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Modern Warfare 2 sells 20 million, Activision eyeing used market

Brendan Sinclair
By Brendan Sinclair, Senior Editor

E3 2010: In analyst presentation, Activision says there's an "insatiable" market for new shooters, aims to be most profitable entertainment company within 10 years; planning ways to get a piece of the $500 million used-game industry.

LOS ANGELES--Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 has passed another milestone. In a pre-Electronic Entertainment Expo analysts event tonight, Activision announced that the Infinity Ward-developed first-person shooter has now sold more than 20 million copies worldwide.

Activision believes first-person shooter fans have an insatiable appetite for quality examples of the genre.

Activision believes first-person shooter fans have an insatiable appetite for quality examples of the genre.

If that game's success wasn't staggering enough, CEO Bobby Kotick told analysts that the next title, Treyarch's Call of Duty: Black Ops, could possibly do even better. Kotick noted multiple times that the Call of Duty series has grown more successful with each new installment and said that preorders for Black Ops are tracking higher right now than those of Modern Warfare 2 when that game was this far out from release. Black Ops is set for a November 9 debut.

Activision has been ramping up its Call of Duty development schedule with new games in the works from Sledgehammer, Treyarch, and Infinity Ward, and it also has an Asian-focused online game in the works. The publisher even dedicated a business division to the franchise, but there seems to be little worry about flooding the market with Call of Duty titles. During the event, Activision chief operating officer Thomas Tippl said the publisher has recognized the "[first-person shooter] audience has an insatiable appetite for great new content."

The executives covered more than just its popular military shooter series in the event. Kotick set a goal to see Activision become "the world's most profitable entertainment company" in 5 to 10 years. He specifically noted that the most profitable franchises rising to prominence today are originating in gaming and then migrating to other media, where in previous years those properties were more likely to start as films.

One profitable part of the gaming industry Activision is looking to get into is the used-game market. Kotick said the publisher sees a $500 million opportunity in second-hand sales and is considering how it can get a slice of the pie. Rather than opening up its own used-game stores to compete with GameStop, the publisher suggested it would work with existing retailers to come up with new solutions. For example, Kotick suggested offering used sellers some sort of value-added content for a cut of whatever a used Activision game sells for.

Recently, publishers like Electronic Arts have adopted Online Pass models that charge extra for features like a game's online functions. However, new copies of the game are packed with a one-time-use code that grants free access to those features.

Brendan Sinclair
By Brendan Sinclair, Senior Editor

Brendan Sinclair has been a games journalist since 1999. His tastes are eclectic, though he has a definite affinity for games with arcade roots. He's Canadian, but has also been at home in Atlanta, Austin, Chicago, and San Francisco.

188 Comments

  • TheRealUser101

    Posted Aug 8, 2011 10:09 am GMT

    MW3 will have Task Force 141 Captain John "Soap" MacTavish and SAS Captain John Price play a vital role in the game. All the singleplayer elements in MW3 like weapons and such will be upgraded; they showed the Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 mission "Mind the Gap" where the SAS operatives are carrying new perks and such.

  • armydominican69

    Posted Oct 10, 2010 7:01 am GMT

    @baza66
    thats not really new news, its already been in the works with several EA titles

  • katwomansz

    Posted Sep 23, 2010 3:14 pm GMT

    Yes I was able to resell my copy of the original COD MW 1. But PC gamers are blocked from selling COD MW 2 even though I cost $10 more with no resale value. It should sell for $10 LESS than the the Xbox version that can be resold! I'm tired of my computer being USED to host games with no compensation. I'm switching to the Battlefield series that treats its PC players with respect, not just pumping them for extra maps that used to be FREE!

  • syco_coaster

    Posted Aug 7, 2010 4:43 am GMT

    All you people can complain all you want about how the game's not memorable, or not well made, or just about a greedy corporation taking advantage of fools. Say what you will, but COD found its audience, and it's not you. Good luck converting people away with your blind and biased rhetoric.

  • baza66

    Posted Jul 12, 2010 3:01 pm GMT

    At least they are doing one thing smart. I like the idea of having different companies making games for the franchise since each game developer has it's own ideas and they can make titles come out every year as opposed to one company making them and releasing a new title every 2-4 years. Makes it interesting.

  • baza66

    Posted Jul 12, 2010 2:58 pm GMT

    Anyone else notice that basically they are saying that if you buy a used copy of their upcoming titles then you will have to pay additional money to play multi-player as well? That's crazy. I don't even know if that's legal. That's really gonna kill the used game industry. Typically used games only sell for 10% off the new title. If you have a used game selling for $5 less than new and you have to pay $10 for online gameplay, then there's no point in buying used. I hope they realize this is really going to hurt companies like Gamestop. Gamestop makes much more profit off of used games than they do new games. They couldn't survive without the used game sales to be honest.

