‘Call of Duty: Black Ops’ grosses record-setting $650 million in five days

By on Nov 18, 2010 at 11:31 AM
Gaming November 18, 2010

Activision announced Thursday that Call of Duty: Black Ops has set a new five-day entertainment industry record, grossing over $650 million globally. Following the first-day record Activision announced last week, the company’s latest smash hit breaks the previous $550 million five-day sales record set last year by Call of Duty title, Modern Warfare 2. “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 Activision Blizzard CEO, Robert Kotick, in a statement.  ”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.” Also somewhat predictable were the two Xbox LIVE records set by Black Ops on launch day — the title was played by more than 2.6 million unique players who logged over 5.9 million multiplayer hours — and the  PlayStation 3 launch sales records set at both Amazon.com and GameStop. Hit the break for the full press release, or allow us to summarize it in five words: it was a smash hit.

Call of Duty®: Black Ops Sets New Five Day Entertainment Industry Record Grossing More Than $650 Million Worldwide

Largest Entertainment Launch in History Establishes New Xbox® LIVE™ Record with 2.6 Million Unique Players in One Day
Call of Duty: Black Ops Was Best-Selling Video Game Launch of All Time on Amazon.com and at GameStop

SANTA MONICA, Calif., Nov. 18, 2010 /PRNewswire/ — Activision Publishing, Inc. (Nasdaq: ATVI) announced today that Treyarch’s Call of Duty®: Black Ops has shattered theatrical box office, book and video game sales records for five-day worldwide sell through in dollars.  The game established an all-new five-day worldwide sell-through record of more than $650 million, exceeding Activision’s previous five-day worldwide record of $550 million set by last year’s Call of Duty: Modern Warfare® 2, according to internal Activision estimates.

“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.”

“There are many reasons for the success of Black Ops, but first and foremost is the fact that our team at Treyarch delivered a truly awesome game, and in the process have established themselves as one of the most talented developers in the world,” said Eric Hirshberg, CEO, Activision Publishing.  ”There are millions of people all over the world engaging in this community.  It’s our job to keep them coming back for more.”

In addition to beating all previous first-and five-day box office, book and video game sell-through records, Call of Duty: Black Ops set two new records on Xbox® LIVE™.

According to Microsoft:

•More than 5.9 million multiplayer hours were logged playing Call of Duty: Black Ops by end of launch day, November 9.
•More than 2.6 million unique gamers played Call of Duty: Black Ops in one day on November 9.

“With a record breaking performance on Xbox LIVE, home to the world’s largest Call of Duty gaming community, Call of Duty: Black Ops has already carved out its legacy as one of the biggest video games in history,” said Don Mattrick, president of the interactive entertainment business at Microsoft.  ”We congratulate our partners at Activision and Treyarch and are proud to continue offering the best Call of Duty experience to our 25 million global Xbox LIVE members by launching all Call of Duty map packs first on Xbox 360.”

The game also was a tremendous success on the PlayStation® 3 and the best-selling video game launch of all time on Amazon.com and at GameStop.

“Call of Duty: Black Ops has been an incredible success on PlayStation 3,” said Jack Tretton, President and CEO of Sony Computer Entertainment of America (SCEA).  ”Treyarch’s latest efforts are  driving unprecedented traffic to the PlayStation Network with the flagship online experience this holiday season.”

“Call of Duty: Black Ops had the highest number of pre-orders of any video game to date,” said Paul Raines, CEO, GameStop.  ”It went on to become our biggest video game launch ever, which bodes well for game sales as we enter the holidays.”

Activision is excited about the performance of Call of Duty: Black Ops, but given that it is still very early in the holiday shopping season, the company remains cautiously optimistic.

Call of Duty: Black Ops is rated “M” (Mature) by the ESRB for Blood, Drug Reference, Intense Violence and Language. For additional information visit http://www.callofduty.com/blackops and also via Twitter @JD_2020.

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  • Dream

    This is an awesome game so much better then Halo

  • Digitaltouch

    Got a new ps3 just to have the new cod. Great game as I only play the online part.(multiplayer). I just wonder could xbox players play with ps3 players online? Great game though.

    • Anonymous

      we can’t…would be nice tho…

  • MustWarnOthers

    Congratulations to Activision and Treyarch!

    You’re approaching the 1 BILLION dollar mark for a single game, and the game is still a steaming pile of garbage!

    I guess the idea of launching a Beta to release the game in the most polished state possible didn’t make financial sense. It may have impeded the march to 1,000,000,000 dollars in a week.

