Black Ops Crazy Successful, Activision Gloats

Post by Steve Farrelly @ 11:23am 19/11/10 | 43 Comments

Activision have sent through a press release detailing the success of Call of Duty: Black Ops which, according to the release, set a new five-day entertainment industry record, grossing more than US$650 million worldwide, and also broke Xbox Live records with 2.6 million unique users online in one day.

Previously the same record was held by the Infinity Ward-developed Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2, which racked up some US$550 million in five-day sales.

Yep, it really is impressive. But don't take it from me, what does good old Bobby have to say about it:

"Call of Duty has become the first entertainment property in history to set five-day launch records for two consecutive years across all forms of entertainment,” said Robert Kotick, CEO, Activision Blizzard. “The title’s success illustrates the mass appeal of interactive entertainment as millions of consumers are choosing to play Call of Duty: Black Ops at unprecedented levels rather than engage in other forms of media. The number of people playing online and the number of hours they are playing demonstrates how online gaming has become a mainstream form of entertainment and certainly validates Activision Blizzard’s leadership role in online entertainment.”

The only question now is, where to from here? And, is there any chance the industry and consumers will experience Call of Duty fatigue? 2011 will answer these questions and more, so stay tuned ;)

call of duty black ops modern warfare 2 activision

Latest Comments

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kappa
Posted 11:24am 19/11/10

I'm looking forward to seeing what Respawn can come up with.

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Plasma
Posted 12:04pm 19/11/10

Playing Black Ops Cuba mission without even firing your gun (its all scripted):

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Khel
Posted 12:07pm 19/11/10

These comparisons to other forms of media are retarded though, I'm sure if a movie ticket cost $50 or $60 or whatever a game costs in the US, then there'd be movies that absolutely smashed this record.

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reso
Posted 12:09pm 19/11/10

That video is an exact opposite of how the Cuba mission played for me. I wish the friendly NPCs were that useful! Many times I had Woods and Bowman walking through enemies shooting at me on that mission, and then telling ME to hurry up! F*** you, Woods.

Game generally reminded me a lot of RAMIREZ, DO EVERYTHING.

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Python
Posted 01:18pm 19/11/10

These comparisons to other forms of media are retarded though, I'm sure if a movie ticket cost $50 or $60 or whatever a game costs in the US, then there'd be movies that absolutely smashed this record.

Or people would revert to watching movies at home via...umm other means which would mean less sales! :O

Just a quick google here are some sites that has it in units sold.

http://gamrfeed.vgchartz.com/story/82685/call-of-duty-black-ops-sells-7-million-copies-on-day-one/

http://www.vg247.com/2010/11/12/chart-track-black-ops-sells-1-4m-units-day-one-in-uk-4-2m-in-north-america/

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Trauma
Posted 02:01pm 19/11/10

That's a flawed argument Khel, would you pay that much for a movie? You get a hell of a lot more from a game (even the short s*** we get today) than you do from a movie. They would not break the current movie records let alone gaming records.

I was gunna make a comment about how they should wait until they have fixed the stuttering issues in black ops on PC. But really whats the point, the suits got there win fall they don't give a s***, focus is now on COD 8. Which I will be pirating to see if it's worth it.

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MoSFXx
Posted 03:32pm 19/11/10

I think Khel was getting at you cant compare apples to oranges, we all know movie tickets can't be charged at the same price per a game, so why should the gaming industry's sales be compared against Movie sales.

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Pinky
Posted 03:36pm 19/11/10

I think Khel was getting at you cant compare apples to oranges, we all know movie tickets can't be charged at the same price per a game, so why should the gaming industry's sales be compared against Movie sales.

Don't make me bring Nashi-pears into this equation...

That vid was cool! Anyone playing multiplayer regularly who can comment? I'm still playing COD4 online *blush*

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ravn0s
Posted 03:51pm 19/11/10

im thinking about picking it up for pc. is it worth it? it will be my first cod game since the original.

