MW2 to be best-selling game of all time

By Ellie Gibson Published 3 April, 2009

That's Activision's plan, anyway.

Activision exec Simon Wells is planning to make Modern Warfare 2 "the biggest-selling videogame of all time".

The game is out on 10th November so it will be competing in the tough Christmas market, and going up against top "entertainment propositions" such as X-Factor and Harry Potter

But Wells told MCV, "We want to propel this year's title to be the biggest selling videogame of all time. That may raise some eyebrows, but step back and look at the franchise's trajectory through preceding launches, and this objective starts to look viable."

Modern Warfare could be "the No.1 entertainment property of the year", according to Wells.

"The reality for a franchise as large as Call of Duty is that we are competing directly with entertainment propositions outside of the videogame space," he said.

Picture of Ellie.

About Ellie Gibson

Since joining Eurogamer in the mid 2000s, Ellie has written about subjects as diverse as the fall of Gizmondo, the rise of Hollyoaks actresses in Red Alert games and the noise a bear makes under NSFW circumstances.

Read more articles from Ellie by visiting the Ellie Gibson archive page.

You may also like...

Comments (55) Latest comment 3 years ago

Comments threads automatically close after 30 days, but please feel free to continue chatting on the forum!

  • UncleLou #1 3 years ago

    More than World of Warcraft?

    Good luck.

  • Aggesan #2 3 years ago

    Dick! It will never sell better than Wii Fit, Tetris or even CoD4. CoD has become a milk cow, and while a lot of people will buy it, a lot of people will not buy due to the massive amount of good FPS recently.

    I'm getting sick of FPS's! Start spending the big bucks on something different already!

  • chessboxer #3 3 years ago

    Make the single player last more than 4-5 hours on normal difficulty and make the multiplayer good, something to rival the feel of being in a war (like Killzone 2) and the fun of Counter-Strike: Source or even Bad Company. Allow mouse & keyboard for PS3 owners (similar to UT3).

  • AphoticCosmos #4 3 years ago

    Activision = the new EA.

    - Cocky
    - Pompous
    - No justification for being either

  • asphaltcowboy #5 3 years ago

    "CoD has become a milk cow, and while a lot of people will buy it, a lot of people will not buy due to the massive amount of good FPS recently."

    Weren't people saying this right before CoD4?

  • Destria #6 3 years ago

    I saw this and thought "Mechwarrior 2... are they reviving it in a modern engine?".

    Then I was disappointed :(

  • smernicki #7 3 years ago

    i love hyperbole on a friday

  • Jasugun #8 3 years ago

    Just some early and silly news to make some buzz about the game when there's nothing to say about it.
    I can picture the guys at activision;
    'hey guys it's time we promote tha game, what do we have?'
    'huh... nothing, really'.
    'OK that will do, Just say anything stupid that will make people talk/laugh/cry/argue...etc'.
    Edited by 1 at 03/04/09 @ 10:29

  • the_mtfr #9 3 years ago

    Bitch with a suit.

  • 4thVariety #10 3 years ago

    What is the best selling single title (that was not bundles with a Nintendo console or other controller)?

    As long as he dose not say what game that is supposed to be and how many millions he wants to sell, I don't see that going anywhere credible.

    But just two numbers to consider:

    New Mario DS = 18 Million Units
    Brain Age = 17 Million Units (only the first one!!)
    Gran Turismo 3 = 15 Million

    CoD maybe has sold half of any of those games, so good luck there.

  • miiiguel #11 3 years ago

    I don't understand, if some ppl want to play with a m+k why not buy it for the PC? I don't want my living room system to become a PC.
    Anyway, just a rant, they can make it m+k enable on the PS3, I just realised I have a 360...
    Edited by 1 at 03/04/09 @ 10:34

  • Thunderbolt #12 3 years ago

    My first thought on reading the headline was MW2 - Mario World 2 is the best selling game of all time and thats a pretty nice thing about a competitor.

    Whereas COD nah mate, no chance.

  • DoctorZoidberg #13 3 years ago

    Cheeseboxer....

    Make the single player last more than 4-5 hours on normal difficulty and make the multiplayer good,

    1) Play it on the hardest setting rather than normal, that will somewhat double the time.
    2) the multiplayer is good.

