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Activision Admits 'Call of Duty: Ghosts' Didn't Outsell 'Black Ops 2' At Launch

F

fluffydelusions

Member
It seemed like Call of Duty’s day-one sales record streak would come to an end when they were forced to premiere their new game, Ghosts, across six different platforms not all available at the same time. It was all but confirmed when the numbers Activision released the next day boasted of a billion dollars worth of units shipped, not sold. But now, they’re finally saying it out loud.

CFO Dennis Durkin had this to say during Activision’s earnings call:

“Today, we announced that we had shipped into retail more than $1bn of Call of Duty: Ghosts globally on day one based on an average wholesale price. As expected, due to the console transition and digital distribution, this number is down versus last year.”

“This year, the sell-through curve will be different than in past years due to the multiple launches of new hardware later in the month and more days between our launch and the high-volume Black Friday at the end of the month.”

Previously, Call of Duty had outsold its past installment on day one by tens or hundreds million dollars more with each new annual release, ultimately culminating in $500M day one sales of Black Ops 2 last year. This year, however, their record was snapped, or rather obliterated, by Rockstar’s Grand Theft Auto V which had $800M in day one sales. Activision claimed that they wanted to “take their throne back” from Rockstar with Ghosts, but given the next-gen console landscape of the Xbox One and PS4, that wasn’t likely going to be possible.

Many players are probably holding out another few weeks to pick up copies of Call of Duty: Ghosts for the next-gen systems they’ve preordered. It’s why sales aren’t anywhere close to GTA V, but also not at Black Ops 2′s level either. The same is true for other franchises like EA’s Battlefield 4 and Ubisoft’s Assassin’s Creed 4, where sales are down ahead of the release of the new consoles.

Still, I think it was somewhat disingenuous for Activision to blast out misleading headlines touting “ $1B in sales” when the number of games shipped is not in any way a meaningful comparison to the number of games sold.

But as I said previously, I think that Call of Duty has an unprecedented opportunity to sell a huge amount of copies of Ghosts based on the fact that the popular series is going to be available across six separate platforms by the end of the month. That’s an install base the industry hasn’t seen possibly ever, and certainly not at a time when a series was as popular as Call of Duty is now.

Ghosts has endured its share of criticism from the public and gaming press who are disappointed both with the campaign and multiplayer which feel more like “more of the same” than ever. It’s not a universally shared belief, but scores are middling at best, and Ghosts feels like a rather awkward transition to the next generation. Perhaps people’s perceptions of the game will change once they play it for the new consoles, but then we have all those Xbox One 720p issues to deal with, which may continue to overwhelm the narrative about the next-gen version of the game.

So while it’s no surprise that Ghosts didn’t outsell GTA V or even Black Ops 2, I think the real question is..will the next one? Will Call of Duty remain on top as we move deeper into this next console generation, or has the series peaked?
Click to expand...

http://www.forbes.com/sites/insertc...y-ghosts-didnt-outsell-black-ops-2-at-launch/
 
S

speculawyer

Member
It is nice to see Activision get some criticism for that sleazy "sell-in" announcement that was technically true but designed to mislead a lot of people just like they knew it would.
 
F

Foshy

Member
Nice to see that for once there's a company admitting bad news straight out and not trying to lie.
 
P

Pikma

Banned
I see Activision going 3rd party soon, that's good news, I can't wait to play CoD and Skylanders on iOS :D
 
A

a916

Member
darkside31337 said:
So nothing about sales being down due to lack of interest or poor reviews?
Click to expand...

They may be down from previous iterations, but just about any big publishing exec would give their children for the amount this thing still pushed. Especially the return on investment considering Ghosts budget is pretty moderate.
 
F

fiyah

Member
Pikma said:
I see Activision going 3rd party soon, that's good news, I can't wait to play CoD and Skylanders on iOS :D
Click to expand...

what?

1274465753023.gif
 
R

RoboPlato

I'd be in the dick
I can see this being the first year that it starts to dip. It'll still outsell almost everything for a few more years but the cracks are beginning to show.
 
G

GloveSlap

Member
This is definitely the least hype i have seen for a new Call of Duty in a long time. There is also not that many people on my friends list playing it. I am sure a nice chunk are holding out for next gen, but the series is still obviously on the decline.
 
C

cuyahoga

Dudebro, My Shit is Fucked Up So I Got to Shoot/Slice You II: It's Straight-Up Dawg Time
Well, Activision also didn't have a Battlefield 4 to contend with last year.
 
S

system11

Member
Kind of obvious given that Ghosts wasn't available as a PS4 bundle and a lot of people are holding off until they get their new console.
 
L

lantus

Member
It still pushed a shit ton of money I'm sure though. I hope it dies down even further to be honest, there was so much more potential for the series after cod 4. I kind of hate Activision for that. Hopefully the same thing doesn't happen to Destiny.
 
R

Roshin

Member
Ghosts has endured its share of criticism from the public and gaming press who are disappointed both with the campaign and multiplayer which feel more like “more of the same” than ever. It’s not a universally shared belief...
Click to expand...

Maybe not, but it seems uncomfortably close.
 
A

Akuun

Looking for meaning in GAF
Foshy said:
Nice to see that for once there's a company admitting bad news straight out and not trying to lie.
Click to expand...
Still bending the truth.

Because of console transition? Sure. Digital distribution? Don't think it's that...
 
S

Shogun1337

Junior Member
Holy crap, the first AAA release that didn't become the newest highest selling piece of entertainment of all time. Since they like to fucking destroy the record time and time and time again. I lost count of this idiotic game.

GTA4 was the highest selling piece of entertainment ever
Halo 3 was the highest selling piece of entertainment ever
CoD4 was the highest selling piece of entertainment ever
MW2 was the highest selling piece of entertainment ever
MW3 was the highest selling piece of entertainment ever
Black Ops was the highest selling piece of entertainment ever
GTAV was the highest selling piece of entertainment ever

(I don't know if there's a MW3, I lost track of the franchise a long time ago)
 
I

Imperfected

Member
Shogun1337 said:
(I don't know if there's a MW3, I lost track of the franchise a long time ago)
Click to expand...

There is, but you got the order all wrong. There's a Black Ops 2, also. They come out annually, on alternating schedule, with Ghosts being the first one to buck the trend of numerical sequels (by Infinity Ward) being the 'ticks' and Black Ops (by Treyarch) being the 'tocks'.

The fact they didn't sell through their inventory is a hopeful sign. It would be pretty embarrassingly if a game releasing in such a sorry state still shattered records.
 
C

Canis lupus

Member
Lol they claimed 1 billion on the first day shipped to stores, not actual units sold to customers like they previously always did and Rockstar with GTA V.

GTA V still reigns.
 
Mikey Jr.

Mikey Jr.

Member
I wonder if this will be the game that signals the decline of Call of Duty.

I truly can not believe that year after year, COD sells the amount that it does. How is there no franchise fatigue?
 
S

Splint

Member
Does this mean they will now be selling lower and lower every year now with the low install base of next gen consoles...? I doubt a current gen COD would sell much more next year. I would think they could rebound with a next gen pretty looking COD, but with the low install base, it wont break records.
 
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