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Modern Warfare 2 Stimulus Package sells 2.5 copies in first week

by: Chuck -
More On: Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2
Despite some initial problems getting the Modern Warfare 2 Stimulus Package up and working correctly Activision announced today that they have sold 2.5 million copies of the DLC since it went live last week.  Keep in mind that this is only for the Xbox 360 version of the content and they will probably be doubling that when the content is available for the PlayStation 3 and PC.

That's $37.5 million in revenue for a map pack that contained three new maps and two updates of maps from the first Modern Warfare game.   I can't imagine that the development cost for the maps was more than $500,00 at most (including QA and testing) so that's a lot of profit. 

What's scary about this is the fact that gamers have now proven they'll pay big bucks for big name DLC.  The map pack was priced at $15 which is outrageous considering how little original content was in the package.  I hate to be such a downer but this may be an inflection point in the DLC market.   I hope I'm wrong but time will probably prove me right..  
 
ALL OF DUTY®: MODERN WARFARE® 2 STIMULUS PACKAGE

SETS NEW XBOX LIVE RECORD



More than One Million Gamers Download Modern Warfare 2 Map Pack

In First 24 Hours





Santa Monica, CA – April 7, 2010 – Microsoft today confirmed that last week’s release of Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 Stimulus Package shattered Xbox LIVE® records as more than one million gamers worldwide downloaded the new map pack from Activision and Infinity Ward in the first 24 hours alone, surpassing the 2.5 million mark within the first week.



The map pack add-on, now available only on the Xbox 360® video game and entertainment system from Microsoft, extends the action-packed online entertainment experience with five multiplayer maps. Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 from Activision Publishing, Inc. (Nasdaq: ATVI) is rated “M” (Mature) by the ESRB for Blood, Drug Reference, Intense Violence and Language.



Xbox LIVE is the largest Call of Duty community of any entertainment system. According to Microsoft, Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 players have invested more than 1.75 billion hours of gameplay on Xbox LIVE alone since the title’s release in November, which is equal to more than 200,000 years of gameplay playing Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2. For more information, visit www.xbox.com/en-US/games/splash/c/callofdutymodernwarfare2/. For more Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 information, go to www.modernwarfare2.com.



About Activision Publishing, Inc.

Headquartered in Santa Monica, California, Activision Publishing, Inc. is a leading worldwide developer, publisher and distributor of interactive entertainment and leisure products.



Activision maintains operations in the U.S., Canada, the United Kingdom, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Sweden, Spain, Norway, Denmark, the Netherlands, Australia, Russia, Japan, South Korea, China and the region of Taiwan. More information about Activision and its products can be found on the company’s website, www.activision.com.



Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-looking Statements: Information in this press release that involves Activision Publishing’s expectations, plans, intentions or strategies regarding the future are forward-looking statements that are not facts and involve a number of risks and uncertainties. Activision Publishing generally uses words such as “outlook,” “will,” “could,” “would,” “might,” “remains,” “to be,” “plans,” “believes,” “may,” “expects,” “intends,” “anticipates,” “estimate,” future,” “plan,” “positioned,” “potential,” “project,” “remain,” “scheduled,” “set to,” “subject to,” “upcoming” and similar expressions to identify forward-looking statements. Factors that could cause Activision Publishing’s actual future results to differ materially from those expressed in the forward-looking statements set forth in this release include, but are not limited to, sales levels of Activision Publishing’s titles, shifts in consumer spending trends, the impact of the current macroeconomic environment, the seasonal and cyclical nature of the interactive game market, Activision Publishing’s ability to predict consumer preferences among competing hardware platforms, declines in software pricing, product returns and price protection, product delays, retail acceptance of Activision Publishing’s products, adoption rate and availability of new hardware (including peripherals) and related software, industry competition, rapid changes in technology, industry standards and consumer preferences, protection of proprietary rights, litigation against Activision Publishing, maintenance of relationships with key personnel, customers, licensees, licensors, vendors and third-party developers, counterparty risks relating to customers, licensees, licensors and manufacturers, domestic and international economic, financial and political conditions and policies, foreign exchange rates and tax rates, integration of recent acquisitions and the identification of suitable future acquisition opportunities, and the other factors identified in the risk factors section of Activision Blizzard’s most recent annual report on Form 10-K and any subsequent quarterly reports on Form 10-Q. The forward-looking statements in this release are based upon information available to Activision Publishing and Activision Blizzard as of the date of this release, and neither Activision Publishing nor Activision Blizzard assumes any obligation to update any such forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements believed to be true when made may ultimately prove to be incorrect. These statements are not guarantees of the future performance of Activision Publishing or Activision Blizzard and are subject to risks, uncertainties and other factors, some of which are beyond its control and may cause actual results to differ materially from current expectations.