5 December 2012, by Ben Fox (MarketWatch)


Activision Blizzard Inc. said "Call of Duty: Black Ops II," the latest in its popular war-simulation video-games franchise, hit $1 billion in world-wide retail sales in 15 days.

Citing Chart-Track information and internal company estimates, the company said the milestone was reached one day faster than last year's "Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3" game, which reached the $1 billion in retail mark in 16 days.

Comparatively, the movie "Avatar," the highest-grossing movie ever, reached the $1 billion mark in 17 days, the company said.

Since the game's launch, Activision said more than 150 million hours have been logged online playing the game on Xbox LIVE and PlayStation Network.

The game, which puts players front and center in near-future wars in American cities, went on sale Nov. 13 and topped $500 million in global retail sales during its first day on the market.

"Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3" reached $400 million in sales in North America and the U.K. in its first day on the market.

While several game-makers have struggled amid new competition from free online and mobile games, the Santa Monica, Calif., company last month raised its full-year earnings guidance, saying strong sales of its dungeon adventure game, "Diablo III,"

and a strong start for the second installment of its toy-meets-videogame series, "Skylanders: Giants," are powering better-than-expected results.

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