Activision Blizzard is Shattering Records (NASDAQ:ATVI)

After five days and an estimated $550M in sales, the CEO for Activision Blizzard, Inc. (NASDAQ:ATVI)  CEO, Robert Kotick, calls "Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2" - "the largest entertainment launch in history and a pop culture phenomenon.  The title's success redefines entertainment as millions of consumers have chosen to play Modern Warfare 2 at unprecedented levels rather than engage in other forms of media."

Modern Warfare 2's launch beat all previous first-and five-day entertainment industry box office, book and video game sell-through records*:

    --  The largest reported five-day opening worldwide box office gross
        figures, held by Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince ($394 million)
    --  The largest reported five-day opening domestic box office gross figures,
        held by The Dark Knight ($203.8 million)
    --  The largest reported five-day worldwide video game sales record,
        previously held by Grand Theft Auto IV (6 million units, $500 million)
    --  The largest reported opening first-day domestic box office gross
        figures, held by The Dark Knight ($66.4 million)
    --  The largest reported first-day book sales in dollars, held by Harry
        Potter & The Deathly Hallows ($220 million)

    --  The largest reported first-day worldwide video game sales record,
        previously held by Grand Theft Auto IV (3.6 million units, $310 million)

Modern Warfare 2's blast radius also extends to Xbox LIVE, in which the blockbuster title's epic release established the following new standards, according to Microsoft:

    --  More than 5.2 million multiplayer hours were logged playing Call of
        Duty: Modern Warfare 2 on the first day alone.
    --  More than 2.2 million unique gamers played Call of Duty: Modern Warfare
        2 in one day on November 10th. A new one-day record for Xbox LIVE.

    --  More than 11 million achievements were unlocked on Call of Duty: Modern
        Warfare 2 on the first day.

Despite the success of Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2, Activision Blizzard remains cautious about the U.S. and global economy as well as other variables that can affect industry fundamentals and our own performance, including consumer spending which remains a significant concern.

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