Call of Duty: The Numbers Game

Are you tired of reading all the reviews for Modern Warfare 2? Or listening to every gaming podcast giving the game high marks? Well how about we throw some numbers at you and see if you think Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 is worthy of this year's Game of the Year. Activision Blizzard, Inc (Nasdaq: ATVI) has announced today that Infinity Ward's Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 brought in approximately $550 million dollars in the first five-day worldwide. This makes it the largest entertainment launch in history. How about we look at more numbers for the first five-day entertainment records, including box office, book and other video game sales.

  • 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)

Impressive, but let us see how many people actually played on XBL after getting the game on that faithful day.

  • 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.

Robert Kotick, CEO of Activision Blizzard, Inc had this to say, “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. The title's success redefines entertainment as millions of consumers have chosen to play Modern Warfare 2 as unprecedented levels rather than engage in other forms of media.”

Now my question is this, “Does this includes numbers from early sales from Gamestop and or other media outlet that sold the game early?” What if they don't? Are these numbers lower because they are only counting from the street date? What ever the case might be the numbers is still shows its a powerful title.