Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 is enjoying big success.
(Credit: Infinity Ward)If you think Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 has had a major impact on just the video game industry, you may need to adjust your expectations.
According to Activision Blizzard, the game's publisher, Modern Warfare 2 has set records across the entire entertainment industry.
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 is the "biggest entertainment launch in history," Activision said in a statement. In its first five days of availability, the game set a worldwide record with about $550 million in sales, according to internal Activision figures. It's impressive. But more impressive is the list of launches that it beat out.
In the first five days of availability, Modern Warfare 2 has eclipsed the largest worldwide box-office opening, held by "Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince," which tallied $394 million over its first five days. It also beat "The Dark Knight," which holds the U.S. box-office record with $203.8 million in first five-day sales.
The game also narrowly trumped Grand Theft Auto IV, which captured $500 million in sales in its first five days of availability.
In other words, Modern Warfare 2 has had a major release.
The game's success also translated to major numbers on Xbox Live. Activision reported that "more than 5.2 million multiplayer hours were logged playing Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 on the first day alone." On November 10, 2.2 million unique gamers played on Xbox Live, setting a new one-day record for the online-gaming platform.
Of course, it should be noted that all these figures come from Activision's internal estimates, which might differ from the NPD Group's official totals when it announces November video-game sales.
But until then, Activision can (rightfully so) celebrate Modern Warfare 2's success. And maybe the video-game industry, which has always received second billing to film in the entertainment space, can finally stake its claim to the top spot. Video games are, based on Modern Warfare 2's success, just as viable an entertainment platform as movies.
Don Reisinger is a technology columnist who has written about everything from HDTVs to computers to Flowbee Haircut Systems. Don is a member of the CNET Blog Network, and posts at The Digital Home. He is not an employee of CNET. Disclosure.
The Wii is coming to...Sports Authority?
(Credit: Nintendo)You might be used to buying your video game consoles only at an electronics store, but all that will soon change. National sports retailer Sports Authority announced Tuesday that it will start selling the Nintendo Wii and Wii Fit Plus in its stores.
Aside from being able to pick up a Wii and Wii Fit Plus, consumers will also find Sports Authority stores that boast a Wii "interactive fitness experience." The section of the store will have "knowledgeable fitness trainers allowing customers to try Wii and Wii Fit Plus before they buy."
While it's certainly interesting to see a Wii being used by a fitness instructor in a sports store, Sports Authority said it believes that it will help set it apart in the marketplace. According to the company, users will now be able to "satisfy their fitness- and sports-gaming needs under one roof."
But just how much of a benefit Wii Fit actually affords its users is up for debate. Sports Authority might claim that it helps users "achieve better health," but a recent study (PDF) from the American Council on Exercise found that the game offers a "very, very mild workout."
That could throw a wrench in Sports Authority's plans as it attempts to make the case that the Wii and the Wii Fit Plus make sense next to other products designed specifically to improve the health of its users. As appealing as it might be to some, Nintendo's game might not be able to stand up against fitness-focused products.
Regardless, Sports Authority has thrown its support behind Nintendo's console. The Wii and the Wii Fit Plus will be available in 102 stores starting on Thursday. It will be rolled out to remaining company stores by spring 2010.
Don Reisinger is a technology columnist who has written about everything from HDTVs to computers to Flowbee Haircut Systems. Don is a member of the CNET Blog Network, and posts at The Digital Home. He is not an employee of CNET. Disclosure.
U.S. video game industry sales plunged in October, dropping 19 percent from a year earlier, and 16.4 percent from September, according to data released Thursday by the NPD Group.
But with the tremendous, record-breaking, out-of-the-gate performance of Activision's Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 and the coming holiday season, NPD is bullish on the industry's fortunes for November.
Still, the $1.07 billion in total sales turned in by the industry in October were paltry, compared with $1.32 billion in October 2008 and $1.28 billion in September 2009. NPD analyst Anita Frazier tried to soften the blow a little bit in her monthly report, noting that while sales were down precipitously in October, it was still the third-best October sales report turned in by the video game industry.
"The continued economic turmoil, and in particular the troubling unemployment rate, is undoubtedly impacting industry sales," Frazier wrote in a statement. "Our latest Economy Tracker indicated that although consumers' general opinion about the economy is improving, their outlook on their own personal situation is worsening. If consumers' personal outlook continues to erode, they could very well be much more conservative with their holiday shopping this year."
That last sentence is no doubt one of the most chilling group of words imaginable to the honchos at companies like Microsoft, Sony, Nintendo, Electronic Arts, Activision, and many others involved in putting video game hardware and software in consumers' hands, especially as their most important sales months of the year are now at hand.
As always, regardless of the monthly results, the big console makers each had some things to celebrate in the NPD numbers.
