Activision Blizzard Inc.'s (ATVI) "Call of Duty: Ghosts" topped
the magic $1 billion sales mark in just one day, breaking the
record set just weeks ago by Take-Two Interactive Software Inc.'s
(TTWO) "Grand Theft Auto V."
In comparison, GTA V took three days to reach $1 billion and
last year's "Call of Duty: Black Ops II" reached $1 billion after
15 days. GTA V's first-day sales were about $800 million and Black
Ops II's sales were $500 million, roughly half of Ghosts' first-day
take.
The only other major entertainment vehicle that comes close to
those numbers is the 2009 blockbuster movie "Avatar," which reached
$1 billion in 17 days.
Ghosts launched Tuesday at 15,000 midnight openings around the
world. The game is the latest version of Activision's wildly
successful war simulation franchise. Still, Ghosts faced mixed
reviews, with many critics claiming the new title didn't offer
enough fresh ideas.
The annual series has been a boon for Activision, which is set
to report third-quarter results later Wednesday. In past financial
filings, Activision has told investors that a substantial amount of
its revenue and profit come from three games: "Call of Duty" and
fantasy games "World of Warcraft" and "Skylanders."
Despite its popularity, "Call of Duty" has faced stiff
competition, not only from the rising trend of casual mobile games,
but other blockbuster franchises such as Electronic Arts Inc.'s
(EA) "Battlefield" and Microsoft Corp.'s (MSFT) "Halo," which are
also first-person shooter simulations.
Activision's shares were up 1.4% premarket at $16.76. As of
Tuesday's close, the stock was up 56% so far this year.
Write to Ben Fox Rubin at ben.rubin@wsj.com
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