Activision has reason to smile today, as the publisher’s “internal estimates” praise Call of Duty: Blacks Ops as having the most successful first day game launch of any video game title. Figures state that the game has brought in $360 million between the U.S.A. and the U.K. on day one alone. The game launched on November 9 for all next-gen consoles.

Figures indicate the Treyarch developed game sold 5.6 million copies at launch, which significantly trumps last year’s record holding Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 with 4.7 million units. The game is naturally on par to break last year’s $550 million 5-day record.

Despite what it’s done for the music rhythm genre, it appears releasing annual war shooters is good for business.

Call of Duty®: Black Ops Sets New Opening Day Sales Record With Approximately $360 Million in North America and United Kingdom Alone

Most Anticipated Game of the Year Becomes Biggest Entertainment Launch in History

SANTA MONICA, Calif., Nov. 11, 2010 /PRNewswire/ — Shattering its own day-one sales record, Activision Publishing, Inc.  (Nasdaq: ATVI) announced that Treyarch’s highly-anticipated Call of Duty®: Black Ops has become the biggest entertainment launch ever with an estimated sell-through of approximately $360 million in North America and the United Kingdom alone in the first 24 hours of its release, as compared to last year’s estimated day-one sell-through of $310 million for Call of Duty: Modern Warfare® 2 in North America and the United Kingdom, according to internal Activision estimates.

Call of Duty: Black Ops, marks the second year in a row that the Call of Duty franchise has set day one launch records across all forms of entertainment.  In its first day on November 9, the blockbuster title sold through approximately 5.6 million copies in North America and the United Kingdom, as compared to 4.7 million copies for last year’s Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2, according to internal Activision estimates.

Call of Duty: Black Ops is one of the most critically acclaimed games of the year worldwide and was released with unprecedented retailer support and more than 12,000 midnight openings around the globe.

“There has never been another entertainment franchise that has set opening day records for two consecutive years and we are on track to outperform last year’s five-day global sales record of $550 million,” said Bobby Kotick, CEO, Activision Blizzard, Inc.  ”The game’s success underscores the pop culture appeal of the brand. Call of Duty: Black Ops is the finest game that Treyarch has ever made and raises the bar for online gameplay by delivering the deepest and most intense Call of Duty experience yet. The Call of Duty franchise has over 25 million players around the world that are engaged in billions of hours of online gameplay, and we are committed to supporting them with new content and features on a more frequent and regular basis.”

Call of Duty: Black Ops is rated “M” (Mature) by the ESRB for Blood, Drug Reference, Intense Violence and Language.

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Chances are you own a few Wii Remotes. While promoting the upcoming Wii Remote Plus controller — the new standard Wii controller that has built in MotionPlus technology — Nintendo took some time to make the competitors cry by releasing some startling statistics.

To date, the Wii Remote has sold a whopping 65.3 million units since the console launched in November 2006, in the U.S. alone. That averages a rate of sale of 46,000 controllers per day. Pretty maddening, right? To be fair, 30 million of those remotes came bundled with the Wii hardware.

As for a color breakdown, 19 million white, 2.44 million black, 467,500 pink and 465,200 blue Wii Remotes have sold thus far. And I’m sure you encompass one of the 13 million who purchased Wii Play, which came bundled with a Wii Remote.

Like clockwork, a year from now we’ll undoubtedly be staring at some Earth-shattering statistics for Wii Remote Plus sales. Congrats, Nintendo.

[VGL Codeword for 10/26: GLISSANDO]

Nintendo PR

NINTENDO HAS MORE THAN 65.3 MILLION WII REMOTE CONTROLLERS IN U.S. PLAYERS’ HANDS

Average of 46,000 Sold Every Day in the United States; An Additional 52.9 Million Nunchuk Controllers Sold in the U.S.

REDMOND, Wash., Oct. 25, 2010 – Every day since the Wii™ system launched in November 2006, Nintendo has sold an average of 46,000 Wii Remote™ controllers in the United States. That’s a lot of people playing – and a lot of people playing together. Nintendo’s motion-controlled video games continue to create new players every day. People play Wii to try new experiences not available on other systems, including games like Wii Sports Resort™, Super Mario Galaxy™ 2 and Metroid™: Other M. Wii makes games more active, but it also makes them more social. Moms and dads play with their kids, and even grandma and grandpa join in.

