Call of Duty: Black Ops 2 beats MW3 to $1 billion

Now, really, the correct way to look at the latest annual Call of Duty setting record sales every year is that video games are becoming a greater part of mainstream culture, making them more acceptable. So, really, you should be glad that Activision today announced that, on top of setting new day-one sales records, Call of Duty: Black Ops 2 has beaten last year's installment to the $1 billion mark. You are, aren't you?

Cod Blops 2 took 15 days to hit the mark after its launch last month, Activision said, while Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 took 16 days in 2011. Activision also points out that it's still ahead of Avatar's $1 billion figure of 17 days, to help ram home the idea that lots of people like video games. Games do cost more than movie tickets, of course.

Speaking of contrived comparisons, Activision Blizzard CEO Bobby Kotick claimed that "Since Call of Duty was launched, cumulative franchise revenues from players around the world are greater than current worldwide box office receipts to date for the top-10 grossing films of 2012 combined." A helpful point of comparison, it is not. He added, "Life-to-date sales for the Call of Duty franchise have exceeded worldwide theatrical box office receipts for 'Harry Potter' and 'Star Wars,' the two most successful movie franchises of all time."

So there you have it: people still like Call of Duty. If you're one of the grumps begging for it to fail, sorry, this won't be the year you get to cackle gleefully into a comment box.