CALL OF DUTY Franchise Surpasses $3 Billion in Retail Sales Worldwide

The Story:

Call of Duty® franchise has surpassed $3 billion in retail sales worldwide, according to The NPD Group, Charttrack, GfK and internal Activision estimates.

Since its first release, the award-winning Call of Duty franchise has sold in excess of 55 million units worldwide. The latest title in the franchise, Infinity Ward’s Call of Duty®: Modern Warfare® 2, recently shattered box office and video game records with a worldwide estimated five-day sale through of approximately $550 million, establishing the game as the biggest entertainment launch in history.

“Call of Duty has become one of the greatest entertainment franchises of all time,” said Bobby Kotick, CEO of Activision Blizzard, Inc. “If you consider the number of hours our audiences are engaged in playing Call of Duty games, it is likely to be one of the most viewed of all entertainment experiences in modern history.”

Modern Warfare 2 picks up following the historic events of Call of Duty® 4: Modern Warfare®, the blockbuster title that remains the top selling first person action game in history.

My Take:

Let me be clear, the Call of Duty games, for the most part, have been excellent. Modern Warfare 1 was one of my favorite FPS games since Unreal Tournament and even with all the choices Activision has made with MW2 it was still an incredible game.

What saddens me is when a company is so successful and their games sell regardless of their decisions that impact gamers. Because of this they have no real incentive to considered/or correct the issues brought up by their customer base.

A game that is designed and developed well should be successful, but success should not blind you to making changes, improvements and concessions based on customer feedback. I hope Activision will give back to the gaming community even if it is just a nod and thank you to the millions who have helped make COD one of the most successful gaming franchises in the world.