Perhaps the best evidence of how Wii continues to expand the world of video games to new audiences is the total number of Wii Remote controllers that have sold. In the United States alone, more than 65.3 million Wii Remote controllers have sold through to consumers. This demonstrates that Wii owners like to play and they like to play together. They’re not the stereotypical gamers playing alone in their parents’ basement.

How much is 65.3 million Wii Remote controllers? That’s enough for every man, woman and child living in New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, Houston, Phoenix, Philadelphia, San Antonio, San Diego, Dallas, San Jose, Detroit and San Francisco, and enough still remains for every resident of Florida, Ohio, Virginia and North Dakota.

Here’s the breakdown of the number of Wii Remote controllers sold in the United States through the end of September and where they came from, according to the independent NPD Group:

• 30.41 million included with the Wii hardware
• 12.92 million sold with Wii Play™
• 18.56 million white versions sold separately
• 2.44 million black versions sold separately
• 467,500 pink versions sold separately
• 465,200 blue versions sold separately

The NPD Group also reports that Nintendo has sold an additional 52.9 million Nunchuk™ controllers in the United States through the end of September.

Wii continues to represent the best value for players as well. The current Wii hardware is available at a suggested retail price of $199.99. That includes:

• Wii hardware
• Wii Sports™
• Wii Sports Resort™
• A Wii Remote controller
• A Wii MotionPlus™ accessory
• A Nunchuk™ controller
• Access* to hundreds of downloadable games, including new games like World of Goo and classic games from the NES™, Super NES™ and Nintendo 64™ eras
• Access* to a variety of entertainment and informational channels, including the Nintendo® Channel, which provides information about current and upcoming Wii and Nintendo DS™ games
• Access* to streaming Netflix** movies

Starting Nov. 7, the new Wii Remote™ Plus controller replaces the iconic Wii Remote controller. The Wii Remote Plus controller has built-in Wii MotionPlus™ functionality and offers players precision motion controls all in one unit. It becomes the new standard Wii controller, and will be available starting Nov. 7 in all Wii hardware packages and bundles, as well as sold separately at a suggested retail price of $39.99.

As the holiday shopping season approaches, shoppers will have dozens of excuses to pick up a Nintendo controller of their own and start playing. Some exclusive games for the Wii console include the already-available Samurai Warriors™ 3, Wii Party™ and Kirby’s Epic Yarn™. Upcoming games include PokéPark™ Wii: Pikachu’s Adventure, which launches Nov. 1; FlingSmash™, which launches Nov. 7; and Donkey Kong Country™ Returns, which launches Nov. 21. Third-party Wii games include now-available games like New Carnival Games® from 2K Play, NBA JAM from EA Sports and Just Dance® 2 from Ubisoft, plus upcoming games like Sonic Colors™ from SEGA on Nov. 16 and Disney Epic Mickey from Disney Interactive Studios on Nov. 30.

Remember that Wii features parental controls that let adults manage the content their children can access. For more information about this and other features, visit http://wii.com.

* Broadband Internet connection required. **Netflix streaming requires Netflix unlimited membership and broadband Internet connection.

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Nintendo has reason to share their smiling grin today, as the company has announced a milestone of 30 million Wii consoles sold in the U.S. alone. That means nearly 10% of the nation owns a Wii console.The Big N sent out a press release, proclaiming the Wii as the fastest selling console in history, reaching the extraordinary sales number within 45 months since launch.

Since 2006, the Wii has not only seen exceptional hardware sales, but software as well. While no exact figures were given, Nintendo did release a list of the company’s published ten best sellers. They rank as follows:

1. Wii Play (w/ Wii Remote)

2. Mario Kart Wii

3. Wii Fit (w/ Balance Board)

4. New Super Mario Bros. Wii

5. Wii Sports Resort (w/ Wii MotionPlus)

6. Super Smash Bros. Brawl

7. Super Mario Galaxy

8. Wii Fit Plus (w/ Balance Board)

9. Mario Party 8

10. Link’s Crossbow Training (w/ Wii Zapper)
It’s pretty understandable that some of the biggest sellers were bundled with peripherals. It’s incredible however, that Link’s best outing on Wii was a Wii Zapper demo game.

