Activision Admits 'Call of Duty: Ghosts' Didn't Outsell 'Black Ops 2' At Launch

It seemed like Call of Duty’s day-one sales record streak would come to an end when they were forced to premiere their new game, Ghosts, across six different platforms not all available at the same time. It was all but confirmed when the numbers Activision released the next day boasted of a billion dollars worth of units shipped, not sold. But now, they’re finally saying it out loud.

[Wizziokid]

It could be one of two things;

1] Some people are just holding out for the next-gen version

2] People are finally getting tired of COD

[FPSRUSSIA]

people that i know are waiting for the next gen to buy it.

[HelpfulGamer]

Activision should have waited a bit more to improved their game some more.

[FITgamer]

My friends that play COD are all impatient morons and are all doing the upgrade plan.

[The_KELRaTH]

+ not very good reviews
using old engine even with new next gen kit
Cut n Paste sequences from previous versions

Finally a Battlefield game for next gen consoles that offers the full PC style game

Not included in PS4 bundles (no idea about X1 bundles)

While not major in themselves it all adds up and the next is that friends aren't playing it.

[gaffyh]

Hopefully it's number 2 so they actually have to try next time. They've gotten too used to using the same mechanics and making hardly any changes.

[aCasualGamer]

@Wizziokid

I hope it's number 2.

[mattdillahunty]

http://indiegames.com/2012/...

assuming this chart is somewhat accurate, then that would mean (at the moment), the past two CoD titles have gone downhill in sales numbers.

if the Xbox One and PS4 versions fly off the shelves, however, that could definitely change things.

as it stands, this is music to my ears. this franchise either needs to die or undergo a serious makeover and drop the yearly release bullshit.

[SilentNegotiator]

It's probably a combination of both the next-gen holdout and people getting tired. COD has to stop setting sales records at some point.

[Xsilver]

I hopes its 2

[lonz358]

So they can finally build a new engine.

[-Foxtrot]

Hopefully number 2

I'm scared how far they will go to get COD back into the spotlight...they arn't going to let it go without a fight even if they do things which look desperate.

I mean it could get them to make a new engine HOWEVER it will still play the same.

You can't polish a turd.

[Grap]

Actually you Can polish a turd by eating healthy, for cod no one can polish It it goes beyond a turd.

[WolfLeBlack]

I'll add a possible third reason: its been a pretty hectic period for games and people's budgets are tighter than ever.

Assassin's Creed: Black Flag and Battlefield have both seen less sales than their previous outing.

Between the two things you mentioned and this one I think that pretty much accounts for it.

[FPSRUSSIA]

i agree 100 percent with especially with Christmas coming up people are waiting it out or cant afford it at the moment.

[boldscot]

It's always a hectic time period for game releases in the last quarter of the year. This doesn't affect COD any other year so it's most likely not the reason it's not selling this year.

[oof46]

It also didn't help Bf sales that word leaked it'll be $30 on Black Friday.

[AngelicIceDiamond]

@Wizzio realistically it comes down to no. 2

Next gen is holding back COD to some degree but ultimately I don't think people truly care this time around.

Despite it selling crazy amounts like it always does. The fact is sales are declining for this IP. The sales are simply not getting any better, they're slowly getting worse.

Nobody can deny that.

[deathstriker]

3] Battlefield is gaining ground

[ipach]

#2 for me. I got a copy and literally couldn't keep playing after an hour... on current gen, ghosts looks terrible. and though i like blitz and some of those other new modes, not enough to have spent $60 on it. i'd rather go back to good old black ops if i had to get my shooter fix in...

here's hoping enough people disagree with me and want it enough to buy my second hand copy for a decent price...

[RedSoakedSponge]

well... you dont count in this since you actually bought the game lol.

[pompombrum]

Cod fatigue for a lot of people that I know. I know some are waiting until they get next gen consoles but even then they are still on the fence as to whether or not to get this year's version.

[Eyeco]

3) People are still playing GTA V, GTA online has finally started to pull it's socks up

[Funantic1]

I got it for the 360 but will get another copy for the X1.

[JokerElite]

Most of my friends are getting tired of it, including myself.

You can only make basically the same game over and over before people lose interest. I don't plan on buying CoD until they make some big changes.

Essentially CoD games are becoming $60 map-packs over time.

[boneso82]

I think it's a bit of both Wizzi. I know a lot of ex COD fans who are buying battlefield, or even Killzone, instead this year. I'm one of them, but I'm not buying current gen, waiting for my shiny new PS4 for BF4

[Lboogieskells]

Here's to Destiny washing that bad taste out of our mouth that is COD.

[Gamer1982]

So much for outselling GTA. I am glad of this Activision needed bringing back down to earth banging on that they would surpass GTA sales to become the biggest selling game once again. Wouldnt mind there big heads if they didnt sell a game that was exactly the same every damn year.

[WolfOfDarknesss]

It could be one of Three things;

1] Some people are just holding out for the next-gen version

2] People are finally getting tired of COD

3) BF4

[Neonridr]

Even if it failed to outsell its predecessor, the sales numbers will still be ridiculously high for this game regardless.