  • chessboxer #14 3 years ago

    @ miiiguel

    My PC is for UT2004 and CS:S (all Valve games), mainly for enormous amount of custom mod/map support. The COD games lack greatly in those areas so I wouldn't mind playing it on a console as I wouldn't be missing much, but that's just me.

  • Beek4257 #15 3 years ago

    Regardless, it will sell truck-, plain,-boatloads.

  • andromeda #16 3 years ago

    "entertainment propositions"

    i do so hate corporate bullshit
    Edited by 1 at 03/04/09 @ 10:49

  • chessboxer #17 3 years ago

    @ DoctorZoidberg

    I found the multiplayer of COD4 very boring. I can't explain it exactly, I just didn't get what all the fuss was about after spending so many years playing CS:S (and Condition Zero before that). Personally I would prefer to play MGO rather than COD4. It's the only game I have regretted buying on the PS3.

  • bluem4gic #18 3 years ago

    Highly unlikely

    Biggest selling game of all time is Sims 2 100 million copies

    Activision chat shit and should shout the fuck up!

    Allow IW to make a decent game and be happy that people want to lay their money down in this recession

    If they continue to milk the franchise it will die

    COD series was better when it was just a PC title to be honest and console gamers got short changed with shitty versions done by shitty studios.

    But now they have got greedy on the success of MW and World at Wank by Treyarch

    Who the fuck went out and bought that game?

    You know something is wrong when a game mode that is unlocked at the end of the game is better than whole title

  • penhalion #19 3 years ago

    I've never been one to jump on the "slow news day" bandwagon but, come on!

    It's not like anyone with a pulse would ever go into a sales meeting and say "We want our new game to be the lowest or most mediocre selling game of all time" now is it. It's not news. This article is just what every games developer this side of the sun (yes even indies in one man teams) would say.

  • Monkey_Puncher #20 3 years ago

    I look forward to the day when Infinity Ward get away from Activision, they're surely big enough now for something like that to be on the cards.

  • Azazel #21 3 years ago

    i do so hate corporate bullshit

    Aye, speak plain English motherfuckers!

    But I genuinely do so hope that they manage to succesfully leverage the CoD brand to deliver an experience that will be a paradigm shift on the next-gen interactive entertainment platforms and consequentally move a whole wagonload of SKUs.

  • Lebowski #22 3 years ago

    I don't know, if they bring in something new to usual FPS mix-up, as they did with perks in CoD4, then who knows.

    And perhaps they are going down a MMO FPS route? I wouldn't put it past them. They've seen that hundreds of thousands of people are still playing CoD4 and are thinking "we could charge them Ł7.99 a month for the next one."

  • marilena #23 3 years ago

    I think some people here are underestimating Call of Duty's financial success. Modern Warfare certainly sold enough to compete with the big names of the home console world.

    The numbers are always hard to get a hold of and hard to judge, since companies spin them in the best way for them, there are never reliable sources that can measure sales in the entire world and so on. World of Warcraft, for instance, probably didn't sell as many games as they have subscribers, since in the very large Asian market a lot of people use internet cafes to play and use the cafe's copies. For the Sims, a favorite habit of EA was to add the sales of the original with those of the expansion packs and those of the various pack deals (original + some packs), to the point where they probably don't know what it really sold themselves (they just know it was a lot :p).

    Myst was advertised for a long time as the best selling game of all time, and I think counted the games bundled with video cards. One Mario game that I don't remember the name of was bundled with the console, same as Wii Fit, so also boasted an amazing number (33 millions, IIRC).

    You also don't know how many copies were sold after the game dropped in price, which are still copies of the game, but made less money. Mind you, in terms of 'made money' World of Warcraft certainly beats Cod & friends because of the subscription fees. And the DS/Wii games cost less to develop.

    So many variables, it makes my head spin.

    Aaaaanyway. Modern Warfare. Definitely a very big seller, on the same level with last gen's GTAs, bigger than Halo 3 (as a result of being multiformat), probably not as big as some of the best selling DS games, since those made insane numbers.

    Number 2 could be the best selling game ever, definitely, though I don't think it's that likely.

