Activision set the stage for Modern Warfare 2 to become the biggest entertainment launch of all time during its ad agency review, says Ad Age. The publisher worked the objective into its call for proposals when it began reaching out to agencies this summer. Ad Age says the title may have toppled Rockstar’s GTA IV as the biggest game launch, citing VGChartz estimate of 7 million units worldwide on day one. If that figure is accurate, then revenues of around $420 million for the game would also top box office receipts for the biggest movie openings by “Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince,” which opened with $302 million worldwide, and The Dark Knight’s” $158 million opening weekend in the US. (The official count released by Activision and reported by Industry Gamers puts day one sales at 4.7 million units and $310 million in revenues in the US and UK. The tally still tops the Harry Potter and Batman film launches cited by Ad Age.)
Ad Age points to Nielsen data that shows Activision ran an effective ad campaign. Purchase interest for Modern Warfare 2 was 21 percent versus 8 percent for an average game, with 46 percent of gamers surveyed saying they saw an ad for it on TV. Unaided awareness of the game s launch date was 12 percent, six times higher than that of an average game. Read more at Ad Age.