    I whine only because I went ahead and shelled the 60 bucks on the preorder over Steam, figuring that with all the criticisms that Modern Warfare 2 took, with all eyes on this product, it would blow consumers aways.

    Apparently a 3.0ghz+ core i7920 Quad Core processor, 6 Gigs of ram and dual 5850 graphics cards is ancient hardware.

    Game runs at disgustingly low frame rates post patch, hangs every minute or so for a solid 2-3 seconds, kill cams look like a 4 page flip-book, there’s no way to get groups of friends on a team together reliably and the overall look of the graphics is more World at Ward than post – MW2.

    But Congrats anyway.

    • Visual Mofo

      This game was made for xbox, in which TA nurfed the PC and PS3 market.

      But other than that, I still play. Better than MW2 in some ways.

    • Anonymous

      Lol. It’s called a console

    • Bob

      Dont forget that if your in a party bigger than two it takes about ten tries to get into a match! I cant believe I used to complain about Bungies servers.

  • JYU

    I game is missing something it feels like world at war which I never bought. I only play free for all and thing I played a total of 5 hours since launch day. I’m not the only one that feels that way…other diehard COD modern warfare 2 players seems to feel the same way.

    • BostLabs

      Yup, BO is different from MW2 in many ways. First and foremost is the damage that the weapons inflict. Add that to the weapons needing more skill to use and the fact that killstreaks no longer stack and you have a game that requires you to play differently from the previous version of the game.

      Stopping Power perk is gone and at the start I REALLY missed that. But after a bit I adapted to that and now I think I’m doing as well as I was in MW2. Not stellar but I don’t rage quit either. However, I have left lobbies in Nuketown on Domination when it was just a super fast kill fest. :) Small map with fast players equals me dieing a lot! :)

  • Anonymous

    Lots of girlfriends feeling neglected since this game came out!

    • MustWarnOthers

      Lol.

      Had to like this post. Regardless of my overall frustrations with the quality of this game on the PC, I’ve definitely felt the stone cold stare of my fiancee, burning through my back while I leave her with the HDTV for entertainment.

      • http://twitter.com/Biggestmexi You know me

        WOW ….a real HDTV??!??!??

      • MustWarnOthers

        Yeah you got me. It’s a 13 inch crt monitor hooked up to a speak and spell.

      • http://twitter.com/Biggestmexi You know me

        Do you sell those? VVVVVV

  • Visual Mofo

    Not much of a surprise. Since it came out, so many glitches and problems with the PS3 side, that I almost returned it.

    But luckily, they are fixing server issues and match making and actually giving a shit about their core base of COD followers. Unlike IW, they shitted on us.

    Good job Activision and TA. Next time though, make the graphics comparable to MW2, not Syphon Filter of 2001. Thanks.

  • http://pulse.yahoo.com/_GP2WYAHXS6CRUREISWBGPUSUGE Michael

    In Lay-Man terms, 108 million men have not seen Va-Jay-Jays in five days….

  • ALCie

    In the latest stories on the home page it says “grosses record setting 0 million in 5 days.”

    Thought they were giving it away and I got all excited.

  • Anonymous

    im loving the new COD, especially customizing your player… They took a bit of MW2 and World at War, added a dash of new surprises and created this game.. I think its cool

  • BostLabs

    As an older gamer I’m having a ball with this game. Yes I still get pwned by the kids and the young adults, but what can a guy who is 50 going to do? :) My reflexes are no longer wired directly to my hands/eyes. Still I have fun and that is all that matters to me.

    • http://twitter.com/Biggestmexi You know me

      are they wireless now?

      bluetooth?

      • BostLabs

        LOL! Nah, they go through an old age filter. :) Practice does improve on that (and crafty on how you use equipment) but I’m no match for a kid that has his sensitivity set to 10 and can keep up with everything.

      • http://twitter.com/Biggestmexi You know me

        HA! I understand. they put those filters in Oldsmobiles too XD

      • BostLabs

        I’m glad I don’t own an Oldsmobile then. XD

      • wanderer

        I hear you on that one. I too get my ass kicked online when it come to COD games, however, I still enjoy the play and thats whats its all about. Enjoy!

  • http://twitter.com/Biggestmexi You know me

    Sounds like a lot of rage quitters

  • COD7Sucks

    Useless. Game is useless.

    Thanks for looking after the PC community Treyarch.. You bunch of idiots.