[Majin-vegeta]

One thing all us fanboys can agree on is COD sux.

Lol.

Hopefully its a trend and it stops selling.

[-Foxtrot]

It would be pretty ironic if in the future COD is the game to unite all gamers

[pompombrum]

And on that day, Microsoft will bring back DRM, internet checks and blow Sony out of the water and be labelled the saviors of gaming.

[Jeedai Infidel]

Majin-vegeta, Why? So that Battlefield can take Call of Duty's place and become stale and over-saturated because of a lack of competition. They both need to be good, to stir each company to make them better.

I do hope Ghosts under-performs financially if the game really is as crappy as they say, so it urges Activision to let the developers make exceptional games again.

I also hope that Titanfall and Killzone step into the ring with COD and Battlefield, more competition makes it better for ALL of us gamers.

[Grave]

The shark has been jumped.

[MightyNoX]

More like the bubble has burst. There's no shame in it. All things come to pass.

[Burrito26a]

The shark is in a net as the fonz jumps it on water skis.

[Grave]

Ayyyy!

[Jeedai Infidel]

Thanks for the spit-take you just caused, luckily it was away from my TV and keyboard.

[Dan_scruggs]

I suppose these guys will have to settle for only making a billion dollars this launch. What losers right?

[jahfen83]

To be fair, next-gen probably had something to do with it. Wait for both new consoles come out then see what happens.

[310dodo]

only 6 people on my PSN are playing Ghost.
most saying their waiting for PS4 version.

I got the PS3 version and plan on the $10 upgrade on the 15th
really fun game

[ruefrak]

I'm not surprised for 2 reasons (the quality of CoD not being either)
1. Battlefield got a lot of hype this year and probably stole some sales.
2. Next gen consoles are a few weeks away and a lot of people are probably holding off until after they get their new system.

[Dunban67]

There won t be an accurate representation of COD Ghost till the end of November at the earliest- You have the next gen consoles coming online by then which will see a big bump in sales- then we will see a jump across all consoles due to black Friday and the rest of the Holiday sales season- Really it may be the end of Dec to get an accurate idea of y over y sales

I don t play COD (not for several years and then only on the wii and offline)- I just think it is too early to tell- same goes for Assassins Creed - it seems to have a better buzz about it than last year so maybe its sales cycle will be a bit longer-

[MaverickStar7]

I'm waiting for the PS4 verison as with Battlefield and AC4. I could have gone the current to next gen upgrade route. But I wanted to wait and enjoy the new game feeling along with the new console feeling.

I think this is just a different circumstance than usual years. Two brand new consoles coming a week apart, and within a month of major game releases. Its better to look at the numbers after the holiday season. Last year a similar issue came up when trying to compare BO2 with MW3 and November sales that were a few days different. One of the faults with retail sales is they always look at the previous years numbers alone without looking at any of the other real world factors that can attribute to those numbers.

[Jeedai Infidel]

I always buy the crap CODs in March/April, the good ones are for launch. That used to mean Infinity Ward in Winter and Treyarch in Spring, but now, I guess have to research more.

[OC_MurphysLaw]

Lets hope this is a wake up call to Activision that its time they gave the franchise just a year off and let it get a an actual next gen engine and subside some of the franchise fatigue that is present.

[malakar]

Remember guitar hero? Yeah, they'll probably get more content out fast, in order to milk the cow until she dies. Then COD will disappear. They'll brainstorm a bit too get a new IPm which will be cool for the 1st game, then it'll be COD and GH all over again. Milk it until it bleeds.

[malakar]

Are COD fans finally growing brain cells?

[t3gamenews]

they didnt advertise the wii u version at all, they released ps3/360 last gen versions when ps4/xbone was already announced & getting them.

other than that games story seems great so far, & everything else seems updated since black ops 2. maybe next time only stick to nextgen consoles ps4, xbone, wii u, give nintendo customers dlc this time(would boost sales of nintendo costumes), & a major update from this game. it did just come out tho maybe people are still playing bo2.

[the worst]

Black Ops 2 is better

[The_Truth_24_7]

People are waiting for next gen. That is all.

[BX81]

I thought it was gonna have dedicated servers?

[kidhero99]

as bad as this was http://www.gameranx.com/fea...

[Belking]

Not even the 1080p will help this one....lol Its all about titan fall baby.

[Frogman]

Why would I pay for a FPS like COD when I can pay for a game like BF4? Come On Man!

[ZILLA]

3 reasons:1-THE LAST OF US.2-GTA V.3-BATTLEFIELD 4.As a hardcore gamer there are two things you have to play,on THE LAST OF US is Interigation mode and BATTLEFIELD 4 is Obliteration mode.the gameplay is siiiiiick!

[Malacath]

Not surprising really.

With both the Xbox One and PS4 coming out soon most people getting one of those consoles will just wait until they have one before they buy the game.