Pakistanis angry over detentions in Times Sq. case Monday, May 24, 2010
ISLAMABAD – Relatives of three men detained by Pakistan for alleged links to the suspect in the attempted Times Square bombing say the men are innocent.
They
AFP - Thursday, August 6TAIPEI (AFP) - - Taiwan's Beijing-friendly government on Wednesday denied boycotting an Australian film festival amid a row over the e
BERLIN (Reuters) - Chancellor Angela Merkel suffered a double blow on Thursday as a senior party ally in east German
Minister seeks closure of anti-Berlusconi websites Wednesday, December 16, 2009
ROME (AFP) - – The Italian government moved Tuesday to close down Internet sites encouraging further violence against Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi, who
By ELAINE KURTENBACH,AP Business Writer AP - Wednesday, March 18SHANGHAI - Asia's stock market rally seemed to be running out of steam Wednesday, despite an
My Profile
Top News
Reuters top ten news stories delivered to your inbox each day.
Subscribe
You are here:
Home
>
News
>
Technology
>
Article
Home
Business & Finance
News
U.S.
Politics
International
Technology
Internet
Entertainment
Sports
Lifestyle
Oddly Enough
Health
Science
Special Coverage
Video
Pictures
Your View
The Great Debate
Blogs
Weather
Reader Feedback
Do More With Reuters
RSS
Widgets
Mobile
Podcasts
Newsletters
Your View
Make Reuters My Homepage
Partner Services
CareerBuilder
Affiliate Network
Professional Products
Support (Customer Zone)
Reuters Media
Financial Products
About Thomson Reuters
Eager fans greet "Call of Duty" video game launch
Tue Nov 10, 2009 2:10am EST
Email | Print |
Share
| Reprints | Single Page
[-]
Text
[+]
By Gabriel Madway and Robert MacMillan
SAN FRANCISCO/NEW YORK (Reuters) - Activision Blizzard Inc's hugely anticipated "Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2" video game went on sale early Tuesday morning, welcomed by eager fans who lined up hours in advance of the release.
The first-person shooter game is set to be one of the biggest and fastest-selling titles in history, challenging records set by blockbuster releases from the "Grand Theft Auto" series.
This despite a dicey economic climate that is pinching consumer spending. Video game industry revenue in the United States, the world's largest market, is down 13 percent this year, according to industry tracker NPD.
But Call of Duty arrives amid high expectations and plenty of hype. Activision partnered with retailers including GameStop Corp and Best Buy Co for more than 10,000 midnight store openings in North America.
At the GameStop store near Union Square in New York City, around 80 mainly young people were lined up Monday night ahead of the launch, some for two hours.
"This is the only game I'm probably going to do this for," said Paola Altamirano, 21, who was waiting in the queue. She said she planned to play Call of Duty against another friend online later that night.
With what Activision called a record level of preorders, there was little doubt about the strong demand for a game.
"Gamers are enthusiastic about picking this stuff up at midnight," said Paul Swiderski, who works at the Union Square Gamestop.
Analysts' sales estimates for the $60 game range from 11-13 million units by the end of 2009. Call of Duty is likely to account for a sizable chunk of Activision's profits in the fourth quarter, analysts say, so there is plenty at stake in the launch.
HARD-CORE AUDIENCE
The audience for the latest Call of Duty -- the sixth installment in the franchise -- is primarily younger men, the gaming demographic that makes up the core of the estimated $50 billion global industry.
John Paneto, 20, was lined up outside a Best Buy store in San Francisco with about 10 others at around 10 P.M. Monday. He said he played a number of the other games in the Call of Duty franchise.
"I'm going to be up all night playing it, until I crash," he said.
Analysts say so-called hard-core gamers are unlikely to be dissuaded from buying a big-name title by economic concerns, as some casual gamers are.
But Call of Duty will have to turn in an impressive performance to top that of last year's mega-hit from Take-Two Interactive Software Inc, "Grand Theft Auto IV." The title sold 3.6 million units on the first day, and 6 million in its first week or more than $500 million in sales. Continued...
View article on single page
Share:
Del.icio.us
Digg
Mixx
Yahoo!
Facebook
LinkedIn
Next Article:
LinkedIn and Twitter link up
Also On Reuters
Full Coverage: The Route to Recovery
Blog: Is Goldman Sachs "doing God's work"?
Full Coverage: Live blogging of the Berlin Wall anniversary
More Technology News
LinkedIn and Twitter link up
Google buys mobile ad firm for $750 million
Yahoo aims to boost margins
RIM to help app developers use ads, micropayments
Nokia to replace 14 million phone chargers
More Technology News...
More News
Electronic Arts buys social game maker Playfish
Monday, 9 Nov 2009 05:03pm EST
"Call of Duty" game shoots to make history
Friday, 6 Nov 2009 06:12pm EST
"Guitar Hero" brings higher revenue for Activision
Thursday, 5 Nov 2009 06:35pm EST
Activision revenue tops Wall St view
Thursday, 5 Nov 2009 06:10pm EST
Crucial holiday season arrives for video game industry
Wednesday, 28 Oct 2009 03:47pm EDT
Editor's Choice
Slideshow
A selection of our best photos from the past 24 hours. Slideshow
Most Popular on Reuters
Articles
Video
Two Koreas in naval clash, no casualties -Yonhap
Obama warns strains unless U.S., China balance growth
Student expelled after row over short dress
Iran charges three detained Americans with spying
Scientists say curry compound kills cancer cells
U.S. says can give Iran time to okay nuclear deal
Thinking negatively can boost your memory, study finds
Man provides photo for his own wanted poster
Abortion complicates U.S. Senate healthcare debate
Fort Hood suspect contacted Islamist: sources
Most Popular Articles RSS Feed
Video
DC sniper to be executed
DC sniper to be executed
Mass bikini parade in South Africa
Democrats get a wake-up call
Dozens die in El Salvador floods
Chavez, troops to prepare for war
Berlin marks 20 yrs since wall fell
Netanyahu to meet Obama
Heavyweight champ Haye back in UK
US hikers charged as spies in Iran
Most Popular Videos RSS Feed
Analysis
Can Apple take Microsoft's perch atop tech pile?
Apple's phoenix-like rise from the ashes has propelled its market value to $180 billion, raising the possibility that it could challenge Microsoft for the technology crown. Full Article
Reuters.com:
Help and Contact Us |
Advertise With Us |
Mobile |
Newsletters |
RSS |
Labs |
Journalism Handbook |
Archive |
Site Index |
Video Index
Thomson Reuters Corporate:
Copyright |
Disclaimer |
Privacy |
Professional Products |
Professional Products Support |
About Thomson Reuters |
Careers
International Editions:
Africa |
Arabic |
Argentina |
Brazil |
Canada |
China |
France |
Germany |
India |
Italy |
Japan |
Latin America |
Mexico |
Russia |
Spain |
United Kingdom |
United States
Thomson Reuters is the world's largest international multimedia news agency, providing investing news, world news, business news, technology news, headline news, small business news, news alerts, personal finance, stock market, and mutual funds information available on Reuters.com, video, mobile, and interactive television platforms. Thomson Reuters journalists are subject to an Editorial Handbook which requires fair presentation and disclosure of relevant interests.
NYSE and AMEX quotes delayed by at least 20 minutes. Nasdaq delayed by at least 15 minutes. For a complete list of exchanges and delays, please click here.