Earlier today it was revealed that Activision's Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 has already sold over 1.2 million copies in the U.K. alone. That's a staggering number, but the worldwide total could really be incredible if Broadpoint AmTech analyst Ben Schachter is correct.
Extrapolating from the U.K. sales data and the approximate 2-to-1 relationship between Modern Warfare 2 and the previous U.K. record holder GTA IV, Schachter has estimated that Modern Warfare 2 has sold around 7 million units across the globe in its first 24 hours. For comparison purposes, GTA IV sold "only" 3.7 million units on its first day.
Schachter added that "with GTA IV selling-through 6mm units worldwide in its first week, that suggests week one of Modern Warfare 2 worldwide sell-through could approximate ~11.7mm. While 2x the week one tally for GTA IV may seem aggressive, the bottom line is that we believe current consensus estimates of around 12mm for the December quarter may end up being conservative."
The analyst also pointed out that the first day U.K. sales probably benefited from some retailer price wars. "First-person shooter titles tend to do better in the U.S. and U.K. markets vs. some other markets due to cultural reasons. In addition, heavy discounting and competition amongst supermarket stores in the U.K. (an important sales channel there) may have contributed to stronger first-day sales," he said.
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