Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 sells 4.7 million copies on day one @ Gaming Target

Written by John Scalzo on November 12, 2009

News: And that's just in the US, Canada and the UK.

After setting launch day records for total number of copies available and total number of copies sold in the UK, Activision is finally ready to talk about Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2's retail dominance in the United States as well.

According to internal Activision estimates, the game sold 4.7 million copies during its first day of availability in the US, Canada and the United Kingdom. The total number of sales in the rest of Europe and Australia haven't been counted, even though the game was also released in those territories on November 10. Modern Warfare 2 will be released in Japan by Square Enix on December 10.

Activision's internal estimates would go on to calculate that the total revenue produced by the North American and UK sales on launch day was $310 million. That's enough to make Modern Warfare 2 "the biggest launch in entertainment history", pushing its way past Grand Theft Auto IV, which launched at just a shade over $300 million in sales on its first day.

"The Call of Duty franchise has become a cultural phenomenon showing the power of video games as an entertainment medium," said Mike Griffith, CEO, Activision Publishing, Inc. "The shattering of these entertainment records is a testament to the compelling, cinematic and uniquely engaging experience that the Call of Duty brand delivers. Modern Warfare 2 has taken interactive experience to unprecedented heights setting a new standard for entertainment."

VGChartz has estimated that if you factor in every locality where Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 was released, the total first day sales would be close to seven million copies.

That's just staggering. Few video game franchises that have run for decades can boast sales numbers that high. I hate to say it, but Reggie Fils-Aime's prediction that New Super Mario Bros. Wii would outsell Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 this holiday season is looking a little unlikely.

We'll have more soon.