Sales of Modern Warfare 2 have generated $550 million worldwide in just five days, shattering theatrical box office and game sales records, according to estimates from publisher Activision.
Harry Potter And The Half-Blood Prince holds the record for the largest opening five day worldwide box office gross at $394 million, while Grand Theft Auto IV was the previous videogame record holder, netting $500 million in five days post launch.
"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 Activision CEO Bobby Kotick. "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."
Based on Activision's figures, Lazard Capital markets analyst Colin Sebastian estimates that Modern Warfare 2 sold 8.5-9 million copies in its first week.
"We also believe that the title is on track to meet or exceed our 4Q unit shipment estimate of 12.5M units," he said in a research note. "We continue to expect that MW2 will claim a spot among the top ten entertainment properties of all time - generating >$1 billion in retail sales worldwide over the first several months post release, in the same category as Titanic and Thriller, while generating higher margins and return on capital."
If those sales figures are true, and the game has grossed over half a billion dollars in 5 days, that is an incredible achievement within such a short period of time...have to say congratulations to both Infinity Ward and Activision even though the game isn't the world beater I was expecting.
Ah so not being the shortest campaign in a FPS ever? or even biggest disappointment. Can't knock the brand power though but I'm sure I'm not the only one badly let down by this game.
its pretty mundane. the scriptedness and on-rails feel of the campaign is mass market crap at its best.
wannabe hollywood producers i think.
i play it in short bursts expecting it to become great like the original. dont think its gonna happen.
this game does not desvere the sales or 'records' it has got. so little innovation and the game has taken a step back it terms of class.
no cohesion and introducing shite weaponary for the sake of including something new.
the only real difference i have come across is the wounded or 'you are hurt get to cover' effect. now looks like you have spilt tizer in your face. retarded.
Ah so not being the shortest campaign in a FPS ever? or even biggest disappointment. Can't knock the brand power though but I'm sure I'm not the only one badly let down by this game.
You're not. I know a few people, including myself, that are as well. I know I won't be getting the next CoD game.
Congratulatons to both (although I say it to Activision through gritted teeth).
I would hope that the more mainstream press would start to recognise Gaming for what it is, the entertainment medium of the future and not some nerdy / geeky hobby for the minority out there.
Ah so not being the shortest campaign in a FPS ever? or even biggest disappointment. Can't knock the brand power though but I'm sure I'm not the only one badly let down by this game.
Well typed! I'm so glad I didn't personally contribute to this record. Guess it just goes to show that mass hype marketing and brand name(s) can make all the difference at times.
Impressive sales figures, though I wonder how many of those copies will be, or already have been, traded in also in record time? "MW2" may set sales records but it won't be setting any particularly positive genre defining legacy records gauging from a myriad of comments and reviews - both official and private.
This is strange. Although i enjoyed MW I purposely didnt buy MW2 because of the increased RRP but when i the supermarket price wars started i was really tempted. also it was getting great reviews all over the place - i dont think i have seen a negative one. i even went down to my local Sainsburys but it was sold out. Now Im glad I didnt get it as the impression I get from forums is that MW2 isnt as good as the first. I think the lesson is dont believe the hype then.
meanwhile Kotic has been selling his shares left right and centre, around $30-40 million worth i think. does he know something we don't? (apart from how to get rich).
anyway i bought the game on release day but haven't started it yet. might give it a blast tonight.
How did they come to this figure? Did they base it on copies shipped/sold as the Ł55 RRP? Because I don't know a single person who paid anywhere near the asking price. They paid Ł30 at most - and it's getting traded in very quickly too.
I agree with SVD - the campaign might as well be a light gun game for large parts of it. You're just dragged through the levels and it is a gaming attempt at a Hollywood blockbuster and they've got that superficially-exciting-but-ultimately-shallow feeling spot on! And there is basically no narrative.
Perhaps I'm just being grumpy, but when have big sales/box office receipts of anything in the entertainment industry ever been really worth their salt creatively?
Ah so not being the shortest campaign in a FPS ever? or even biggest disappointment. Can't knock the brand power though but I'm sure I'm not the only one badly let down by this game.
Nope, you're certainly not alone there. The telling thing is that I received this last Monday (9th) and, purely by coincidence, had last week off from work. I've still only clocked up 15 hours on MP which I must have managed on MW1 in the first 3 days or so.
Perfect example: Last night I switched it on again (desperate to really like it), played the last 2 minutes of a Team Deathmatch game and was then offered a map that I really dislike. I changed to a new party and was offered another map I dislike, and then a third. At this point I realised that there are only about 4 maps that I really enjoy on MP and even those get annoying with the sheer volume of unnecessary "new crap" that has been added.
In the end I switched it off and watched the end of an episode of "Friends" on E4... I don't even particularly like "Friends"
I really think MW is the new Halo, in the sense that 'its cool to hate the popular, and actually quite good game'
No its not the best game ever made (if such a thing could ever exist)
But, and this is important, when did IW ever say it was?
I was going to say something similiar Shabozi, IW werent trying to reinvent the wheel they were trying to make a Fun Game!
Sure its no Half Life or System Shock but its not trying to be either, some of the detractors on here have even commented on how its like a big budget Hollwood movie, I think this is exactly what IW were trying to do. Personally I think they achieved it but then ive always preferred the SP to the MP of COD games anyway.
I really think MW is the new Halo, in the sense that 'its cool to hate the popular, and actually quite good game'
No its not the best game ever made (if such a thing could ever exist)
But, and this is important, when did IW ever say it was?