Nintendo also took time to confirm the company’s upcoming releases, as well as expected third party offerings. Kirby’s Epic Yarn and Wii Party are scheduled for fall, while Donkey Kong Country Returns and Pokepark Wii: Pikachu’s Adventure are to release this holiday. Third party offerings include NBA Jam from EA Sports this October, and GoldenEye 007 from Activision, Sonic Colors from SEGA, and Epic Mickey from Disney Interactive this holiday.

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Video game industry tracker NPD’s new report highlighted a huge drop in sales for April 2010.  Software and hardware sales in the industry’s largest market, the United States, fell 26 percent to about $766.2 million – the fourth-largest decline in nearly a decade.

Hardware sales decreased 37 percent ($249.3 million) while software sales decreased 22 percent ($398.5 million).  In total, year-to-date industry sales decreased a whopping 11 percent.

Tom Clancy’s Splinter Cell: Conviction was the top-selling game in April selling nearly 486.1k units, with its exclusivity to the Xbox 360 giving Microsoft a huge boost.

In hardware, the Nintendo DS is sold well at nearly 440.8k units – but that’s a far cry from March’s 700.8k units.  The Nintendo Wii’s sales decreased to only 277.2k units sold in April.  Xbox 360 and PS3 sales hovered around 180k units.

You can read a more detailed breakdown of this information below.

NPD Group: April 2010

Industry Sales: $766.2 million (-26% from April 2009)
Hardware Sales: $249.3 million (-37%)
Software Sales: $398.5 million (-22%)
Accessory Sales: $118.4 million (-9%)

Nintendo DS: 440,800 units
Nintendo Wii: 277,200 units
Xbox 360: 185,400 units
Sony Playstation 3: 180,800 units
Sony PSP: 65,500 units

1. Tom Clancy’s Splinter Cell: Conviction (360): 486.1k units
2. Pokemon Soulsilver Version (DS): 242.9k units
3. New Super Mario Bros. Wii (Wii): 200.3k units
4. Pokemon Heartgold Version (DS): 192.6k units
5. God of War III (PS3): 180.3k units
6. Wii Sports Resort w/ Wii Motion Plus (Wii): N/A
7. Battlefield: Bad Company 2 (360): N/A
8. Wii Fit Plus w/ Balance Board (Wii): N/A
9. Just Dance (Wii): N/A
10. Super Street Fighter IV (PS3): N/A

Industry Gamers

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In a recent press release, Capcom reluctantly informed readers that net sales for the company had decreased 27.3% from the previous year, as well as an operating income decrease of 62&. Net income however, was down a whopping 73.1% from the previous year.

Capcom blamed the sluggish sales on the delay of their 2010′s lineup of titles, Super Street Fighter IV, Monster Hunter Tri and Lost Planet 2, pushed into the next fiscal year which started April 1, 2010. Capcom also blamed arcade game development as an “extraordinary” factor for financial loss. No wonder it was so hard to get Super Street Fighter IV a Japanese arcade release.

Luckily Capcom is off to a good start with the new fiscal year bringing three great titles to the masses. With the extremely anticipated Marvel vs. Capcom 3: Fate of Two Worlds possibly releasing prior to March 31, 2011, things are sure looking up for the company.

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According to Enterbrain, the PlayStation 3 managed to surpass the 5 million sold mark in Japan. The milestone was reached on Sunday, when it was revealed that the top 3 selling games of all-time for the PS3 in Japan are Final Fantasy XIII (1.8 million), Metal Gear Solid 4 (706,461), and Yakuza 4 (526,093).

While well ahead of the Xbox 360′s 1.3 million in Japan, it will be some time before the PlayStation 3 catches up to the Wii’s 10 million-plus, though the PlayStation Move should help to accelerate Sony’s console.

