CALL OF DUTY: BLACK OPS Surpasses $1 Billion In Sales Worldwide!!

Over 600 Million Hours Logged Playing Call of Duty: Black Ops

SANTA MONICA, Calif., Dec. 21, 2010 /PRNewswire/ -- Activision Publishing, Inc. (Nasdaq: ATVI) announced today that Call of Duty: Black Ops continues to set sell-through records crossing the $1 billion mark in sales worldwide since its launch in November, according to internal Activision estimates.

In its first five days alone, the game sold more than $650 million worldwide, outpacing theatrical box office, book and video game sales records for five-day worldwide sell through in dollars, according to internal Activision estimates and boxofficemojo.com. The game exceeded Activision's previous five-day worldwide record of $550 million set by last year's Call of Duty: Modern Warfare® 2.

To date, more than 600 million hours have been logged playing Call of Duty: Black Ops since the game launched on November 9, 2010. According to Microsoft, the average player logs on more than once a day and plays for more than one hour each time. Over half of that time is spent playing online with and against friends, illustrating the unique social characteristics of the game.

"In all of entertainment, only Call of Duty and "Avatar" have ever achieved the billion dollar revenue milestone this quickly," said Bobby Kotick, CEO of Activision Blizzard. "This is a tribute to the global appeal of the Call of Duty franchise, the exceptional talent at Treyarch and the hundreds of extraordinary people across our many Call of Duty studios including Infinity Ward and Sledgehammer that work tirelessly on the franchise. Our ability to provide the most compelling, immersive entertainment experience, and enhance it with regular, recurring content that delivers hundreds of hours of audience value, has allowed Call of Duty to continue to set sales and usage records."

Kotick continued, "This extraordinary milestone was achieved because of the tens of millions of passionate Call of Duty players around the world. Global audiences have logged billions of hours online with Call of Duty games on Xbox LIVE, the Playstation Network and on personal computers. This unique level of community engagement has enabled Call of Duty to become one of the world's most engaged online communities."

"Call of Duty continues to rewrite not just the record books, but also the rules of interactive entertainment," says Eric Hirshberg, CEO of Activision Publishing. "Even more remarkable than the number of units sold is the number of hours people are playing the game together online which are unprecedented. Call of Duty is more than a game, it's a true community."

Call of Duty: Black Ops is rated "M" (Mature) by the ESRB for Blood and Gore, Intense Violence and Language. For additional information about the game, visit www.callofduty.com/blackops.

Headquartered in Santa Monica, California, Activision Publishing, Inc. is a leading worldwide developer, publisher and distributor of interactive entertainment and leisure products.
Activision maintains operations in the U.S., Canada, the United Kingdom, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Sweden, Spain, Norway, Denmark, the Netherlands, Australia, South Korea, China and the region of Taiwan. More information about Activision and its products can be found on the company's website, www.activision.com.

*All references cited are sourced according to www.boxofficemojo.com or www.guinnessworldrecords.com

That's a lot of playing time guys! I have the game and it is outrageously good in 3D. If you haven't seen it yet - give it a shot!!

CALL OF DUTY: BLACK OPS Sets New 5 Day Entertainment Industry Record Grossing Over $650 Million Worldwide!!

While I disagree with the comparison to the entertainment industry as a whole and movies in particular, you cannot dispute the astronomical numbers that this stereoscopic 3D game is pole vaulting. Very impressive indeed!

Here is the official press release:

- Largest Entertainment Launch in History Establishes New Xbox® LIVE™ Record with 2.6 Million Unique Players in One Day

- Call of Duty: Black Ops Was Best-Selling Video Game Launch of All Time on Amazon.com and at GameStop

/PRNewswire/ -- Activision Publishing, Inc. (Nasdaq: ATVI) announced that Treyarch's Call of Duty®: Black Ops has shattered theatrical box office, book and video game sales records for five-day worldwide sell through in dollars. The game established an all-new five-day worldwide sell-through record of more than $650 million, exceeding Activision's previous five-day worldwide record of $550 million set by last year's Call of Duty: Modern Warfare® 2, according to internal Activision estimates.

"Call of Duty has become the first entertainment property in history to set five-day launch records for two consecutive years across all forms of entertainment," said Robert Kotick, CEO, Activision Blizzard. "The title's success illustrates the mass appeal of interactive entertainment as millions of consumers are choosing to play Call of Duty: Black Ops at unprecedented levels rather than engage in other forms of media. The number of people playing online and the number of hours they are playing demonstrates how online gaming has become a mainstream form of entertainment and certainly validates Activision Blizzard's leadership role in online entertainment."

"There are many reasons for the success of Black Ops, but first and foremost is the fact that our team at Treyarch delivered a truly awesome game, and in the process have established themselves as one of the most talented developers in the world," said Eric Hirshberg, CEO, Activision Publishing. "There are millions of people all over the world engaging in this community. It's our job to keep them coming back for more."