I know what you mean but to be honest I'm more disappointed with the reviews than with IW. I can't believe it's flaws were not highlighted more by this and other gaming sites.
It's the first game that's got really great scores across the board that I have been really unimpressed with. Thank god it was Ł26.
Still I didn't take it as badly as the forthy milked mouth boy in that video. What's up with that kid? He looks about 14 or 15? What made him react like that, let alone post the video online.
I actually think the single player missions as a whole were the best i've seen in a COD game. The problem was the story holding it all together was really badly done, which is a shame because COD 4's story was excellent. Unfortunately the real problems are in multiplayer. You can now just sit in a corner and get huge killstreaks, winning games in no time at all. Very poor infinity ward.
I really think MW is the new Halo, in the sense that 'its cool to hate the popular, and actually quite good game'
No its not the best game ever made (if such a thing could ever exist)
But, and this is important, when did IW ever say it was?
I was going to say something similiar Shabozi, IW werent trying to reinvent the wheel they were trying to make a Fun Game!
But that's the point and why I don't get that buzz... I don't feel that it IS a fun game. It just feels a bit "Spider-man 3"; "let's chuck in as much new stuff as we can because THAT will make it great."
I really think MW is the new Halo, in the sense that 'its cool to hate the popular, and actually quite good game'
No its not the best game ever made (if such a thing could ever exist)
But, and this is important, when did IW ever say it was?
I was going to say something similiar Shabozi, IW werent trying to reinvent the wheel they were trying to make a Fun Game!
But that's the point and why I don't get that buzz... I don't feel that it IS a fun game. It just feels a bit "Spider-man 3"; "let's chuck in as much new stuff as we can because THAT will make it great."
Its horses for courses. Ive never been a massive Fan of the MP on COD its always been the Campaign that drew me in. This time around admittedly its a bit Dan Dare and not exactly believable but the Campaign for me was awesome, it literally went from set piece to set piece to set piece to set piece ... and so on until the end of the Game.
This may not be for everyone but after a stressful day at work I thoroughly enjoyed the Campaign and felt it was one of the best ive played this Gen.
Its good that we all like different things though, would be boring if we didnt .
Hurry up and part-exchange your copies of the game, so it can end up in the hands of someone who wants to play it and may be very happy to pick up cheap. Thanks.
What is it you expect from a game,its a game,its a good game,ok the single player is a bit short,but the multiplayer is brilliant,if this game was made by Sony HIV Grasshopper would be comming in his pants. call me a liar!!!!
I struggle to understand why its sold so many. I've been playing it for serveral hours now and it just feels muted. I can't quite put my finger on what it is, but there is something fundamentally flawed about the experience. Sure, I might be in a minority, but I am totally underwhelmed and a bit p**sed off I preordered it for Ł40 when i could have waited and picked it up for about Ł30 or even less preowned.. you know what... I was sucked in hook line and sinker by the marketing and publicity.. COD4 was great, this is just ok. Oh well
meanwhile Kotic has been selling his shares left right and centre, around $30-40 million worth i think. does he know something we don't? (apart from how to get rich).
anyway i bought the game on release day but haven't started it yet. might give it a blast tonight.
It was only another $17M, so thats only $37M in two weeks.
Online subscription anyone?
I know gamers are willing to pay more towards my Retirement fund
I am done with this crap, Ł22 later I am done CoD/MW series for good in the future, CoD4 has MP hours than MW2 for me since I have owned both copies, say's it all really.
Uncharted 2 improved on the original version, MW2 went backwards from it's original so is gaming really moving forward as we think then?
If so many bought this ultra-over-hyped game, why arent more playing online? I'm not impressed by the number of players online. Could of course be because of the reason that most, like me, allready are bored of the MP maps. Some maps are even weaker than in MW1. SP is boring. Played through it, but won't bother with more trophies.
God you people never stop moaning do you. Maybe they should just give up making blockbuster games and give you Wii Fit sequels instead. I've beaten this game, and I'm now working my way through it again on Veteran. It's a very solid game with some very good missions. And the Spec-ops mode is class as is multiplayer.
You people need to find a new hobby, gaming isn't for you.
Or perhaps IW and Activision should pay more attention to longer term product quality and support as opposed to the short term "grab-a-buck" mentality that Activision's fearless leader epitomizes? By all accounts the single player experience is short and in light of the official RRP for "MW2" it's disgraceful. That the multi player aspect of the game for the PC crowd has taken a step 10 years backwards is anything but commendable, and judging by numerous comments from console players of "MW2" their experience of MP leaves something to be desired. IW/Activision might find that while a business probably shouldn't be completely controlled by customer interests, listening to some of them once in a while can do wonders for good will, customer loyalty, and sustained income. Just a thought.
As things stand I would not be willing to pay more than 15.00 Euros for the PC version of "MW2". That's all it's worth with a short SP campaign and a gimped, antiquated MP experience.
Hurry up and part-exchange your copies of the game, so it can end up in the hands of someone who wants to play it and may be very happy to pick up cheap. Thanks.
Is it not cheap in the supermarkets anymore? I'm getting more for the trade in than I paid at Morrisons!
so much for mario bros Wii being the biggest seller then this year, who would have thought it, a action game with guns and lots of shooting, being the best seller then.
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Well typed! I'm so glad I didn't personally contribute to this record. Guess it just goes to show that mass hype marketing and brand name(s) can make all the difference at times. 
call me a liar!!!!
