Wedbush analyst Michael Pachter said in a research note yesterday that Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3, which is scheduled to hit store shelves next week, will likely become the bestselling game this year, and could very well beat out its predecessor, Call of Duty: Black Ops, in total sales.
"If Modern Warfare 3 receives strong review scores, it should at least match predecessor Black Ops' sales (over 25 million units) due to the network effect," Pachter said. In a follow-up interview with IndustryGamers, Pachter said that he believes Modern Warfare 3 will outsell Black Ops by 10 percent during its first six weeks of availability and generate a total of $1.1 billion during that time.
If that happens, Modern Warfare 3 will become the bestselling game of all-time, beating out Black Ops, which generated $1 billion during its first six weeks on store shelves. That title took the crown from Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2.
Saying that a Call of Duty game will outsell all other titles isn't much of a stretch. But the fact that the franchise can keep its streak going is a surprise, given its recent history.