  • Sonya

    I’ve never paid $60 for a game, so I’ll wait until I find it for $35 on craigslist.

    • Marshallmathersgh

      you just took the words out of my mouth

  • BostLabs

    I really like the theater mode for previous games. I use that to view my games so I can see where I went wrong or to view a fantastic kill I got on another player. I use the first part a lot and notice that in some cases I just didn’t see the guy that killed me. This helps me be more aware the next time I jump into a lobby.

    I play on the Xbox 360 so I can’t say how it works on the PC. There have been a few issues in the game so far and many of them TA has corrected quickly. Now if they can fix the sound so I can hear the bad guys footsteps again I’ll be 100% happy with the game.

  • hey

    loving this game no more quickscooping, noob tubers, and campers

    • black ops blows, gimme MW3!!

      wtf r u talking about, theres still noob tubing u can still buy the grenade attatchemnt for your gun, and ive seen more camping in this shitty game then all the other call of duty games, ps, the multiplayer blows

      • BostLabs

        Perhaps he means the launcher that can be replenished with the Scavenger perk or One Man Army. Enduring that was terrible! Black Ops seems much better balanced (right now anyway).

  • Support the troops

    So sad that with one war in full gear, and another slowly winding down, that so many Americans disgrace the troops with this war porn videogame of their traumitic experiences. The soldiers come back missing limbs, missing sight or hearing, completely paralysed, etc. and they have to see the population disrespect their harrowing experience like this. Not to mention millions of unemployed Americans that can’t find work or veterans that receive sub-human care. As a nation to spend this much on a videogame in such dire times to great disrespect to the troops is fucking disgusting. Go ahead and rank this down you pathetic nerds.

    • MustWarnOthers

      Maybe your anger is better aimed at the Government and their draft lottery that forced men with no interest in military service or war, to be sent off into a meat grinder.

      While I have a giant boatload of respect for members of our Military, I really fail to see how a war video game has any effect on the integrity of the men who were forced to lose their lives and limbs in a War that Americans, predominantly, didn’t support whatsoever.

    • hey

      My brother served 3 turns in iraq he loves the games and he has seen shit and shown me shit i do not ever want see in my life and has told me that many of his men played online while stationed their. So trust me the men and women serving this country are not offended by this game one bit.

    • What an Idiot

      As an Iraqi and Afghanistan Veteran I have no idea what you are even talking about. I realize that if I were to purchase Grand Theft Auto that we should feel guilty for anyone that has been a victim of a violent crime. Or that when it comes to Mario Kart, I should boycott it because slipping on a banana peel is no laughing matter. How about you actually support our troops and do something for them, i.e., GO FUCK YOURSELF

      • hey

        i never said i dont support the troops dumb ass you need get your head out of your ass

      • David

        Hoohah!

    • Robking

      I am a former service member that served proudly. This game is a testiment to those like me, not an insult. Only the left wing panzies that sit here in the States “assuming” that we don’t want to be there cry foul over such. While it may be true for some, black ops is just that, special service members who are not afraid to do their job. In fact, the guys I served with, we all enjoyed out job. We are a different breed. So don’t be so quick to jump on the poor service member band wagon, this is a volunteer military, none of us were drafted.

      Besides, it a cool game. The most realistic by far. Hoohah!

    • wanderer

      I beg to differ on that one, I believe it honors the men and women that are serving or has served in our military. It shows the toughness, sophistication of the American military. I have friends serving in the military and they too love the game. I am speaking of mature gamers who are able to discern that its just a game and not promote violence generally in society. Vietnam was not a popular war, and maybe you can aim your rage at the government back then since most of our guys were practically forced to serve. There is no disrespect in this game but quite the opposite. Spending this much on a game is based on personal finances, if you don’t have the extra cash then don’t buy it. BGR’s new site doesn’t seem to have downranking capabilities yet, otherwise you would have been tremendously downranked. But, its your opinion and entitled to it.

    • Anonymous

      I understand what you are trying to say but I don’t think this game represents that..with the economy in the sh*tter we need people to buy things… and with our troops over seas, fighting for our freedom is no laughing matter, i would hope that this game didn’t offend them because its not geared that way at all. Its like NBA players being upset at NBA 2K11.

    • voice of reason

      Most people currently in the military and veterans who have come home from said wars play these games and especially this game in particular.

  • Anonymous

    Nice record, too bad I will be selling it to someone else. Game was a disappointment.

  • funnyguy

    Q: What kind of farmer are you?

    A: I’m a lead farmer, motherf*#er!

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