    I also find it strange that they say it will be released on November 10, yet all that they have to show for it is a teaser trailer with a dark screen and some mumbling dialogues. The marketing push in the next months will have to be serious (and they need a better demo than the first Modern Warfare had).
    Edited by 2 at 03/04/09 @ 11:28

  • Fab4 #24 3 years ago

    They could remove the perks...that would be new.

  • Sir_TimAlot #25 3 years ago

    Personally i think he might be right.

  • DrRobotnik #26 3 years ago

    "Allow mouse & keyboard for PS3 owners"

    Why? If you want to play with a mouse and keyboard, buy a PC. Consoles use controllers. There's no need for keyboard-mouse support.

  • mingster #27 3 years ago

    I think he might be right to..
    COD4 has sold tankerloads on each console and PC...
    I don't know anyone who hasn't got it on at least one format.

  • NegativeZero #28 3 years ago

    You could at least have put COD into the headline there. I got all excited thinking they were doing a Mechwarrior 2 remake. :(

  • vegard #29 3 years ago

    how i dream of a world where corporate executives would just talk in plain english

  • RexRunti #30 3 years ago

    Suprised we haven't seen more of the MechWarrior franchise. It was probably the best Giant Robot franchise and MS have been trying to push into a market which has a thing for giant robots.

  • oerhoert #31 3 years ago

    Very, VERY unlikely that this will be the best-selling game ever, especially after the name change.

    Super Mario Bros. 3 sold over 40 million copies. COD5 sold, what, 12?

  • TitusCrow #32 3 years ago

    im rather looking forward to this - played cod4 to death on 360 and then got it to play with me clan m8's on pc - got waw too but it didnt have the magic, to many dodgy design choices that IW wouldnt have made that trey did let it down.

    i hate when these guys assume stuff though, unless they have blown there minds with what IW has came up with in secret this time and are getting smug about it.

    show us the damn game we need info!!!!!! do it - DO IT!!!!

  • chessboxer #33 3 years ago

    @ DrRobotnik

    Some people like to use m/kb and not everyone has /can afford a PC capable of running games at a decent resolution (I've been waiting for a CPU which is worth my money which breaks the 3GHz barrier. Intel finally got their arse into gear and will be launching it at the end of May \o/).

    The PS3 supports m/kb, so why not allow it. It may even widen their audience. UT3 does and there is a filter option so controller only players can block out servers with m/kb support if they want.

  • RedSparrows #34 3 years ago

    Well I won't buy it until it's cheap. CoD4 is horribly overrated, even when it's good.

    Which, given CoD4's precedence, won't be for a while.

    /grumpy

  • Santino #35 3 years ago

    lol there is no chance cod6 will be the best selling game of all time, none at all. do these people even realise the sort of numbers they would be up against?

  • UncleLou #36 3 years ago

    "Allow mouse & keyboard for PS3 owners"

    Why? If you want to play with a mouse and keyboard, buy a PC. Consoles use controllers. There's no need for keyboard-mouse support.

    Why not? It's all about choice. I hate sofa-gaming. A console I can plug into my monitor and use with m/kb, next to a PC, would be nice. Would also mean they could widen the game variety on consoles.

  • Bitkari #37 3 years ago

    Heh, I thought this was Mechwarrior as well.

    Pity that Microsoft have given up making games, huh?

    I think these guys own the property now, so let's hope they do something awesome with it:

    [link url=http://www.smithandtin ker.com/
    ]http://www.smithandtin ker.com/
    [/link]

  • muscleblade #38 3 years ago

    1) Play it on the hardest setting rather than normal, that will somewhat double the time.
    2) the multiplayer is good

    Exactly. Real gamers play on veteran. The game easiely lasts 10 hours+. The multiplayer in COD4 has proven to be very good since its still one of the most played games on LIVE.

    Just make the game as good as COD4. I know you will IW.

  • metalangel #39 3 years ago

    Make Martyrdom set off a nuclear device that kills everyone in the level! Make Juggernaut a "god mode"! (unless someone martyrdoms, then you are joint winners of the match) And don't forget the attack dogs, they were great!

