Call of Duty: Black Ops cost more than Modern Warfare 2

Upcoming shooter cited as Activision’s biggest investment ever

It’s not clear whether or not Call of Duty: Black Ops can best the sales record of set by Modern Warfare 2, but we can be certain that Activision spent more money on the Treyarch-developed shooter than it has on any of its previous titles.

In a recent earning’s call, Activision CEO Bobby Kotick called Black Ops “the biggest investment that we’ve ever made in a launch of a title.” But according to Kotick, that money was well spent, citing a larger installed base of consumers (that’s you!) and Black Ops’ “broad appeal” as the main reasons to be optimistic about the upcoming shooter’s sales.

“The installed base of hardware is bigger than it’s ever been. The product has incredibly broad appeal, but it also has a whole host of functions that are going to be unique to the core consumer… And from that perspective, we feel that it’s the most appropriate Activision product to put these kinds of resources behind. And I think there’s a lot of competition, not just from games but from a whole host of other things that you can do with your leisure times,” said Kotick.

It looks like Activision’s investment in promoting Black Ops is paying off. According to Pacific Crest Securities analyst Evan Wilson, Black Ops is leading Modern Warefare 2 in pre-orders. But this doesn’t necessarily mean that Black Ops will sell more copies than its predecessor’s sales record of 16 million copies sold in 2009. Citing retail sources, Wilson estimates that Black Ops will wind up selling about 12 million copies.