Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 declared 'biggest entertainment launch ever'

Activision has declared Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 to be "the biggest entertainment launch ever," selling-through 6.5 million units and raking in over $400 million on launch day in North America and the UK alone.

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Surprising no one, Activision has declared Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 to be "the biggest entertainment launch ever," a title it has previously bestowed upon the shooter series's last two instalments. It's estimated to have sold-through 6.5 million units in North America and the UK alone within the first 24 hours, raking in over $400 million.

Those numbers, Activision says, are based upon "retail customer sell-through information" and data from UK sales-monitoring market research firm Charttrack. Modern Warfare 3 was released for PC, Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, Wii and Nintendo DS on November 8.

Call of Duty: Black Ops sold 5.6 million copies in NA and the UK on its launch day in 2010, while Modern Warfare 2 sold 4.7 the year before that. Though the series has become formulaic, as our review noted, it's evidently not putting players off, and the franchise continues to grow.

"We believe the launch of Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 is the biggest entertainment launch of all time in any medium, and we achieved this record with sales from only two territories," Activision Blizzard CEO Bobby Kotick boasted in today's announcement.

"Other than Call of Duty, there has never been another entertainment franchise that has set opening day records three years in a row. Life-to-date sales for the Call of Duty franchise exceed worldwide theatrical box office for 'Star Wars' and 'Lord of the Rings,' two of the most successful entertainment franchises of all time."

Not coincidentally, Xbox Live set a new player peak concurrency record two days after Modern Warfare 3 launched, according to Microsoft.

The new Call of Duty Elite social gubbins has been slightly overwhelmed by the flood of players, suffering long waits while techies work to get it up to speed. Activision has offered 30 days of free membership to those who pay $50 annually for the optional premium features.

From The Chatty
  • reply
    November 11, 2011 6:15 AM

    Alice O'Connor posted a new article, Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 declared 'biggest entertainment launch ever'.

    Activision has declared Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 to be "the biggest entertainment launch ever," selling-through 6.5 million units and raking in over $400 million on launch day in North America and the UK alone.

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      November 11, 2011 6:20 AM

      I can't wait for the movie staring shia labeouf

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      November 11, 2011 6:22 AM

      When are people going to say enough is enough? MW3 is a glorified map-pack and yet these people gobble it up for 60$. It's sad really.

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        November 11, 2011 7:13 AM

        I feel the same way, no I'm not a CoD hater but at some point people have to realize this is the same re-hashed game we have already seen TWICE before.

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        November 11, 2011 7:17 AM

        disagree.. if it was a glorified map pack their would not new features, weapons, accessories, classes, etc. Love these games, and will continue to do so.

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        November 11, 2011 7:22 AM

        when people stop buying the game? I mean there is no way activision is going to stop churning out this stuff until it stops being a cash cow. Sort of like how they did with guitar hero and tony hawk. You'll be seeing Call of Duty games for the next 6-10 years, at the very least.

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          November 11, 2011 7:23 AM

          Depends on how quickly it descends, but I agree we probably have at least 5 more coming out.

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          November 11, 2011 7:42 AM

          Not trying to be too much of a dick here but I just can't help pointing out that not only did you answer outlaw's question with a question, you answered it with the same question that he asked!

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        November 11, 2011 7:23 AM

        when people stop buying them because they arent fun any more. theres nothing sad about people buying and playing games that they enjoy.

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        November 11, 2011 7:24 AM

        There isn't a single shooter these days that gives you the kind of action Cod does, and it does it perfecly.
        I'm not saying that its better or worse than other shooters, but Cod is really unique.

        And i really really wish that the Cod responsiveness in mouse / keyboard controls were applied to ALL the shooters (and to 3º person games and other generes too). They nailed it, plain and simple.

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          November 11, 2011 11:36 AM

          Exactly. I like CoD because the engine is fast and responsive, unlike Battlefield games which always have some fucked up mouse lag or acceleration and key-binding problems.

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            November 11, 2011 11:42 AM

            It's easy to have a fast and responsive engine, when the engine is the same Quake 3 engine you've been using since 2003.

            Battlefield series at least tries to innovate, instead of just copy paste and take 13yr olds allowances.

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              November 12, 2011 3:02 AM

              Innovating is less valuable when you break lots of things in the way, like lots of games do these days.
              I find the controls a huge point to take into account, but they can't show how responsive are the controls in a video so... they only invest in eye candy.

              And as i said countless times, you DON'T need a newer engine or use all the new techniques to have a great game that looks really good and its fun to play.

              And well... some of the new tech is really really really unoptimized because they rely on raw power instead of making an intelligent use of it. And that ends dragging down the rest of the aspects of the game.

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        November 11, 2011 7:32 AM

        I get more upset about the success of movies like Transformers and Twilight because I like playing CoD4, MW2, and MW3. I know how similar the CoD games appear to be but 60$ ever other year or so is fine by me for what some non believers consider minor changes/updates.

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        November 11, 2011 7:46 AM

        Why is it sad? A company offers a product that people are excited to play and so they purchase it. No one is forcing them... the demand is there because it is a good product. If you don't like it, don't buy it but I don't see why it is a sad situation.

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          November 11, 2011 9:12 AM

          Exactly - that is the beauty of capitalism! Market demand dictates what is made or not made.

          Not to mention that there are real people making these games. When they make a game that sells well, they can usually count on keeping their jobs.

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            November 11, 2011 11:21 AM

            rofl the blind leading the blind on

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          November 11, 2011 9:27 AM

          Stop liking things I don't like!

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        November 11, 2011 8:13 AM

        The market clearly disagrees with you

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        November 11, 2011 11:26 AM

        Get off your high horse.

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      November 11, 2011 6:44 AM

      I'm not impressed. Until they get Elite working for PC players, I couldn't give two squirrel farts if they sold a copy of the game to every person on the planet.

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        November 11, 2011 7:20 AM

        yea, I really wish elite was up and running.

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        November 11, 2011 7:48 AM

        Doesn't really seem to be working very well for console players either yet. The site is barely working. I have to say that I am a little disappointed at the amount of content from Black Ops that is now completely missing as well... the ability to matchmake on one-in-the-chamber or gun game, the complete lack of customization of your guns and icons that was in blops, etc. It seems to me like Treyarch and IW have different branches of the game and haven't merged all their stuff together. They probably don't even have time to do so with the 1 year dev cycle.

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      November 11, 2011 7:18 AM

      RAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAGE

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      November 11, 2011 7:19 AM

      Lets call the COD franchise what it is...it's a Britney Spears concert. Do they release their marketing budgets as well? I know it must of cost them just a little bit to do the type of launch they did here in Toronto.

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      November 11, 2011 7:21 AM

      [deleted]

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      November 11, 2011 7:24 AM

      ONLY 6.5? I thought they were saying they sold 9.5mil preorders.

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        November 11, 2011 7:51 AM

        That's an interesting discrepancy, unless 3 million people were planning to pick it up later?

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        November 11, 2011 9:32 AM

        North America and the UK alone

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      November 11, 2011 11:02 AM

      Enjoy playing the exact same game rofl!!

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        November 11, 2011 11:25 AM

        Skyrim is the exact same game as Oblivion, lmoa.

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        November 11, 2011 11:41 AM

        Thanks! I already did, it's a blast. Keep hating and miss out on the fun.

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      November 11, 2011 11:42 AM

      next year theyre just gonna call it Modern Warfare '13 lmao

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