Activision CEO optimistic despite Call of Duty pre-order dip
Though numerous analysts believe that Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare will continue the franchise's trend of declining sales, Activision Publishing CEO Eric Hirshberg sees things differently.
"We see purchase intent well above last year and we see engagement with the brand in social media channels all being markedly up, so I'm still optimistic," Hirshberg told Games Industry. "Preorders are a good barometer for day one, but I don't think they reflect the overall demand for the product," he adds. "[They] don't represent what they used to - because of the move to digital and all the ways people can buy the game."
Despite Hirshberg's optimism, as recently as last week analysts who had examined the Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare pre-order tallies reported that the game was "pacing almost 40 percent behind last year's [Call of Duty: Ghosts] and almost 70 percent behind 2012's [Call of Duty: Black Ops 2]." Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare makes its international debut today.
[Image: Activision]