  • VandelayIndustries #40 3 years ago

    Shake up the MP! What was good in CoD4 is now old and boring in WaW. Start by nicking KZ2's all game types in one match approach, as an option.

  • Clive_Dunn #41 3 years ago

    Wellsy you fool !

  • Paulie_P #42 3 years ago

    Real gamers play on veteran.

    So I play games for about 20 hours a week but I'm not a real gamer.

    What I do have though, is a real life so I don't have time to spend on epic games - thank f**k I'm not a real gamer.
    Edited by 1 at 03/04/09 @ 15:52

  • marilena #43 3 years ago

    @oerhört
    Wikipedia says Super Mario Bros 3 sold 17.2 millions. It's the first Super Mario Bros that reached 40 millions, but it was bundled with the console, which places it in a different category. In that category, Nintendio kind of beats everyone, since they usually have a game included with their consoles (usually system sellers - SMB, Tetris, Wii Sports). In that direction, the only competition is probably Solitaire, which must be the best selling game ever by an amazing margin (but I don't know any stat).

    What's strange is the Rockstar said that one of the 3D GTA, I can't remember which one, was the best selling game ever, with 13 millions or so, even though it's much newer than SMB 3, so they would have know what they would be comparing against. They kind of lied, I guess. Or they simply used more conditions than they said. Like "best selling game ever, if by 'ever' you mean the current console generation".

  • sneetch #44 3 years ago

    @Destria
    I saw this and thought "Mechwarrior 2... are they reviving it in a modern engine?".

    Then I was disappointed :(

    Me too. :(

  • Haloboy #45 3 years ago

    "I love Infinity wards games, but please get rid of the respawning enemies."

    Y'see. I detested the SP of CoD 4 for that very reason alone. Triggered spawning was the single most vile thing about it and the way it was done made it feel more like a game of if I step here you appear there from start to finish.

    Good thing the multiplayer kicked rock solid ass then.

    As for MW2 becoming the best selling game of all time, puleeeeeeeeease. Would serve them right if it sold just a portion of what the original did and they'd think twice about sucking their own c*cks long before their games even see a release.

  • oerhoert #46 3 years ago

    marilena: I stand corrected. Jumbled those numbers together, I did.

    Nevertheless, it's unlikely MW2 will beat it. :)

  • TheDudesRug #47 3 years ago

    It's going to beat The Sims 2, Myst and WoW?

    XD

  • Apologie #48 3 years ago

    ridiculous ambition... it wont even get near thouse numbers.

  • miiiguel #49 3 years ago

    "No Fighting in the War Room" on Veteran is so freakin intense, awesome level. Once you beat it.

  • metalangel #50 3 years ago

    But until you do, that bit where you go down the stairs and am faced with that huge long room with three "corridors" of crates and pillars is one of the hardest bits of any game ever. And you're against the clock! I think I must have spent five or six hours trying to get past it.

  • Lamont #51 3 years ago

    80% of the people who bought Call of Duty - have all the Call of Duty they'll ever need. The rest bought that crap WWII game they called Call of Duty.

  • jimboton #52 3 years ago

    When a game becomes an "entertainment proposition" is more or less the time when I lose interest in it. Not so with this one. I have been sick of Calls of Duty and Modern Warfares for close to 2 years now..
    Edited by 1 at 04/04/09 @ 16:58

  • Rodchenko #53 3 years ago

    But until you do, that bit where you go down the stairs and am faced with that huge long room with three "corridors" of crates and pillars is one of the hardest bits of any game ever. And you're against the clock! I think I must have spent five or six hours trying to get past it.

    Yeah. That was the moment when I decided that IW can suck my cock and sold the game off on amazon. Respawning enemies and timers for cheap tension = massive fail. Unless they reconsider their SP formula for MW2 I won't be helping make this the best selling game evah.

  • bogmonster #54 3 years ago

    somehow, i'm finding this quite easy to believe.. lots of people will buy this, just because its call of duty, even if it is crap...

  • bobmar360 #55 3 years ago

    u are mainly a bunch of nobbers on this one - they intend to make it the best-selling game which will mean they are putting a lot of time and money in to it - by the time it hits the shelves it will be 2 years since the last one released by infinity ward - they listen and incorparate lots of players suggestions and criticism