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MoSFXx
Posted 03:53pm 19/11/10

Catch of the day might be having the Xbox360 version for $29 soon so i'm hanging out for that.

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tspec
Posted 03:57pm 19/11/10

Catch of the day might be having the Xbox360 version for $29 soon so i'm hanging out for that.

Except they'll only have 3 copies and their servers will run like ass when that goes up. Oh the frustration trying to get one of the PS3 slim's they had on offer.

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Sc00bs
Posted 03:57pm 19/11/10

its the best cod game in a few years. Plas sort of like a movie tho, hated the memory flash back story tho. Doesnt run as good as mow2, bit of a system hog :(

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Shaexen
Posted 03:58pm 19/11/10

The MP is far better than MW2, I'm even enjoying it more than MW1, treyarch out did themselves imo.

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kappa
Posted 03:59pm 19/11/10

I wouldn't give those tards the satisfaction.

Just go to JB its only ~$79. The multiplayer alone is worth that.

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Sc00bs
Posted 04:01pm 19/11/10

$62 from ozgameshop ;)

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tspec
Posted 04:04pm 19/11/10

Was going to wait til it comes down in price on steam but $62 isn't too bad. $90US on steam is just mental. Does this COD have one of those unlockable zombie modes at the end?

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Sc00bs
Posted 04:10pm 19/11/10

yer its f***** awesome fun :D

i havnt managed to get very fare in it tho :(

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LOTUK
Posted 04:17pm 19/11/10

Pinky, it's really just more of the same. I love it however and suspect that I may not touch the single player like I did in MW2. But I am thoroughly enjoying the Multiplayer at the moment.

Ravn0s, if you want to get in on the modern warfare series, this is certainly the one to start with. Just may not provide much of a new experience for current MW players.

Well I'm going to get back to my RC car bombs.

FYI, there are a few hackers around at the moment using headshot bots. Hopefully there will be a crackdown on them soon.

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Nathan
Posted 04:19pm 19/11/10

How much does it cost to produce this game?

With films, the production costs and the revenue are generally well known. This game has earned more than a movie, but did it cost more to produce?

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Python
Posted 04:20pm 19/11/10

I'm really enjoying it finished single player before i started multi and thought single was great.
Played some domination with Guvna last night! Using the death machine makes you feel like rambo haha :D

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TiT
Posted 04:29pm 19/11/10

i used vpn link and bought it through US steam for $59 when the aussie dollar was 1.02

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Trauma
Posted 04:56pm 19/11/10

The MP is great, it has good gameplay. The issue is the stuttering lag (search it and you will find plenty info) until they fix this issue it will hold it back. When I get some smooth gameplay for a whole match it's really really good.

Small issues like not having a ping/location filter in the browser are annoying. Also I found that some bushes that i should be able to move in/through have invisible walls around them. No biggy, I guess it limits the f** camper spots. (My intention was to push into it and LEAN out, oh yea lean baby.)

If I knew how to embed pics on here I would show you how OP the door gunner kill streak is...

Over all really good but also really annoying because of the lag.

Was going to wait til it comes down in price on steam but $62 isn't too bad. $90US on steam is just mental. Does this COD have one of those unlockable zombie modes at the end?

It does have zombies, you can play it from the start but I think you unlock more maps later.

I'm really enjoying it finished single player before i started multi and thought single was great.
Played some domination with Guvna last night! Using the death machine makes you feel like rambo haha :D

My SP crashed twice, I rage quit and went back to MP.

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HurricaneJim
Posted 04:57pm 19/11/10

Sorry I'm still playing World of Tanks (beta)....did this come out did it.....hmmm.....money or fun........

Back to WoT (Beta).....

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ShwaMiller86
Posted 05:14pm 19/11/10

"These comparisons to other forms of media are retarded though, I'm sure if a movie ticket cost $50 or $60 or whatever a game costs in the US, then there'd be movies that absolutely smashed this record."

