Activision has claimed $1 billion Call of Duty: Ghosts day one sales, which would suggest the game is the fastest selling title ever.
However, despite others reporting this staggering $1 billion (£621 million) is the sales figure for the copies actually purchased by consumers, Activision actually states this is for copies of Call of Duty: Ghosts sold into retail stores worldwide.
This means the $1 billion figure isn’t for consumer sales, but rather for the millions of copies purchased by retail stores across the globe, ensuring the shelves were fully stocked for the November 5 launch date.
Activision is positive that Call of Duty: Ghosts will be an immensely successful title though, as it claims the Call of Duty franchise has been exceedingly popular this year, and is the largest gaming franchise of the Xbox 360 and PS3 console generation.
“Call of Duty: Ghosts is by far the largest console franchise of this generation,” said Bobby Kotick, CEO of Activision Blizzard. “More people have played Call of Duty this year than ever before, logging four billion hours of gameplay. And in the last 12 months, Call of Duty: Black Ops 2, including its digital content, generated more revenues than any other console game ever has in a single year. Although it is too early to assess sell-through for Call of Duty: Ghosts, it’s launching at a time when the franchise has never been more popular.”
Call of Duty: Ghosts will have to beat the sales record set by GTA 5 if it wants to make the record book. GTA 5 sales topped $1 billion in the opening three days after its release date.
It beat the 15 days Call of Duty: Black Ops 2 took to reach the same $1 billion milestone last year.
“Ghosts is an amazing game which ushers in the next generation of Call of Duty. The team at Infinity Ward has delivered yet another epic thrill ride in the campaign and what I think is our best multiplayer game yet,” said Eric Hirshberg, CEO of Activision Publishing.
Call of Duty: Ghosts will be a launch title for both the Xbox One and PS4 when they become available on November 22 and November 29 respectively in the UK.
“This is the must have title for the next generation of consoles, and we expect Call of Duty: Ghosts to be the most successful launch title for the Xbox One and PS4 by a wide margin.”
Next, read our pick of the best games of 2013.
