Could you take your finger off the trigger for a minute?
If you’re like millions of other people, you’re already
deeply engaged in the furious firefight that is Call of Duty: Modern Warfare
2.
On the day it was released last week, the video game raked
in $310 million in North America and the United Kingdom, selling more than 4.7
million copies.
That amounts to a record launch for any form of
entertainment, eclipsing the one-day mark set by Grand Theft Auto IV last year.
Compare that, for instance, to its movie industry
equivalent, 2012. Hollywood’s hottest
ticket opened in those same regions with $76 million. For its first three days.
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 is a first-person shooter set in the near future in which players
sprint through varied terrains — from Rio to Afghanistan — with their weapons
blazing.
Imagine 24‘s Jack
Bauer in camo. You’re trying to prevent a Russian villain from instigating an
intercontinental war. To do that, you have to wade through the waves of armed
hostiles waiting around every corner.
Sounds like … well, any number of other action games on
the market. So why is MW2 the year’s
must-have acquisition?
For one thing, quality.
“It’s contemporary; it’s very realistic and it’s very
intense,” says Morgan Webb, the host of “X-Play,” the video-game
show on cable’s G4 channel.
MW2 is an immersive
experience with a vivid cinematic feel, down to the music by Hans Zimmer,
composer of dozens of film scores, from Rain Man to The Dark Knight.
There’s also the fact that Call of Duty, which began as a WWII infantry game in 2003 and is
in its fifth iteration, has established a pretty good record.
“People really like the franchise,” says Webb.
“This has been a popular game for a while. Call of Duty aficionados will buy the next installment the day it
comes out.”
Herd mentality also helps explain that first-day frenzy.
“The gaming community tends to rally around games where
their friends are,” says Gus Mastrapa, contributing writer to Game/Life,
Wired.com’s video game blog.
“Sometimes a title like Call of Duty or World of Warcraft will hit this plateau where almost everybody in
gaming is interested. Then it just snowballs. You have to get on board to play
with your friends.”
Ah, but Call of Duty
also employs an insidious design that rewards itchy buyers.
“Every time you finish a match, even if you lose, you
get points. You spend them to get a better gun or to pick up tricks to use on
the battlefield,” says Mastrapa. “That’s the carrot that keeps people
on board.”
In other words, play early and often and you can become
quite formidable. And you can maintain and even build on that advantage
provided you continue to put in the hours.
Joey Rumolo, a Drexel University sophomore who bought the
new game last weekend, is glad the acquired edge isn’t as pronounced as it was
in the previous version, 2007’s Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare.
“It’s a little more friendly to the average consumer as
opposed to … the type of people who are playing 20 hours a week,” he
says. “You can jump into this one knowing you have a chance to survive or
compete.”
Available in Xbox 360, PlayStation 3 and PC formats, MW2 sells for $59.99 but enhanced versions are also
being marketed, right up to the Prestige Edition, which goes for a
budget-busting $499.99.
There are three ways to engage: single-player mode (you
against the game), Special Ops (teaming up with a designated friend), or the
most popular option by far, multiplayer (online combat where you are randomly
assigned to fight with or against a large squad of other players).
MW2 carries a Mature
rating (suitable for 17 ) from the Entertainment Software Rating Board for
“blood, drug reference, intense violence and language.”
The designation has a minimal impact on sales.
“In games you can have an M blockbuster. It happens all
the time,” says Mastrapa. “Your average gamers now are in their 30s.
Movies still have to appeal to a much broader audience.”
MW2‘s
multimillion-dollar debut would seem to represent a boost for the gaming
market, which has been slumping lately. Last month, sales were down 19 percent
from the same period a year ago.
But industry experts question the significance of this
windfall.
“In the short term we might see an increase,” says
Jesse Divnich, director of analyst services for Electronic Entertainment Design
and Research.
“But Call of Duty
won’t revive sales; it will cannibalize them. It isn’t adding new consumers, it
just appeals to the existing base. You’re taking a dollar from one pocket and
putting it in another.”
It takes truly innovative products like Wii in 2006 or the
musical games (Guitar Hero, Rock
Band, et al.) first introduced in 2007, to
bring in new costumers, the “casual gamers.”
“Modern Warfare 2
is off to a great start,” notes Divnich. “The key question is: Was it
all front-loaded? Will we see a huge drop in sales in week two? Let’s hope
sales last through the holiday season.”
Lock and load, Santa.
Via McClatchy-Tribune News Service.