In addition to beating all previous first-and five-day box office, book and video game sell-through records, Call of Duty: Black Ops set two new records on Xbox® LIVE™.

According to Microsoft:
- More than 5.9 million multiplayer hours were logged playing Call of Duty: Black Ops by end of launch day, November 9.
- More than 2.6 million unique gamers played Call of Duty: Black Ops in one day on November 9.

"With a record breaking performance on Xbox LIVE, home to the world's largest Call of Duty gaming community, Call of Duty: Black Ops has already carved out its legacy as one of the biggest video games in history," said Don Mattrick, president of the interactive entertainment business at Microsoft. "We congratulate our partners at Activision and Treyarch and are proud to continue offering the best Call of Duty experience to our 25 million global Xbox LIVE members by launching all Call of Duty map packs first on Xbox 360."

The game also was a tremendous success on the PlayStation® 3 and the best-selling video game launch of all time on Amazon.com and at GameStop.

"Call of Duty: Black Ops has been an incredible success on PlayStation 3," said Jack Tretton, President and CEO of Sony Computer Entertainment of America (SCEA). "Treyarch's latest efforts are driving unprecedented traffic to the PlayStation Network with the flagship online experience this holiday season."

"Call of Duty: Black Ops had the highest number of pre-orders of any video game to date," said Paul Raines, CEO, GameStop. "It went on to become our biggest video game launch ever, which bodes well for game sales as we enter the holidays."

Activision is excited about the performance of Call of Duty: Black Ops, but given that it is still very early in the holiday shopping season, the company remains cautiously optimistic.
Call of Duty: Black Ops is rated "M" (Mature) by the ESRB for Blood, Drug Reference, Intense Violence and Language. For additional information visit www.callofduty.com/blackops and also via Twitter @JD_2020.

About Activision Publishing, Inc.
Headquartered in Santa Monica, California, Activision Publishing, Inc. is a leading worldwide developer, publisher and distributor of interactive entertainment and leisure products. Activision maintains operations in the U.S., Canada, the United Kingdom, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Sweden, Spain, Norway, Denmark, the Netherlands, Australia, South Korea, China and the region of Taiwan. More information about Activision and its products can be found on the company's website, www.activision.com.

Source: Activision

3D Gaming Alert: CALL OF DUTY: BLACK OPS Sets New Opening Day Record: $360M In North America & United Kingdom Alone!

Stunning! Treyarch's CALL OF DUTY: BLACK OPS just slipped away with $360 million in a SINGLE DAY of sales in the US and UK only!! That figure tops the $310 million that Activision captured with MODERN WARFARE 2 in the same territories.

Here is the official press release for the 3D game:

SANTA MONICA, Calif., Nov. 11, 2010 /PRNewswire/ -- Shattering its own day-one sales record, Activision Publishing, Inc. (Nasdaq: ATVI) announced that Treyarch's highly-anticipated Call of Duty®: Black Ops has become the biggest entertainment launch ever with an estimated sell-through of approximately $360 million in North America and the United Kingdom alone in the first 24 hours of its release, as compared to last year's estimated day-one sell-through of $310 million for Call of Duty: Modern Warfare® 2 in North America and the United Kingdom, according to internal Activision estimates.

Call of Duty: Black Ops, marks the second year in a row that the Call of Duty franchise has set day one launch records across all forms of entertainment. In its first day on November 9, the blockbuster title sold through approximately 5.6 million copies in North America and the United Kingdom, as compared to 4.7 million copies for last year's Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2, according to internal Activision estimates.

Call of Duty: Black Ops is one of the most critically acclaimed games of the year worldwide and was released with unprecedented retailer support and more than 12,000 midnight openings around the globe.

"There has never been another entertainment franchise that has set opening day records for two consecutive years and we are on track to outperform last year's five-day global sales record of $550 million," said Bobby Kotick, CEO, Activision Blizzard, Inc. "The game's success underscores the pop culture appeal of the brand. Call of Duty: Black Ops is the finest game that Treyarch has ever made and raises the bar for online gameplay by delivering the deepest and most intense Call of Duty experience yet. The Call of Duty franchise has over 25 million players around the world that are engaged in billions of hours of online gameplay, and we are committed to supporting them with new content and features on a more frequent and regular basis."

Call of Duty: Black Ops is rated "M" (Mature) by the ESRB for Blood, Drug Reference, Intense Violence and Language. For additional information visit www.callofduty.com/blackops and also via Twitter @JD_2020.