For Nintendo, which has seen sales of its once-high-flying Wii dip and perceptions that the console's days of seeming infallible may be over, the numbers had some hope: in October, the Wii took back first place among the consoles--respectively the Wii, Microsoft's Xbox 360, and Sony's PlayStation 3. In October, Nintendo moved 506,900 Wiis, beating out the PS3 (320,600) and the Xbox (249,700).
Sony was coming off the first month the PS3 won since being launched in the fall of 2006, but while the console was beaten out by the Wii, there must certainly be some measure of gratification in having the PS3 come out ahead of Microsoft's console offering.
"In October, we saw continued momentum [for the] PS3, with nearly 70 percent growth, when compared to last October," Peter Dille, Sony Computer Entertainment of America's senior vice president of marketing, said in a statement. It was "the only console to see any growth year over year."
NPD itself touted Microsoft's chief bragging point for October: "Across all categories, the Xbox 360 platform contributed the greatest portion of total industry sales, representing 27 percent of total industry sales for the month," Frazier wrote.
Yet despite the record-smashing first-day sales posted this week by Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2, the video game industry as a whole is facing a very painful reality: If sales don't improve quickly, there will be layoffs, slashed budgets, canceled games, and more.
Electronic Arts, for example, announced this week that it is planning to lay off 1,500 people as part of a major restructuring--the company's latest--and as a way to stave off growing losses.
And while the industry may have hoped that console sales--especially with prices for next-generation hardware now at their lowest levels ever--would help it rebound, Frazier did not offer much hope.
"Year to date, the hardware category has experienced the sharpest decline in the industry, with unit sales down 10 percent compared to the same time period last year," Frazier wrote. "Recent price cuts helped spur a one- to two-month increase in unit sales, and this month's Wii sales reflect that boost, but the other platforms have not sustained the sales momentum [after] price reduction."
The Wii isn't living up to its expectations.
(Credit: Nintendo)Electronic Arts CEO John Riccitiello didn't pull any punches when he spoke at a quarterly earnings call earlier this week. As he discussed some of the issues his company faces in today's gaming market, he singled out Nintendo and its Wii as contributing factors.
According to Riccitiello, third-party games on the Wii just aren't performing nearly as well as EA had expected. And as the Wii's sales start to slip, it doesn't seem likely that that will be changing anytime soon.
"To be honest with you, I think the Wii platform has been a little weaker than we had certainly anticipated," Riccitiello said, according to a transcript of the call published by Seeking Alpha on Monday. "And there is no lack of frustration (about this coming out) at precisely the time where we have the strongest third-party share."
But Riccitiello didn't stop there. He said EA is "reaching out to Nintendo to find ways to partner to push third-party software harder." He contended that in order for the Wii to perform up to Nintendo's own expectations, the platform needs help from third parties.
Riccitiello continued on that theme. He said his company is providing high-quality titles for the Wii, but it's Nintendo that needs to do more.
"Wii is where we are missing it," Riccitiello said on the call. "And so I really do think that the opportunity exists to find different ways to partner with (Nintendo) in this case, to sort of help establish in the minds of the consumer legitimacy of some of these other brands, when they are going out multiplatform."
But it was Riccitiello's next statement that might send the most shockwaves through the Nintendo world. The EA chief said "very, very few multiplatform titles are succeeding on the Wii so far, and collectively, Electronic Arts and Nintendo need to tackle that."
Perhaps now the question is, then, how will those two major forces in the gaming industry achieve what Riccitiello wants? Nintendo's platform has enjoyed strong sales since its debut, but the Wii is slipping. Worst of all, during the most successful periods for Nintendo, it was first-party titles, not third-party games that performed best at retail. Whether Nintendo can help change that, making it more profitable for third parties to develop games for the Wii, is very much in doubt.
What do you think? Is Nintendo really in bad shape? Is Riccitiello overstating the Wii's shortcomings? Let us know in the comments below.
Don Reisinger is a technology columnist who has written about everything from HDTVs to computers to Flowbee Haircut Systems. Don is a member of the CNET Blog Network, and posts at The Digital Home. He is not an employee of CNET. Disclosure.
The hype surrounding Call of Duty Modern Warfare 2 keeps heating up.
After Gamestop announced last week a $40 trade credit for those who preorder the game and bring it back to a Gamestop store by December 13, Amazon.com has launched a competition, dubbed "The Call of Duty-est Town in America." The contest is seeking the town or city with the most preorders of Modern Warfare 2.
According to Amazon, any town or city with a population of 5,000 or more can compete. It determined population size using the most recent U.S. Census Bureau data.
Whenever a person preorders Modern Warfare 2 from Amazon, the location is tallied. The goal for each location is to have the highest percentage of preorders. Realizing that population plays a role in those figures, the number of orders doesn't factor into the competition.
