Modern Warfare 2 pre-orders "set new records"
Activision promises "unprecedented" level of stock on day one with publisher poised to replenish retail in weeks following release
Activision has said that pre-orders for Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 have set new records for the company – although it stopped short of revealing numbers or comparing demand to the last title in the series.
The company also said that it does not anticipate stock shortages of the title – tipped to be the biggest-selling game of the year – despite retailer demand for product ahead of launch next week.
"Call of Duty has been very strong this year with pre-orders and also the special added value units," offered CEO Mike Griffiths in a call to investors. "I don't think we want to go into specifics on how much it's up versus last year, but it is up and it's set new records for us and we feel very bullish going into the launch."
"As it's a software only product is doesn't have a peripheral based supply chain attached to it so we're in a very good position to replenish very rapidly," added Thomas Tippl, chief financial officer for Activision. "Retailers have been extremely supportive and bullish behind the title so there will be a significant and unprecedented quantities available on day one."
Analysts are expecting the title to sell as many as 10 million units in the fourth quarter, with USD 500 million in sales during the first week on shelves.
It's not just the latest from Infinity Ward that is in heavy demand from the publisher – the company also revealed that every available unit of the recently released DJ Hero game was shipped to retail, a position that is being repeated for the limited release of Tony Hawk: RIDE in a few weeks time.
"Retailers, ever since last year, have been cautious in terms of volumes they are taking up front," admitted Tippl. "But on the other hand, DJ Hero for example, we sold 100 per cent of the supply we had for the day one launch. We sold in as much as we had, we had extremely strong demand.
"There will be continuous replenishment on product like DJ Hero. Tony Hawk as well, we are selling every unit we have at launch and we continue to produce to replenish and meet demand," he added.