A promise fulfilled

Nov 19, 2009 09:25 GMT  ·  By

Activision is reporting that Modern Warfare 2 is estimated to have brought in no less than 550 million dollars in revenue in the first five days on sale. Microsoft statistics also show that the title has been played for more than 5.2 million hours in the multiplayer modes and that 11 million Xbox 360 Achievements were earned on launch day only.

Bobby Kotick, the Chief Executive Officer at Activision, has said that “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.”

People should note that he is not only referring to videogaming but to movies, album launches and concerts. Modern Warfare 2 was so big that it managed to both blow Grand Theft Auto IV out of the water and become bigger in five days than Harry Potter movies and Batman: The Dark Knight were at the same stage.

Of course, movies tend to have somewhat longer legs in the marketplace than videogames so the grand total for Modern Warfare 2 might actually be smaller than those of the previous mentioned flicks.

Kotick even poked a little fun at other entertainment venues, stating that “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.” Gaming is increasingly seen as a good value per dollar proposition by cash strapped customers who are no longer interested in going out to get their fun and prefer to stay in and hug a controller.

Sales of Modern Warfare 2 are set to dominate the November NPD Group numbers and will likely stay strong until after Christmas. The game is well on its way to beat the sales record of the previous iteration in the series.