Call of Duty franchise sales falling, analysts blame ‘casual market’

Call of Duty is BIG, and everyone knows it. Whether or not you're a fan of Activision, first-person shooters, or even gaming, you cannot deny the company's outstanding success with the franchise. When Modern Warfare 3 hit store shelves last November, fans came out in the thousands to nab the "next big thing." Despite this, industry analysts are claiming that the series' sales are down "significantly," and that a "casual market" is to blame.

According to analysts at Macquarie Equities, "volume sales of Modern Warfare 3 are 4.2% behind Black Ops. The same analysts also report that last month’s Modern Warfare 3 sales were half of what Black Ops sold in the same period a year ago." The firm didn't reveal ​Call of Duty's overall sales numbers to the public, but says their data confirms this most recent report.

Analysts at PiperJaffray, in response to Macquarie's report, believes the decline is due to a "casual market" who is less interested in buying games after its initial release. The firm also says gamers are spending more time streaming media through apps like ​Netflix and Hulu+ ​rather than playing retail games, which Microsoft has confirmed in several recent press reports.

So, is Call of Duty dead? Of course not; fans are foaming at the mouth for more military action. This report does show, though, that the franchise is beginning to decline. Innovation has certainly been lacking in recent Call of Duty titles, which most likely influences these numbers. Activision still has plenty of time to "resurrect" the series — as the old saying goes, "only time will tell."

Source: [OXM]