November 5 10:01 A.M.
When Halo 3 was released in 2007, it was trumpeted as the biggest ever launch in the history of entertainment, beating out previous records from the likes of Spider-Man 3 and the Harry Potter novels.
But the video game world is abuzz with predictions that Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 will demolish Halo's total -- as well as that of every other entertainment release this year -- at its launch on November 10.
"By all indicators, we anticipate Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 will be the biggest entertainment launch of 2009, as well as the biggest videogame launch in GameStop's history," Tony Bartel, executive vice president of merchandising and marketing for GameStop, said in a statement this week. "One clear indicator is our number of pre-order reservations for the game, which as of today is the highest for any title we’ve ever sold in our 6,200 store network."
Watch the Call of Duty Modern Warfare 2 Launch Trailer |
GameStop's not the only retail chain to be excited about the game's potential. Wal-mart rolled out a television ad campaign specifically to promote its pre-order campaign. The store's offering a $20 gift card as an incentive.
As if that's not enough, games industry analyst Michael Pachter recently predicted that Modern Warfare 2 could exceed $500 million in revenue before the end of the year, and sell as many as 10 million units. If so, it'd eclipse Halo 3 -- which generated a "mere" $300 million -- altogether.
If you're still wondering what all the fuss is about, take a look at the latest trailer, hot off the presses from publisher Activision.
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Posted: 5 Nov 2009
