Call of Duty : Modern Warfare 2 Shatters Sales Records with a Huge Opening Weekend

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 is on track to be the "biggest entertainment launch of all time" and that is just what Activision's goal was in the project launch. The marketing effort seems to have been one of the most concentrated in quite some time and TBWA/Chiat/Day in Los Angeles was hired after a no-holds-bar effort of several companies lobbying for the spot with Activision.

Within 24 hours of being released to the public more than 7 million copies of the Call of Duty : Modern Warfare 2 video game was sold according to VG Chartz. Sales could top 10 million by the end of the weekend. It was a major success. This would easily beat the former number 1 spot holder which was Grand Theft Auto 4 that sold almost 6 million in a week. Call of Duty : Modern Warfare 2 didn't take a week, it took 24 hours to destroy the record by over 1 million copies. Grand Theft only sold 3.7 million in it's first 24 hours.

This record breaking performance of Call of Duty : Modern Warfare 2 seems to be a first for the modern gaming community, when Grand Theft Auto 4 came out in 2008 under intense media marketing, many thought that it wouldn't be able to be "bested" and that the 6 million copies mark for the first week would be like a great baseball record, unbreakable for years. Grand Theft Auto's campaign begin in 2004 and ended in 2008, so the process was a four year build up until product launch.

What makes the launch spectacular is the fact that Activision didn't even officially announce the release of Call Of Duty : Modern Warfare 2 until December 2008 and that it would be released by the holidays in 2009. This sudden launch could have been what led up to the game flying off the shelves.

This type of campaign could become the norm for the gaming community after seeing the success that Activision had with this launch. Many companies might decide to keep their product under complete wraps until right before critical mass on the launch date for marketing to begin and then announce it. This could explain a certain "buzz" about Call of Duty : Modern Warfare 2 staying in there air about the game when it is released and then converting to immediate sales.

The first Call of Duty was not a record breaker like Grand Theft Auto 4, and so there is no reason to believe that the game itself is the main reason the record was shattered. It is more likely that the game and the marketing behind it created a perfect storm for the November release date that shattered the record by almost double in 24 hours.

I have played Call of Duty : Modern Warfare 2 over the weekend, and I have to admit that the game is amazing, it goes above and beyond the original and for the PS3 on a large television the graphics are just unreal.

It is a great example of how far gaming has come in such a short time span and is also a testament on how important marketing and buzz are to sales and now we have a new record to watch with 7 million copies in 24 hours sold of Call of Duty : Modern Warfare 2.

Sources:
CVG, Call of Duty : Modern Warfare 2 Confirmed
VG Chartz, Sales of Video Games