Amazon said on its contest page that it will give a $5,000 gift certificate to a charity that serves the winning town. If the competition had ended at the time of this writing, the winner would be Grand Forks, N.D.
The page also features some interesting information about those preorders. As of this writing, the Xbox 360 version of the game accounted for 61 percent of Amazon preorders. The PlayStation 3 and the PC versions captured 31 percent and 8 percent of the preorders, respectively.
"The Call of Duty-est Town in America" competition ends on the game's release day, November 10. The winning town will be announced that day.
Don Reisinger is a technology columnist who has written about everything from HDTVs to computers to Flowbee Haircut Systems. Don is a member of the CNET Blog Network, and posts at The Digital Home. He is not an employee of CNET. Disclosure.
Get ready to pay $20 for this game.
(Credit: Inifinity Ward)Gamers looking to get their hands on Call of Duty Modern Warfare 2 will have the opportunity to preorder the title and pay a net price of $20 if they follow basic guidelines announced recently by retailer Gamestop.
According to the company, anyone who preorders the game from Gamestop.com will have it when it hits store shelves on November 10. If those customers trade in the game by December 13, Gamestop will give them a $40 in-store credit.
Considering Modern Warfare 2 costs $60, that means that those who trade in the title will pay just $20 to play it. It's not a bad deal for frequent gamers who play through a game once and never play it again.
The $40 credit is also available to those who purchase the $80 Modern Warfare 2 Hardened Edition.
Of course, there are some rules that govern the deal. The $40 credit will only be offered for Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 versions of the game. And after December 13, Gamestop's $40 offer will expire.
Gamestop's decision to offer customers the opportunity to pay an effective price of $20 for the game is an interesting one. Modern Warfare 2 is undoubtedly one of the most highly anticipated games of the year, and having an ample supply of pre-played titles is important to Gamestop's bottom line.
But it's putting a lot of hope in gamer willingness to return Modern Warfare 2.
Call of Duty 4 is still one of the most-played multiplayer games. Modern Warfare 2 will likely follow suit. Realizing that, will gamers want to part with what could be the best multiplayer first-person shooter release this year? Let us know in the comments below.
Don Reisinger is a technology columnist who has written about everything from HDTVs to computers to Flowbee Haircut Systems. Don is a member of the CNET Blog Network, and posts at The Digital Home. He is not an employee of CNET. Disclosure.
This is nothing more than a huge rumor at this point, but gaming-industry site Superannuation is reporting that it has found a resume posted by a video game animator claiming to have worked on an unannounced GoldenEye 007 game for the Nintendo Wii.
Remember this level in GoldenEye 007?
(Credit: Screenshot by GameSpot)According to the report, the animator worked for Eurocom Entertainment Software, a company that has worked on several versions of James Bond titles, including Quantum of Solace and James Bond 007: Nightfire, between July and September.
The job listing said the person worked on "GoldenEye 2010 (Wii)." According to Destructoid, which also viewed the resume, the job description read, "Animator on Activision's James Bond series for the Nintendo Wii assisting in: Key frame animation, the preparation and clean-up of motion capture data, prop animation, in-game cut-scene animation, scene layout, and camera animation."
The resume was eventually pulled down from the site from which Superannuation accessed it.
Since its release in 1997, the iconic GoldenEye 007 has been the subject of several rumors claiming that a follow-up was on the way. But after Microsoft acquired Rare, the game's developer, in 2002, and Activision acquired the James Bond game rights in 2006, several licensing roadblocks were erected, limiting the chances of such a release.
Neither Activision nor Nintendo immediately responded to request for comment.
Considering that Nintendo and Activision are mum on a possible GoldenEye release for the Wii, it might be safer to assume that those roadblocks are still in place. But that doesn't mean that there aren't discussions going on behind the scenes to pave the way for the GoldenEye release. At this point, we just don't know.
So, let's hear from you. Do you think that this is the smoking gun for which GoldenEye fans have been waiting? Will GoldenEye 007 come to the Wii next year? Let us know in the comments below.
Don Reisinger is a technology columnist who has written about everything from HDTVs to computers to Flowbee Haircut Systems. Don is a member of the CNET Blog Network, and posts at The Digital Home. He is not an employee of CNET. Disclosure.
The video game industry is poised to make a rebound, Wedbush Morgan Securities analyst Michael Pachter wrote in a note to clients on Thursday. The analyst also predicted that it will be Sony's PlayStation 3, and not the Nintendo Wii, that will lead console sales for the month, when NPD releases figures next week.
The PlayStation 3 Slim is helping spur console sales.
(Credit: Sony)"After six consecutive months of double-digit declines, we expect a return to double-digit sales growth (on video game software)," Pachter wrote to clients. "We forecast sales of $750 million, up 21 percent, compared to last year's $618 million."
It's a good sign that after months of decline, the video game industry is finally rebounding. That said, overall sales are still far behind 2008 figures.
