Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 Declared Biggest Launch in Entertainment History

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 publisher Activision has declared this week's release of Infinity Ward's shooter "the biggest launch in history across all forms of entertainment."

Approximately 4.7 million copies of Modern Warfare 2 were bought within the first 24 hours of sale in North America and the United Kingdom alone according to internal estimates, which Activision works out as $310 million of sell-through sales.

Modern Warfare 2 was released for PC, Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 on Tuesday, with many stores opening at midnight for the occasion including 10,000 in the USA.

So great was the launch, Infinity's Ward Robert Bowling explained, that Sony's PlayStation Network was "overwhelmed" by the glut of players on PlayStation 3 and many were left unable to play online--an issue which should now be rectified.