Modern Warfare 2

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. More →