  • mischiefmeerkat

    Posted Jul 6, 2010 9:05 am GMT

    More money! he wants MOOORRREEEE!

  • Snow_Hawk

    Posted Jul 2, 2010 1:10 pm GMT

    "Activision believes first-person shooter fans have an insatiable appetite for quality examples of the genre."

    If they say so...

  • EdwardoMario16

    Posted Jun 30, 2010 12:06 pm GMT

    Modern Warfare 2 may have milestone sales, but ten years from now, are we going to remember it as a milestone in the industry? Or simply another forgettable cash cow FPS? Just goes to show that you can make half-ass stuff, put a big licence on it and it'll sell. While they are sleazy,the guys at Activision are marketing geniuses. They manage to reel in the fools year after year.

    There is an insatiable appetite for shooters? True at the moment, but platformers and JRPG's were all the rage once upon a time. Look were both genres are now? FPS' are not going to be popular forever. Sooner or later, people are going to be sick of First Person Shooters and ask for something different. But by all means, Activision, keep milking that cow.

  • maroon111

    Posted Jun 30, 2010 12:08 am GMT

    Argh lol...MW2 reached 20million ..now activision is happy Now i hope they unban some players in MW2

  • zidan4000

    Posted Jun 25, 2010 6:15 pm GMT

    it is about dam time before they start charging monthly fees to play online.

  • Lionman363

    Posted Jun 20, 2010 3:22 am GMT

    20 million? Can't wait to see the sales figures for Modern Warfare 3. Sheesh, granted it was a good game but it wasn't even nearly as good as Call Of Duty 4. I don't think it even deserves 10 millionm sales, but Activision fans will buy anything they throw out nowadays, including the rubbish DLC.

  • LeJR

    Posted Jun 17, 2010 10:08 am GMT

    As far as sales, I think COD is past its prime, and the growing number of knowledgeable customers are turning on Activision, which is music to my ears for sure. They aim to be the most profitable entertainment company? Kotick would like nothing less than to be an entertainment monopoly.

  • Lach0121

    Posted Jun 17, 2010 9:26 am GMT

    Just another symptom of greed....

  • osiris

    Posted Jun 16, 2010 9:36 pm GMT

    Anyone else suddenly hold their breath and hope the world doesn't end in fire and brimstone everytime Kotick opens his month?

  • Devil_2_U

    Posted Jun 16, 2010 8:57 pm GMT

    News update: gaming companies trying to figure out how to suck the absolute maximum amount of money out of players that the market will bear. They seem to give two &#&*$ about the community anymore, but how can they without a soul.

  • severe_009

    Posted Jun 16, 2010 8:41 pm GMT

    diegotc1307

    So for example, if a buy a new car, and after using it I decided to sell it. Then the new owner founds out that the air conditioner is "locked" because it's second hand, so he has to buy a code from the manufacturing company just to unlock the car's air conditioner?

    That seems unreasonable right?

  • Akkai_Ookami

    Posted Jun 16, 2010 1:48 pm GMT

    Gee Activision... how could we hate you more. Greed greed and more greed

  • diegotc1307

    Posted Jun 16, 2010 1:23 pm GMT

    Hey theKSMM, your statement doesn't even make sense. That's just a way of giving you something for buying a new game, but it's all in the freaking disc, so they are not really giving you anything. It's not dumb, it's a good way of getting money out of used games, and it really works. And, just to let you know, the problem here are not prices ,because even if you sell a game for 10 bucks, someone can still sell it used and get 5 bucks, so there are gonna be used games, even if the price is cheap. It's just a matter of getting something cheaper than the new one. The only way to get rid off used game, is digital distribution, but I'm sure we are not ready for that yet, at least not for every game. Your words really doesn't have any logic man, you are just trashing everything cause you really know nothing about business.

  • theKSMM

    Posted Jun 16, 2010 5:42 am GMT

    This is the dumbest thing in the world to me. Why would the original purchaser want to retain online rights to a game that he no longer owns? Once I sell a game, I have no need for the online component anymore. Separating the two in the interest of generating more "new" sales is just stupid.

    I know it must frustrate publishers to no end to see Gamestop making all this loot re-selling their used product. (Heck, I'm not crazy about it either.) But they have to accept that their product may not have great long-term value for most of their customers. Once someone has beaten or gotten bored with a particular game, it is probably more valuable as a trade or gift to a friend than as a dust-collector on someone's shelf. Let us trade/gift our games without these foolish restrictions. This is the goofiest thing I've heard since the rumor about discs that would pair themselves with a specific console on first run and then work *only* in that specific system. Ridiculous.

    You want to kill the used market? Reduce the price of the doggone games.