PS3 victory?
But it's Pachter's next topic that might easily attract the most attention. According to the analyst, he estimates that September's NPD figures will show a "sell-through of 390,000 Wii hardware units (down 45 percent from last year), 350,000 Xbox 360 units (up 1 percent from last year), and 410,000 PS3 consoles (up 76 percent year-over-year), as the price cuts for all three consoles spurred demand."
Although Pachter said he thinks console sales will be "relatively flat for the balance of the year," he did say that the price cuts could "benefit the PS3 the most in coming months." Not only does Pachter believe Sony's console will outsell the Xbox 360, but he contends that it's possible that the PlayStation 3 will lead Xbox 360 sales for the rest of the year.
Another Xbox 360 price cut?
Pachter isn't convinced that the price cuts are over. He wrote to clients that "Microsoft has the ability to lower price yet again," but he cautioned that a more likely scenario would see the company offer a "more feature-packed Xbox 360 in early 2010 (likely with a 250GB hard drive) at the same $299 price point." It could cut the price of its console if "it begins to lose significant market share to Sony."
As interesting as they might be, Pachter's comments are purely speculation at this point. Look for the official sales figures to drop next week, when NPD makes them available.
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Don Reisinger is a technology columnist who has written about everything from HDTVs to computers to Flowbee Haircut Systems. Don is a member of the CNET Blog Network, and posts at The Digital Home. He is not an employee of CNET. Disclosure.
Sony Computer Entertainment America President and CEO Jack Tretton said in an interview with Forbes earlier this week that a Sony victory in this generation's console war is good for the industry.
SCEA President and CEO Jack Tretton
(Credit: SCEA)"In an industry that has certainly had its challenges this year, we like to say that the environment where the PlayStation wins is best for this industry," Tretton told Forbes. "We have a brand that can play on a worldwide basis, to young and old, male and female, where our competition tends to be relegated to select regions or to select consumer audiences."
Tretton's comments came after the SCEA chief told Forbes that Nintendo, the current console leader, "delivers a casual, youth-oriented entertainment experience."
Of course, Tretton's statements echo what has been coming out of the Sony camp for quite a while. Sony has made it clear that it views Microsoft as its direct competitor. And although Nintendo sells far more consoles than both Microsoft and Sony, it seems that, as always, Sony doesn't believe that Nintendo is a real competitor.
More than gaming
That might be based in Tretton's belief that the PlayStation 3 is much more than just a gaming console. Tretton cited Sony's new advertising slogan where the company claims the PlayStation "only does everything." He said that the PlayStation 3 might be a gaming console at its core, "but it's so much more: Blu-ray movies, downloading music content, downloading video content, surfing the Internet. This is really the central entertainment device for a room."
Don Reisinger is a technology columnist who has written about everything from HDTVs to computers to Flowbee Haircut Systems. Don is a member of the CNET Blog Network, and posts at The Digital Home. He is not an employee of CNET. Disclosure.
The Entertainment Software Association reported this week that more colleges and universities than ever are offering degrees and certificate programs in video game design, programming, and art.
According to the organization, 254 institutions currently offer programs focused on video game creation. Notably, the University of Pennsylvania offers a master's degree in computer graphics and game technology. The ESA said 54 programs have been added since 2008, representing a 27 percent increase in the number of video game-related degree programs across the United States.
"Today, video games are not only the fastest-growing entertainment medium, they are also increasingly used in education and business for professional training and e-learning," Rich Taylor, senior vice president for communications and industry affairs at the ESA, said in a statement. "These new college programs underscore the importance of the video games industry, which is well-poised to create additional employment and professional opportunities in the coming years."
The ESA found that California has the most video game-related degrees, with 46 institutions offering programs. New York, Texas, and Florida follow California, with institutions offering 21, 20, and 19 programs, respectively.
The increase in the number of video game-related degree programs might have something to do with the industry's growth over the past decade. According to the ESA's 2009 Essential Facts about Computer and Video Games booklet, "68 percent of American households now play video games, and 42 percent of American homes have a video game console."
The organization also cited a poll conducted for it by KRC Research, claiming that "70 percent of major employers utilize interactive software, including games, to train employees. And 75 percent of these businesses plan to expand their usage within the next three to five years."
So it seems that it might be a good time for students to entertain a video game degree. And if the ESA's contention that more schools are planning to add gaming programs is true, students might soon have many more options to choose from when they pursue a career in the industry.
If you could start from scratch, would you pursue a career in the game industry, joining one of these programs? Let us know in the comments below.
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Don Reisinger is a technology columnist who has written about everything from HDTVs to computers to Flowbee Haircut Systems. Don is a member of the CNET Blog Network, and posts at The Digital Home. He is not an employee of CNET. Disclosure.
