As outlined by analysts at Macquarie Equities, overall Modern Warfare 3 sales are falling behind those of last year's Black Ops. Even though boxed copy sales might be less, Activision has capitalized on digital sales with membership service Call of Duty: Elite that has 1.5 million paying subscribers.
MW3 was the greatest entertainment launch of all time when it was launched last November, just like Black Ops was prior to it and MW2 before that.
For the month of March, it is noted that MW3 sold less than 50 % the amount that Black Ops sold at that time last year, even though precise sales figures are not available to the general public.
The games industry all together encountered a decline in March, in spite of new console and game launches, with the NPD reporting a year-on-year sales drop of 25 per cent in the United States. Some assume that a lot of casual gamers are purchasing fewer games at traditional retailers, utilizing their consoles for video streaming as well as other forms of digital usage instead.
Based on website Gamasutra 34 % of Activision's sales already originate from digital, instead of boxed sales, like the 1.5 million annual premium subscribers from Call Of Duty Elite.
Do you think it's the start in the decline of the the Call of Duty franchise? Or simply was Black Ops simply better then MW3? Or simply the game industry is undergoing major changes?