Doesn't make any sense. You get 90-200 minutes out of a movie for $17 (if you're a full-fare adult). Buy a game with multiplayer and you get as many hours you want out of it.

That's precisely why movies don't cost $60-100 to watch.

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Eorl
Posted 05:39pm 19/11/10

A normal AAA title costs at least 2 million. I think the most successful game this year would be Minecraft. Easily better revenue for how quickly it got it.

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Khel
Posted 06:06pm 19/11/10

Gah, I wasn't trying to suggest movies should cost the same as games, or making some social commentary on the price or entertainment value of movies or games, I was just pointing out its a bit of a flawed comparison since movies and games don't cost the same, so comparing how much they made doesn't mean a whole lot.

Edit:

I think Khel was getting at you cant compare apples to oranges, we all know movie tickets can't be charged at the same price per a game, so why should the gaming industry's sales be compared against Movie sales

Yes, this.

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Mattressi
Posted 12:19am 20/11/10

I can't wait until CoD and 360 games stop being the 'in thing'.

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qmass
Posted 12:49am 20/11/10

A normal AAA title costs at least 2 million. I think the most successful game this year would be Minecraft. Easily better revenue for how quickly it got it.

2 million is f*** all. They would have paid the acting talent more than that, let alone the mocap, the sound work etc etc...

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Khel
Posted 02:24am 20/11/10

Went and googled and found this, just out of curiosity, with regards to game budgets

http://www.digitalbattle.com/2010/02/20/top-10-most-expensive-video-games-budgets-ever/

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qmass
Posted 05:50am 20/11/10

Best game ever:

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Trauma
Posted 11:32am 20/11/10

A normal AAA title costs at least 2 million. I think the most successful game this year would be Minecraft. Easily better revenue for how quickly it got it.

2 million!? Add another 75m+.

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kappa
Posted 01:02pm 20/11/10

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qmass
Posted 04:37pm 20/11/10

So they patched the game this morning and now its worse than before the patch :/

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TicMan
Posted 04:41pm 20/11/10

I'm torn between buying this now and satisfying my impulsive purchase cravings or wait a few months until it plummets in price to a more reasonable $30-40... decisions decisions.

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Trauma
Posted 06:13pm 20/11/10

So they patched the game this morning and now its worse than before the patch :/

I've read ppl crying heaps on COD forums about the patch, I personally noticed no difference.

Edit: Seem that after finishing the SP patch things are a bit worse in MP... maybe I just got a few s*** servers.

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FraktuRe
Posted 04:51pm 20/11/10

As if the price will go down in a few months, mw2 is STILL $89, cod4 is the same!

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ctd
Posted 05:12pm 20/11/10

Yeah cod games never go on special on steam. Dunno about other online retailers.

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TicMan
Posted 05:43pm 20/11/10

CoD4 is $10
MW2 is $36

http://www.directgamekeys.com/ :)

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Nicky
Posted 11:53am 22/11/10

"Five"... LMAO

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parabol
Posted 06:02pm 22/11/10

CoD4 is $10
MW2 is $36

http://www.directgamekeys.com/ :)

I got blackops for $65 through them. The cdkey came via email within 7 hours and activated on Steam perfectly. Been playing it today ... awesome stuff. F*** retail prices.

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TicMan
Posted 08:17pm 22/11/10

Yeah I ended up succumbing to the impulsiveness and grabbing it through them as well and took about 4hrs. I've bought all my recent game purchases (BFBC2, Civ5, CoD:BO) through those guys and they rock.

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RaVeN
Posted 09:13am 23/11/10

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tafvTHVRD_c

last edited by RaVeN at 09:13:00 23/Nov/10

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Door
Posted 12:39am 23/11/10

Haha Came for obligatory and ridiculously long OP sentence riddled with commas. Leaving satisfied.

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