EoTY: The Nine Biggest Surprises of 2009 - #3 - Videogaming’s Blockbuster: Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 Shatters Every Record… Ever

With the 2007 release of Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare, Activision and Infinity Ward knew they had a gem on their hands. Taking the Call of Duty series out of it’s classic theme of World War II and throwing players into a fictional war based in current times, the series garnered a new fan base and it essentially established the game as the must-have shooter of the year. When Call of Duty: World at War was released the next year, fans were split. With most series, players usually move on to the next step in the franchise, but due to World at War again being based in the 1940’s many players continued to play Modern Warfare up until November 10, 2009. Then there was a new cat on the playground… Modern Warfare 2. The behemoth of all videogames, Modern Warfare 2 not only broke, but smashed every record known to mankind in any form of entertainment.

Modern Warfare 2 sold 4.7 million copies within it’s first 24 hours of release… in just the United States and the United Kingdom. That’s over $310 million dollars within 24 hours, making Modern Warfare 2 the biggest launch in entertainment history. Modern Warfare 2 not only was the biggest launch in videogame history (the reigning champ was Grand Theft Auto IV), but it also surpassed any movie or book ever released. In one day! The first week sales were over $550 million, with Activision claiming that over 8 million players played the game online within the first five days. While the game was obviously going to be considered a hit, not many people imagined the monstrous numbers that were amounted and are still coming through. I haven’t walked into a videogame store since November without people still buying copies, although late on the game.

The game was honestly a classic in the making. With a score by composer Hans Zimmer (The Lion King, Gladiator), the most popular online play of any game on any console and even a tie-in comic! The game received overwhelmingly positive reviews from every outlet, although many claimed the developer could have worked a little harder on the single player campaign mode. Honestly though, this game is designed entirely for the multiplayer aspect. Very few gamers besides children don’t game online at this point and they pleased fans on all features with this game. Already they have announced that two downloadable map packs will be released for Modern Warfare 2 and you might even get them for free if you drink Monster Energy drinks. Any drinks purchased after September 2009 feature codes you can redeem for Call of Duty swag including themes for your console and codes for free maps when released. Will any of 2010’s titles thwart Modern Warfare 2’s reign? Unlikely, as the biggest titles arriving will be exclusives including God of War III (PS3) and Halo: Reach (Xbox 360). If Infinity Ward refines Modern Warfare 2 for the next title, the game could literally be the perfect shooter ever created. Put a little more effort into the story and the single player campaign and you could literally find no flaws in this title. Moving on to 2010, what do you think the biggest blockbusters will be? Let me know in the comments below and tell me how you think they’ll contend with the monster year Call of Duty had in 2009.