Before you get all riled up, Star Wars fans, take note: no, it will not. Of course not! But what better way to illustrate just how HUGE the Call of Duty franchise might be in the next couple of years? Both have sold ridiculously high unit counts, and if the below story is true: both are being stretched across every thinkable medium.
You heard about Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2's opening day records. Today, Activision boasts that their new favorite poster child has completely destroyed every previously held first-five-day record, not only in video game sales but box office sales as well. Titles like Grand Theft Auto IV, The Dark Knight, and the Harry Potter film series have been named as having fallen to the new entertainment giant.
So which weapon of mass obliteration is Activision loading with Call of Duty ammo next? Two, actually: Hollywood, and the MMO market (both rumored). According to Kevin McKidd, the actor who provided the voice of "Soap" McTavish for Modern Warfare 2, a script is being written for a Call of Duty film, possibly featuring Soap. While that's being hammered out, a third video game development team is supposedly on board the Treyarch-Infinity Ward rotation, and may be working on an MMO for the series.
With Hans Zimmer on board now, maybe Modern Warfare 2 can get its own proper villain theme.
CALL OF DUTY®: MODERN WARFARE® 2 SETS ALL-TIME ENTERTAINMENT INDUSTRY RECORD GROSSING AN ESTIMATED
$550 MILLION WORLDWIDE IN FIRST FIVE DAYS
Biggest Entertainment Launch in History
Continues to Break Records
SANTA MONICA, Calif., Nov. 18 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Activision Blizzard, Inc. (Nasdaq: ATVI) announced today that Infinity Ward's Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 continues to shatter theatrical box office and video game sales records for five-day worldwide sell through in dollars. The biggest entertainment launch in history set a new worldwide estimated five-day sell-through record of approximately $550 million, according to internal Activision estimates.
Modern Warfare 2's launch beat all previous first-and five-day entertainment industry box office, book and video game sell-through records*:
- The largest reported five-day opening worldwide box office gross figures, held by Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince ($394 million)
- The largest reported five-day opening domestic box office gross figures, held by The Dark Knight ($203.8 million)
- The largest reported five-day worldwide video game sales record, previously held by Grand Theft Auto IV (6 million units, $500 million)
- The largest reported opening first-day domestic box office gross figures, held by The Dark Knight ($66.4 million)
- The largest reported first-day book sales in dollars, held by Harry Potter & The Deathly Hallows ($220 million)
- The largest reported first-day worldwide video game sales record, previously held by Grand Theft Auto IV (3.6 million units, $310 million)
Modern Warfare 2's blast radius also extends to Xbox LIVE, in which the blockbuster title's epic release established the following new standards, according to Microsoft:
- More than 5.2 million multiplayer hours were logged playing Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 on the first day alone.
- More than 2.2 million unique gamers played Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 in one day on November 10th. A new one-day record for Xbox LIVE.
- More than 11 million achievements were unlocked on Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 on the first day.
"In just five days of sell through Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 has become the largest entertainment launch in history and a pop culture phenomenon," said Robert Kotick, CEO, Activision Blizzard, Inc. "The title's success redefines entertainment as millions of consumers have chosen to play Modern Warfare 2 at unprecedented levels rather than engage in other forms of media."
Despite the success of Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2, Activision Blizzard remains cautious about the U.S. and global economy as well as other variables that can affect industry fundamentals and our own performance, including consumer spending which remains a significant concern.
Modern Warfare 2 is rated "M" (Mature) by the ESRB for Blood, Drug Reference, Intense Violence and Language. For additional information about the game, visit www.modernwarfare2.com.