'Modern Warfare 2' Eclipses $1 Billion in Sales

Amid the massive success of Avatar, there's another record that has already fallen. Activision Blizzard has announced that Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 has made $1 billion in two months.

The Los Angeles Times estimates that the figure is approximately 15 million units, basing its numbers on the eight million games sold for $550 million in the title's first week. That breaks the franchise's previous record by about half a million units, set by 2007's Modern Warfare. It is difficult to compare games to movies or even music when it comes to revenue and sales. For example, Avatar has higher aggregate ticket prices than a movie that isn't presented in IMAX or in 3-D, but it's still about $45 cheaper than the list price for Call of Duty. Would the game sell more if it cost $15? Absolutely. Would Avatar sell the same number of tickets if it cost $60? No. But it wouldn't need to, so long as, apparently, James Cameron could sell around 15 million tickets.

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'Call of Duty' Games Top $3 Billion in Sales

I don't care how you slice it: Call of Duty is among the biggest entertainment phenoms in history. The Hollywood Reporter has looked at the numbers, spurred of course by the latest entry in the series, Modern Warfare 2, and the results are simply staggering. Since 2003, Activision has sold 55 million units of the game, accounting for over $3 billion in sales.

There have long been arguments about measuring sales/box office/pay-per-view stats because the prices are so wildly different. A movie ticket costs about $8 on the average, while video games cost at least four times that much. So when you see that a game makes $150 million in a weekend, you temper that because they only have to sell about three or four million units to get there. Conversely, if Dark Knight tickets cost $49.99, would it make that much in three days?

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Activision Files 'Call of Duty' Movie Trademark

I don't think it means anything on its own, not yet, anyway, but Activision recently filed to protect the trademark it holds on Call of Duty related to "“pre-recorded movies featuring comedy, drama, action, adventure, music, theatrical performances and/or animation”. So guess what that probably means looking forward...

It has been rumored that Activision was pursuing a movie adaptation of the popular game series, and in May, it was even reported that deals were in place to begin development. However, the company hasn't said anything about any deals anywhere, and you can look at that as Activision protecting itself and the game while this quietly takes shape or that there's just nothing to it. Now comes this news from Trademork, which on its face, doesn't link Activision to a film that is or even will be in the early stages of production. What it really does is protect Activision's property if someone else tries to make a movie. Of course, it's doubtful anyone would be stupid enough to do that, at least for profit, so consider this the first step towards a movie. Someday.

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Activision Considering 'Call of Duty' Movie

I had to read the article in The Hollywood Reporter twice to catch it, because the announcement was barely mentioned. While announcing plans to turn Guitar Hero into a reality TV series and possible event tour, Activision also said it's looking to turn Call of Duty into a movie.

These are the salad days for Activision, with first quarter earnings tripling the same period a year ago, pushing its revenue to $981 million in the first three months of the year. "We have growth and we're making money. That's better than others can say," noted Activision's Bobby Kotick. The reasons for that growth are simple: World of Warcraft, Call of Duty, and Guitar Hero. They're three of the top five video games of the year, and now Activision has future plans for all them across multiple platforms.

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