Yep, you read that right. Modern Warfare 2 has the best first five days of an entertainment product ever. Let that sink in for a second. Raking in a whopping $550 million over the first five days, here’s what Modern Warfare 2 beat out (from the press release):
The largest reported five-day opening worldwide box office gross figures, held by Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince ($394 million)
The largest reported five-day opening domestic box office gross figures, held by The Dark Knight ($203.8 million)
The largest reported five-day worldwide video game sales record, previously held by Grand Theft Auto IV (6 million units, $500 million)
The largest reported opening first-day domestic box office gross figures, held by The Dark Knight ($66.4 million)
The largest reported first-day book sales in dollars, held by Harry Potter & The Deathly Hallows ($220 million)
The largest reported first-day worldwide video game sales record, previously held by Grand Theft Auto IV (3.6 million units, $310 million)
Pretty damn impressive. There was no doubt this was going to be a huge success, but breaking all these records is crazy. Now if you’ll excuse me, I’m going to go play some Spec Ops.
As you all know by now, the year’s most anticipated FPS title has finally dropped, and we’ve all been living, sleeping, eating, and breathing Modern Warfare 2 for 6 days now. I decided to hack my way through the campaign before I touched the multiplayer, and managed to hack my way through on Veteran Difficulty in just under 9 hours, yielding me roughly 600 points worth of achievements. Now, I make no bones about being a huge fan of the COD series, but this campaign was awesome. I know a lot of you buy the COD games only for the multiplayer aspect, but with this iteration in the series, you are only ripping yourself off. Why? Hit the jump and find out.
Well, the wait is over, and MW2 has finally fallen into our grubby little ninja hands. And let me start off by saying, this game is totally living up to all the hype. First, the story is enthralling, and extremely well-written. Other articles I’ve read, and people I’ve heard talking, have said they thought it was too far-fetched, and unrealistic. I disagree completely. I think the story flows very well, and is entirely plausible from a “possible-end-of-the-world-as-we-know-it” viewpoint. It’s not any more far-fetched than the standard season of the 24 TV series. The story and character development both carry on perfectly from the last iteration of the Modern Warfare series, and also introduces a few new characters as well.
The latest in Activision’s “Hero” series is a stark contrast to games past. Band Hero sheds the rock for radio-friendly pop music. Tweens rejoice. If you listen to the Top 40 station on the radio all day and don’t get tired of it, this game might be just for you.
The rhythm game genre needed a shot in the arm. Games like Rock Band and Guitar Hero are great, but what about other types of music? Enter DJ Hero, where you can show off your skills on wax. As a big fan of hip hop and turntablism, the game immediately piqued my interest. My initial hands-on experiences before release were frustrating while learning the new controls on the turntable controller, but after getting the retail game and playing the tutorial, I don’t want to stop playing. DJ Hero is just that damn fun.
Tonight Activision is giving Modern Warfare 2 the movie star treatment. No it’s not getting whores, blow, and ice cream. If it is, I don’t know anything about it. Instead of all those goodies Activision is launching Modern Warfare 2 in Leicester Square with a big party in the style of all those crazy moving pictures launch parties that are thrown in Leicester Square all the time. Expect DJ’s, some sort of celebrities, and Modern Warfare 2 to be there. So it’s like a movie thing but with video games. The party kicks off at 7pm London time. Don’t wait for me to kick if off because I won’t be going, I’m going to stay home and play Modern Warfare 2 at home instead of watching other people play it in the freezing cold of Leicester Square near some drunk yob urinating on a tourist. WAHOO! PARTY!
Activision sent over a new trailer for Blur, showcasing the various power-ups you can snag while racing. The game looks like a a combination of a solid arcade racer and Mario Kart, which isn’t a bad thing. Who doesn’t like blowing shit up?
Have any of you ever ventured into Bizarro World? Anyone who knows what I am referring to is a fan of the comics. Whether it be DC or Marvel, comics hold a special place for a lot of people because it is an escape from the reality you’re in to a place where you can be whoever you want. Apparently, comics are the in-thing now, hence the Bizarro World reference. Major blockbusters flanked by just as many games make it a comic fanboy’s wet dream. Marvel Ultimate Alliance 2 is a sequel to one of the best comic button mashers I have ever played. Now, with an updated roster, game play mechanics, graphics, and great backstory, MUA2 promises to deliver a great view into the Marvel Civil War. Pick a side, things are going to get real.
Infinity Ward revealed that they had to fight tooth and nail to make a Modern Warfare game. As far back as Call of Duty 2, the developer wanted to move the series out of World War 2, but Activision was completely against the move. Yeah, that worked out well. Vince Zampella, the head of Infinity Ward, dropped some knowledge on the Official PlayStation Magazine:
With Call of Duty 2, we were dead set against it being World War 2, but Activision really wanted it, the compromise sort of being that we’d get some dev kits for consoles in exchange for doing a World War 2 game. We always wanted to be on consoles and Activision saw us as more of a PC developer. And something I’ll add to that, Activision also did not want Modern Warfare. They thought working on a modern game was risky and [thought], ‘oh my god you can’t do that, it’s crazy!’ They were doing market research to show us we were wrong the whole time.
It’s a good thing Infinity Ward kept pushing and convinced Activision to let them develop the game in a Modern Warfare setting. While CoD5 was good, it was disappointing going back to World War II after seeing how cool it is to fight in modern times. It’s also sad at how much Activision is willing to adapt and take even the slightest of risks. Bobby Kotick seems to want to empty your wallet and push you the same product over and over. Hopefully that philosophy changes, but I have my doubts.
Can’t get enough Modern Warfare 2? Want to get hyped even more heading into our upcoming Community Playdate? Love football? Of course your answer is yes to all the above, so you’ll be pleased to hear that Activision and Infinity Ward have a new trailer for Modern Warfare 2 showing during tomorrow night’s Sunday Night Football game. Make sure your HDTV is glued to NBC while the Charges take on the Steelers (which should be a great game, by the way).
The above image is a still capture from the trailer, so go ahead and over analyze whatever tiny bits of information you can gather. Whatever you discover won’t change the fact that Modern Warfare 2 will be the multiplayer game to have this Holiday Season.
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