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Pokemon Black & White may be just over the horizon, but Australians are making it clear that the remakes of arguably the greatest games in the franchise are not to be ignored! Nintendo Australia has announced that in the game’s first week of availability, the two games have combined to sell over 50,000 units in that country alone. That’s a lot of people looking to “catch ‘em all” all over again, but this time they’ll be doing so with Pokewalkers in their pockets!

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The tally is in, and it looks like Apple’s new iPad managed to sell over 300,000 iPad units on Day One. Steve Jobs himself was proud of the device’s commercial success for the first day.

“It feels great to have the iPad launched into the world—it’s going to be a game changer. iPad users, on average, downloaded more than three apps and close to one book within hours of unpacking their new iPad.”

I wonder which book users were close to downloading? Just kidding. That actually works out to about 1 million apps and a quarter-million eBooks on the launch day. Obviously, not all iPad users will be using their shiny new toys for gaming, but it certainly establishes a large userbase for game developers to target.

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While Nintendo has made it clear that Wal-Mart provides them with the largest chunk of income in North America, the House that Mario Built does a pretty good job of helping other retailers to print money. Worldwide, GameStop stores have Nintendo to thank for 23% of all new (i.e., non-used) product purchases for the 12 months ending this past January 31st (down from 25% the previous year). If you need help with the math, that’s roughly a quarter of GameStop’s business.

Trailing behind Nintendo are Sony (17%), Microsoft (12%), Electronic Arts (12%), and Activision (11%), the five of them combining for 75% or three-quarters of GameStop’s non-used sales. Now, I assume these numbers include both hardware and software sales. It’d be interesting to find out what the figures were for hardware-only and software-only at GameStop.

GameSpot

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The NPD report data is in!  December 2009 and the year’s totals are a testament to Nintendo’s market power. Though 2009′s sales were 8% less than the industry experienced in 2008, December 2009 sales were actually 4% more than December 2008, coming in at a tasty $5.53 billion.

The Nintendo Wii dominated the holiday season’s video game hardware sales, selling 3.81 million units.  The Nintendo DS came in second with 3.31 million units sold, far more than Sony’s PlayStation 3 which sold 1.36 million units, coming in third place.  Software sales dropped 7% to $2.58 billion, but six of the top 10 best-selling games for December 2009 were for the Wii or DS.  No easy feat, Nintendo’s New Super Mario Bros. defeated the combined 360 and PS3 sales for Activision’s Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2.  Take that, gratuitously violent military shooters.

Below are the sales figures from the NPD Group report:

NPD Group: December 2009
Industry Sales (console): $5.53 billion (+4%)
Software: $2.58 billion (-7%)
Accessories: $760,200 (+15%)

Nintendo Wii:  3.81 million units
Nintendo DS:   3.31 million units
Sony PlayStation 3: 1.36 million units
Microsoft Xbox 360: 1.31 million units
Sony PSP: 654,700 units
Sony PlayStation 2: 333,200 units

1. New Super Mario Bros. Wii (Wii):   2.82 million units
2. Wii Fit Plus (Wii):  2.41 million units
3. Wii Sports Resort w/ Wii Motion Plus (Wii):  1.79 units
4. Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 (360):  1.63 million units
5. Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 (PS3):  1.12 million units
6. Wii Play w/ Remote (Wii):  1.01 million units
7. Mario Kart w/ Wheel (Wii):  936,100 units
8. Assassin’s Creed II (360):  783,100 units
9. Left 4 Dead 2 (360):  728,500 units
10. Mario & Luigi: Bowser’s Inside Story (NDS):  656,700 units

NPD Group: Total 2009
Industry Sales (combined): $20.2 billion
Industry Sales (retail PC): $538 million (-23%)
Industry Sales (console): $19.66 billion (-8%)

2009 Top 10 Console/Portable Software Titles:

1. Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 (360)
2. Wii Sports Resort w/ Wii motion Plus (Wii)
3. New Super Mario Bros. (Wii)
4. Wii Fit w/ Balance Board (Wii)
5. Wii Fit Plus (Wii)
6. Mario Kart w/ Wheel (Wii)
7. Wii Play w/ Remote (Wii)
8. Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 (PS3)
9. Halo 3: ODST (360)
10. Pokemon Platinum Version (NDS)

