

On November 10 games publisher Activision released the latest installment in the coveted Call of Duty franchise, Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2.  After very positive initial reviews and a garnered hype spread by word of mouth and Twitter (MW2 quickly became (and still is) a trending topic).  In its first 24 hours on sale the game sold approximately 4.7 million copies in North America and the UK and made $310 million in sales.  DAY-UM!

Mike Griffith, CEO of Activision: “The Call of Duty franchise has become a cultural phenomenon showing the power of video games as an entertainment medium.”  “The shattering of these entertainment records is a testament to the compelling, cinematic and uniquely engaging experience that the Call of Duty brand delivers. Modern Warfare 2 has taken interactive experience to unprecedented heights setting a new standard for entertainment.”

Jump in on the action and get yourself a copy of MW2 today.

[Via IGN]