Call of Duty Smashes Five-Day Sales Records

By: Nick Bilton, New York Times, BITS Blog..

The latest first-person shooter video game, Call of Duty: Black Ops, continues to break records worldwide after going on sale late last week.

According to Activision, its publisher, just five days after its release the game has generated more than $650 million in worldwide sales, beating out Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2, which smashed previous sale records when it was released last year.

Just to compare, “The Dark Knight,” the top-grossing movie as measured five days after release, pulled in $200 million.

Eric Hirshberg, chief executive of Activision, said in a phone interview that the game was “the biggest five-day launch in entertainment history across any media,” including theater, movies and gaming.

“I think this speaks volumes for the appetite that people have for great immersive gaming experiences,” Mr. Hirshberg said. “Treyarch, the game’s creators, really upped the ante on the quality of the story and the characters, and it really plays like a blockbuster movie where you’re the central actor.”

In a press release, Activision said Black Ops has also surpassed online gaming records. Since the game’s introduction on Nov. 9, more than 5.9 million multiplayer hours were logged on the Microsoft Xbox platform where gamers can battle each other in the virtual worlds. The release also noted that more than 2.6 million people had played the game in the last five days.

Mr. Hirshberg said people had purchased relatively equal numbers of the game for different gaming platforms, including the Microsoft Xbox, Sony PlayStation PS3, desktop PCs and the Nintendo Wii. “It seems to be across the board people are immersed in the game, irrelevant of gaming systems,” he said.

The company said it had also seen heightened interest in the 3-D version of the game, although relatively few people have 3-D televisions.

Call of Duty 7: Black Ops

http://www.cod7blackops.com/

Last years Modern Warfare 2 broke sales records and has sold over 20 million copies to date. Janco Partners' Mike Hickey believes that Black Ops could match sales of Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 by selling over 18 million copies this holiday.

Black Ops could generate over $800 million on just the Xbox 360, PlayStation 3 and PC platforms alone. For comparison, Modern Warfare 2 sold 4.7 million copies on the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 in one day and generated over $1 billion by January 2010. With only just a few days left before the games release, it remains to be seen whether Black Ops will top the blockbuster launch of Modern Warfare 2.

Here are some great lesser-known features of Call of Duty. The list below applies to the Xbox 360, PlayStation 3 and PC.

Multiplayer Online Split-Screen Support
Let’s get started with what I believe is the most unknown, yet confirmed, aspect to Call of Duty: Black Ops Multiplayer -- the online split-screen support we’ve re-introduced to the franchise! This applies to both the Xbox 360 & PlayStation 3.

The Facts:

■You can connect a 2nd controller and bring a Guest online.
■Guests can rank up, earn unlocks, etc -- all Guest progress goes away once signed out.
■(Xbox 360 only) You can bring a 2nd, Gold Xbox LIVE account online!
■(Xbox 360 only) Both players with full online accounts can rank-up while playing split-screen, as if on two separate consoles.

Custom Games Editor
Allow me to introduce the Black Ops Custom Games editor! Private Matches have never been this customizable. Players will have the ability to structure their games at all new levels of granularity. From variables as simple as Time Limit and Score Limit, or as deep as which weapons, Perks, and gear is available. You want a Pistols Only match? Make one! No longer do custom game modes rely on the "honor system".

Furthermore, any Custom Game you create and configure can be placed in your File Share, for friends and the community-at-large to browse, download, and enjoy. You just might create the most addictive new game mode of all time from the comfort of your own living room!

In-Game Friends List
We’ve integrated a built-in Friends List into the in-game User Interface. You’ll be able to browse Recent Players, Friends, navigate their File Shares, Recent Games, Combat Records -- all within this in-game menu system designed to streamline the social process within the game. Sending game invites and joining Friends’ games has never been simpler than in Call of Duty: Black Ops.

Regional Matchmaking & Party Privacy
Call of Duty: Black Ops will support regional matchmaking filters on a global scale. So, no matter where you’re at in the world, you will have the ability to specify whether you want to match with players from other geographical regions, or only those local to you. This will make communication and lag a much less intrusive variable on your gameplay experience.

Additionally, given Black Ops will support joining games in progress via an even simpler built-in in-game Friends List interface, we’ll allow a Party leader to lock down his lobby to Invite Only, Friends Only, or even Close it altogether if he wants to be in complete control over who enters and exits the Party Lobby.

Emblems Do NOT Reset with Prestige
This one is pretty cut-and-dry -- a frequently asked question is, "Will my kickass emblem I spent hours perfecting be lost when I prestige??" The answer is, "NO!" -- Emblems are one of the only aspects of Black Ops MP that do not get a full reset upon entering Prestige. Things that will reset when you Prestige are: XP, COD Points, Challenge progressions, Loadouts, etc.