2009 Top 10 PC Game Software Titles:

1. The Sims 3
2. World of Warcraft: Wrath of the Lich King Expansion Pack
3. The Sims 2 Double Deluxe
4. World of Warcraft: Battle Chest
5. Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2
6. World of Warcraft
7. The Sims 3: World Adventures Expansion Pack
8. Spore
9. Dragon Age: Origins
10. Empire: Total War

Source: Game Daily
Image: Nintendo

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Mario’s first console bound, 2D title since Super Mario World debuted with great success across the world.  Sales figures for Japan have been released, and the chubby plumber managed to sell a whopping 937,000 units.  That impressive number not only makes New Super Mario Bros. Wii the highest first week sales for a Wii title to date, but it also beats previous record breaker Super Smash Bros. Brawl.

Looks like Mario has beat Mario! It should also be noted that 420,000 of those units sold where purchased on the first day. “Woo hoo!”

Famitsu via
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Despite not selling as well as last year, the Wii is still selling like hotcakes, according to Nintendo. The console took the top spot last month, selling 507,000 units in the U.S. alone. Currently, Wii has a lifetime sale of 22 million in the U.S. of A. Since the price cut, Wii sales have increased nearly 10%.

The DSi and DS Lite handhelds combined were able to sell 457,000 units in October as well. The Nintendo handhelds have sold 34 million units combined in the U.S. Nintendo is also ready to break records, as the DS is set to break the Wii’s previous record of all-time single-year U.S. hardware sales, with 10 million units sold. Wii broke that record in 2008.

With both a new Mario and Zelda title set for the holiday season, Nintendo should rest assured knowing they’ll be on top for quite a while.

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Gamasutra has released and interpreted some (retail only) console game sales data provided to them by NPD Group. There’s a lot to look at, including some pretty charts, but there are two important things to take away from the article. First, over the total life of all three consoles, the Xbox 360 barely oversteps the Wii in software unit sales, and both consoles thoroughly smash the PS3′s numbers. Notably, the Xbox 360 launched a year before the Wii and PS3 did, yet the Wii still only lags behind in total software sale by 2%. In fact, when the 360 was as old as the Wii is now, it had sold 50 million fewer software units than the Wii has now.

The second notable thing is that while 360 and PS3 software sales are still climbing, the Wii has plateaued. Has 2009 simply not been a great year for the console? Did 2007 and 2008 see that many good titles that are absent now? Good first-party titles haven’t been released in a while – Super Mario Galaxy in 2007, Super Smash Bros Brawl and Mario Kart Wii in 2008… Perhaps New Super Mario Bros Wii will be the catalyst for a new surge in sales?

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It appears Nintendo is either being sneaky as usual in their denial of a Wii price cut, or they’re really telling the truth this time.  A rep for Nintendo of Europe has issued a statement in regards to the leaked Toys R Us ad that showed Wii with a $199 price tag, starting September 27th.

“We currently have no plans to cut the price of Wii. Current talk of price cuts is rumour and speculation. This is rumour and speculation as Nintendo have made no announcements on price. Furthermore this is most likely retailer led much in the same way retailers in the UK offer price promotions on our products.”

Nintendo in the past has denied rumors, only for gamers to find out within days that they were true all along. Whether this is the case or not, you might want to hold off on buying that Wii until the end of September.

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Being the third iteration of a handheld can be rough, just ask the Micro, but that hasn’t stopped the DSi from continuing Nintendo’s assault on wallets across the world. In fact, according to Denise Kaigler in a chat with IGN, the DSi has done a better job than any of the company’s recent platforms. With more than 1.7 million sales in the US in the first 3 months it outreaches the DS (1.38) the DS Lite (1.07) and even the Wii (1.52).

This comes a quite a surprise, personally. Especially with the lack of a big title released to help it out. The platform may pick up more steam this fall with the release of several games that raise the superhappyfuntime level a few notches, ie Scribblenauts, Zelda, Mario & Luigi, Prof. Layton, etc.

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