14 DAY TRIAL // Analysts that are watching the evolution of the video game industry have questioned Microsoft's assertions that the upcoming Xbox 360 exclusive Halo: Reach from Bungie and Microsoft will manage to sell better than Call of Duty: Black Ops from Treyarch and Activision.
Jesse Divnich, who is an analyst working with EEDAR, has told Eurogamer that, “I just don't understand why they would even make such a comment without at least contextualising whether it is just on the Xbox 360 or all platforms.”
He added, “If he was referring to just the Xbox 360 version of Halo: Reach outselling all platform sales of Call of Duty: Black Ops, then I would put those odds at Slim to None, and Slim just set sail for the Bahamas.”
Michael Pachter, who is working for Wedbush Morgan, has said that Halo: Reach has not chance against Black Ops, although he is expecting the Bungie shooter to do better when looking just at the Xbox 360.
Colin Sebastian, who is an analyst for Lazard Capital, made his own prediction saying, “Overall, Call of Duty will sell significantly more units than Halo, clearly due to the multiple platforms.”
He also added that the two blockbusters of the fall will be very close in terms of sales on the Microsoft home console.
Halo: Reach is now out worldwide and it is the last game featuring the Master Chief universe that Bungie will create.
They are now beginning work on a while new franchise that will be published by Activision for the next ten years, probably also a shooter.
Call of Duty: Black Ops arrives on November 9 for the PC, the Xbox 360 and the PlayStation 3 and both the publisher and the developer are expecting the game to move more copies than Modern Warfare 2, which was the best sold title of last year.