About Activision Publishing, Inc.
Headquartered in Santa Monica, California, Activision Publishing, Inc. is a leading worldwide developer, publisher and distributor of interactive entertainment and leisure products. Activision maintains operations in the U.S., Canada, the United Kingdom, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Sweden, Spain, Norway, Denmark, the Netherlands, Australia, South Korea, China and the region of Taiwan. More information about Activision and its products can be found on the company's website, www.activision.com.

As you know, BLACK OPS is a stereoscopic 3D enabled game. We are VERY excited about this release! Can't wait to try it out with my NVIDIA 3D Vision setup!!

Source: Activision

Duty Calls For Deniable Black Ops To Enter Into The Third Gaming Dimension!

Hello folks, Adam Loncar here. It is my pleasure to inform you that one of the biggest entertainment launches of 2010 is fully embracing stereoscopic-3D technology: Call of Duty: Black Ops!

This announcement is truly a shock to the gaming industry because usually a developer will reveal key development features early on.

I have always thought that the Call of Duty franchise is perfect for 3D technology and that it would eventually happen. But I could never have guessed we would be getting it now. It is such a joy to see it come to fruition!



Here is the official press release (emphasis is mine):
Call of Duty(R): Black Ops to Utilize State-of-the-Art Active Shutter 3D Technology 3D Version of the Most Anticipated Game of the Year Set to Deliver Unprecedented Immersive Action Experience

/PRNewswire via COMTEX News Network/ -- In what could become the definitive 3D game experience, Treyarch's Call of Duty(R): Black Ops will also be playable in stereoscopic 3D when the game launches at retail outlets worldwide on November 9th. Activision Publishing, Inc. (Nasdaq: ATVI) today revealed that the game will be compatible with 3D-ready HDTVs and 3D PCs utilizing state-of-the-art active shutter 3D glasses, delivering true depth of field and an unprecedented level of immersion that is perfectly suited for the Call of Duty action experience. Call of Duty: Black Ops will be playable in both 3D and non-3D on the Xbox 360(R) video game and entertainment system from Microsoft, PlayStation(R) 3 computer entertainment system and Windows(R) PC.

"Development of stereoscopic 3D began as an R&D project, but once we saw what the technology brought to the Call of Duty experience, what a great fit and how immersive it was, we knew that we had to develop it for Black Ops. Aiming down the sights of your weapons, flying in helicopters, rappelling down mountains, and moving through highly detailed environments are just some of the awesome experiences you will have in 3D with Black Ops," says Mark Lamia, Studio Head of Treyarch.

"Call of Duty: Black Ops is already the most anticipated entertainment launch of the year, and the addition of a fully playable 3D version will truly take gaming to the next level," said Chris Homeister, senior vice president and general manager of the home entertainment group at Best Buy. "Through our footprint of nearly 1100 retail locations across the country and online, as well as our wide selection of 3D-enabled products, Best Buy is uniquely positioned to bring this exciting experience to life for consumers. We're thrilled to partner with Activision to support this great new chapter in home entertainment."

Added Lamia, "We made sure the experience is seamless for gamers to use with a simple menu option to enable stereoscopic 3D or disable it at any time whether playing in the single player campaign, multiplayer or Zombies."

Call of Duty: Black Ops for Windows PC is NVIDIA(R) 3D Vision(R)-Ready and supports stereoscopic 3D gaming using 3D Vision active-shutter glasses and NVIDIA GeForce GPUs. For more information, go to www.nvidia.com/get3D.

For Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 system consoles, 3D features require a compatible 3D-ready HD TV. See www.callofduty.com/3d for more information.

Rated "M" (Mature - Blood, Drug Reference, Intense Violence and Language) by the ESRB, Call of Duty: Black Ops will be released worldwide on November 9th for the Xbox 360(R) video game and entertainment system from Microsoft, PlayStation(R)3 computer entertainment system, Nintendo Wii(TM) and Windows PC. Pre-orders for the title are currently available. For additional Call of Duty updates, visit www.callofduty.com/blackops and also via Twitter @JD_2020.

About Activision Publishing, Inc.
Headquartered in Santa Monica, California, Activision Publishing, Inc. is a leading worldwide developer, publisher and distributor of interactive entertainment and leisure products.

Activision maintains operations in the U.S., Canada, the United Kingdom, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Sweden, Spain, Norway, Denmark, the Netherlands, Australia, South Korea, China and the region of Taiwan. More information about Activision and its products can be found on the company's website, www.activision.com.

Treyarch should surpass Infinity Ward's Modern Warfare 2's gameplay with this newest release of Call of Duty. Further, the release timing is just about perfect with Crytek's Crysis 2 coming out early 2011 instead of its original holiday 2010 release. The ultimate killer category for 3D gaming in the home is AAA 'first-person shooter'! Call of Duty: Black Ops will be available in 3D and 2D on November 9, 2010 worldwide for PC, Xbox 360, and Playstation 3. The Wii version does not support 3D.