Activision Blizzard Inc. said its "Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3" had the biggest launch of any game ever, a sign the company's best-selling franchise is continuing to grow.
The game's success is seen as crucial to Activision, which has shifted its strategy toward releasing fewer, better-quality titles each year.
Released by Activision this week, 'Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3' shattered game sales records, earning over $400 million in twenty-four hours. Dan Gallagher reports from San Francisco.
Wedbush Securities analyst Michael Pachter has said "Call of Duty" makes up one-third of the company's $4 billion in annual revenue. Activision faces a threat this year in "Battlefield 3," Electronic Arts Inc.'s latest shooter title.
Activision said Friday that within the first 24 hours of the new "Call of Duty" game's release, 6.5 million units were sold for $400 million in North America and the U.K.
"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," Chief Executive Bobby Kotick said.
North America and Europe account for the bulk of Activision's revenue. The company draws a relatively smaller share of its sales from the Asia-Pacific region.
WSJ'S Stu Woo gives Digits a side-by-side comparison between the two best-selling videogames released this week, "Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3" and "Battlefield 3": Which game has the bigger body count?
This marks the third year in a row that the "Call of Duty" franchise has set a release-date record.
Still, the sales figures are hard to put in context because videogame makers don't typically report first-day sales, Wedbush's Mr. Pachter said.
It is unclear whether the company used extra marketing to drum up the debut, or what portion of a game's overall sales take place on the day of its launch.
"God save them with this trend that they've established," Mr. Pachter said, referring to Activision's penchant for releasing "Call Of Duty" first-day sales figures. "One year it's going to sell fewer units than the earlier version."
Activision said it sold 6.5 million copies of its new videogame in 24 hours. Above, a customer in New York.
Late last month, Electronic Arts said five million units of "Battlefield 3" were sold in the first week the game was available. A spokesman declined to provide first-day figures.
Both games are expected to be among the industry's top sellers this year. The competition between the two titles is hotter than in previous years, when the companies released the games at different times.
Activision said the sales data were gathered by Chart-Track and retail customer sell-through information.
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COMMENTARY: I am completely impressed with Activision's Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 and the TV commercials are just fantastic. Let's look at the video game industry shall we.
Video Games Industry Overview
According to the Entertainment Software Association (ESA), 72% of American households play video games. Take a moment to think about that. That means almost every person you talk to has some way to play video games in their house.
The average gamer is 37 years old. 53% of gamers are between the ages of 18 and 49. Only 18% are under 18. 29% of gamers are above the age of 50. The old argument that games are for children is starting to become fairly invalid.
A lot of people say that gamers are always nerdy males shutting themselves away to play games day and night. The ESA has some news for those who would sling that statement around. 42% of all gamers are female. That is a statistic that has been steadily rising over the past few years and it seems it will stay strong.
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Even though there are plenty of people playing games these days, most gamers would say the majority are "casual gamers", a term that has recently become more common over the years. Casual gamers are difficult to define as one group, as the perception of what a casual gamer is varies from person to person. Most often it means that it is someone who has little more than a fleeting interest in games, opts to play only the games that have rules or controls that are simple, or buys "pick-up-and-play" games that someone at any age level could easily understand. That being said, 47% of gamers most often play puzzle, trivia, card, game show, and board games online. 13% most often play downloadable games. 11% are most often found player in a persistent multi-player universe. 21% of gamers are playing action, sports, strategy, and RPG's the most. If most gamers are casual gamers is a matter of opinion.
65% of gamers today play their games with friends and family in person, also a statistic that has slowly, but surely risen over the years. Some would use this fact to say that, depending on the game(s), this industry has the potential to help family and friends all bond to bring us closer to each other.
The average number of years the adult gamer has been playing is 12. Over a decade of playing video games. That's many years of fueling money into the industry. The most frequent male gamer has been playing for an average of 13 years, while the most frequent female gamer has been playing for an average of 10.
The gaming industry pulls in a ton of money. Here's a quote from Michael Gallagher, president and CEO of the ESA:
"[The gaming industry] generates over $25 billion in annual revenue, and directly and indirectly employs more than 120,000 people with an average salary for direct employees of $90,000."
It's safe to say that video games are a huge part of our economy.
Best Selling Video and Computer Games by Super Genre for 2010
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Top Selling Video and Computer Games of 2010
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U.S. Computer and Video Game Unit Sales and Revenues for 2010
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If you are conducting research on the video and computer game industry click HERE.
Courtesy of an article dated November 12, 2011 appearing in The Wall Street Journal and an article dated June 12, 2011 appearing in Examiner.com
Its good to hear that....Modern Warfare 3 has received generally positive reviews from critics.And if i am not wrong it has beaten theatrical box office, book, and video game sales records for five-day worldwide sell-through in dollars.
Posted by: upcoming video games | 12/23/2011 at 06:30 AM