Activision has admitted that pre-orders for Call of Duty: Ghosts, the newest installment in its popular franchise, are "well below the record-setting pace" set by Call of Duty: Black Ops 2 last year. Apparently, this is to be expected as we await the launch of the PlayStation 4 and Xbox One.
"Our quantitative consumer research indicates that hesitation amongst past COD pre-orderers is primarily due to not knowing which platform they will be playing on, which is natural at this time in the console transition," Activision CEO Eric Hirshberg said during the company's earnings call yesterday.
Despite the low pre-order numbers, Hirshberg noted that "other key engagement metrics," such as the number of people player per month and per day, the number of DLC sales, and community engagement are all significantly higher than previous years. And before we write off Ghosts as the beginning of the end for the Call of Duty franchise, he also mentioned that pre-orders for Ghosts are double those of Black Ops 2, "which is the last time we launched a new sub-brand for the franchise."
Hirshberg's statements echo that of EA Sports brand president Peter Moore who also blamed next-gen consoles for lower pre-order numbers. Moore recently reported "softness" in pre-orders for current-gen sports titles, but expects the trend to change once people realize not everyone will be able to purchase an Xbox One or PS4 at launch.
