Activision confirms that sales of its popular Modern Warfare 2 video game have exceeded $1 billion.
According to CEO Robert Kotick, MW2 generated an estimated $550 million during the first five days of sales – outpacing five-day worldwide theatrical box office figures for films such as Avatar, Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince and The Dark Night.
“Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 has exceeded our expectations and shattered theatrical box office and video game records,” said Kotick.
“There are only a handful of entertainment properties that have ever reached the $1 billion mark, which illustrates the power of the Call of Duty franchise and mass appeal of this game.”
Indeed, Wedbush Morgan analyst Edward Woo told TG Daily that Infinity Ward managed to strike the “right balance” with Modern Warfare 2 – despite heated controversy over a controversial airport “massacre” scene.
“The last time we saw such an overwhelming response (in terms of raw numbers) to a video game was with Grand Theft Auto,” said Woo.
However, Woo he that the FPS genre could not be expected to “single-handedly” move the entire industry forward.
“You need top quality in games in other categories – [such as] the new SuperMario Brothers title for the Wii [which] is likely to sell 25 million copies during its lifespan,” added Woo.
