Sometimes, it can be hard to visualize amounts this large, so here's some perspective to help you understand just how much a billion dollars is: Any person on our staff would kill you in cold blood for a thousandth of it.
Happy holidays!
Sometimes, it can be hard to visualize amounts this large, so here's some perspective to help you understand just how much a billion dollars is: Any person on our staff would kill you in cold blood for a thousandth of it.
Happy holidays!
Reader Comments (86)
Posted: Dec 21st 2010 12:51PM TraceurRyuk Prepping for LBP2 said
Nice little touch at the end.
Posted: Dec 21st 2010 12:54PM Shadowbender said
To be fair, Blops is 60 dollars as one product, and tickets for Avatar was 6-9 bucks each person.
Still, 1 billion dollars, regardless of how it was acquired, is still very impressive.
Still, 1 billion dollars, regardless of how it was acquired, is still very impressive.
Posted: Dec 21st 2010 12:58PM Chris DPSN AggieCEO XBLThe Aggi said
@Shadowbender
yea people kill me with that....true a billion is a billion....
but 100's of millions of people Seen Avatar....No CoD game can say that.....
and $6-9 for movie tickets!?!?!?
Where do you live!?!? even in NC our tickets range from $8-15(10-17 for 3D)
Reply
yea people kill me with that....true a billion is a billion....
but 100's of millions of people Seen Avatar....No CoD game can say that.....
and $6-9 for movie tickets!?!?!?
Where do you live!?!? even in NC our tickets range from $8-15(10-17 for 3D)
Posted: Dec 21st 2010 1:02PM Shadowbender said
@Chris DPSN AggieCEO XBLThe Aggi
Colorado.
And I usually go to matinee, so maybe for the majority of people that go after 6, 10-11 dollars is more appropriate, haha.
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Colorado.
And I usually go to matinee, so maybe for the majority of people that go after 6, 10-11 dollars is more appropriate, haha.
Posted: Dec 21st 2010 1:06PM Chris DPSN AggieCEO XBLThe Aggi said
@Shadowbender
shiiiiiiit even with not going after 6pm its still like $7-8 depending on the theater....
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shiiiiiiit even with not going after 6pm its still like $7-8 depending on the theater....
Posted: Dec 21st 2010 1:41PM Jack Kevorkian said
@Shadowbender I went and saw Tron last night for $50 for two people in the South, the cheapest place in the country to watch a movie. Popcorn, two cokes and junior mints and two adult tix.
I loved the movie but it will be my last movie theatre experience. It's simply not worth that kind of money when home entertainment centers are so good right now.
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I loved the movie but it will be my last movie theatre experience. It's simply not worth that kind of money when home entertainment centers are so good right now.
Posted: Dec 21st 2010 1:43PM DarkSonata said
@Chris DPSN AggieCEO XBLThe Aggi
where I live, movie tickets are $4 ~ $5 =) and we actually say it is expensive.. (mexico)
Reply
where I live, movie tickets are $4 ~ $5 =) and we actually say it is expensive.. (mexico)
Posted: Dec 21st 2010 2:41PM thisredengine said
@Chris DPSN AggieCEO XBLThe Aggi
He lives in Colorado. He's suffering enough. He deserves the cheap tickets.
Reply
He lives in Colorado. He's suffering enough. He deserves the cheap tickets.
Posted: Dec 21st 2010 2:49PM Invigilator said
@Shadowbender
Damn, movies are cheaper where you live apparently. Here 9 bucks will get you into some cheap theatre, but not a decent one.
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Damn, movies are cheaper where you live apparently. Here 9 bucks will get you into some cheap theatre, but not a decent one.
Posted: Dec 21st 2010 7:13PM This Little Man Says His Name Is said
@Jack Kevorkian
Then don't buy all that food.
Reply
Then don't buy all that food.
Posted: Dec 21st 2010 12:55PM colmiak said
one million dollars... *pinky on corner of lip* muahahahahaha
Posted: Dec 21st 2010 12:56PM Coldplay619 said
I hate all of you.
Posted: Dec 21st 2010 12:56PM xreadmore said
They will have $15 more on Feb 1 when I purchase the map pack.
Posted: Dec 21st 2010 12:56PM killerjuice said
Dang. I didn't buy the game because it was made by Treyarch and I didn't like World at War... If people spent a billion dollars on it, it has to be good, right?
Posted: Dec 21st 2010 1:03PM Chris DPSN AggieCEO XBLThe Aggi said
@killerjuice
the Chinese Gov't spent over a TRILLION dollars on the US....but for some reason everyone hates us....so uhhhh.....follow your own squishy
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the Chinese Gov't spent over a TRILLION dollars on the US....but for some reason everyone hates us....so uhhhh.....follow your own squishy
Posted: Dec 21st 2010 1:04PM TraceurRyuk Prepping for LBP2 said
@killerjuice
It is good, don't know if it's a billion dollars good. But let's put a billion in perspective. $1,000,000,000
Reply
It is good, don't know if it's a billion dollars good. But let's put a billion in perspective. $1,000,000,000
Posted: Dec 21st 2010 1:07PM Shadowbender said
@TraceurRyuk Prepping for LBP2
We need to find a picture of 1 billion dollars.
Reply
We need to find a picture of 1 billion dollars.
Posted: Dec 21st 2010 1:28PM copa said
@killerjuice
Black Ops reminds me a lot of Guitar Hero 3.
Activision had just kicked Harmonix off of the Guitar Hero franchise, and the onus was on Neversoft to carry the franchise forward. Neversoft was able to take a lot of the assets, code, and game design work that Harmonix had done, make some tweaks, and they did a competent follow-up with Guitar Hero 3.
Guitar Hero 3 didn't blow anyone away with its innovation, but it was an enormous financial success, the best-selling music game of all time if I remember correctly.
The problem, of course, was that Neversoft eventually had to innovate the franchise themselves, and couldn't continue to just tweak whatever Harmonix had made. Each year, Guitar Hero just got worse and worse, continuing through this year's laughable Warriors Of Rock.
Neversoft, much like Treyarch, was Activision's preferred studio. Not because they were the most talented or creative team, but because they were the most loyal, and would do whatever Kotick asked to "exploit" the franchise.
Treyarch might do well to remember that Neversoft was not rewarded well for their loyalty. Once the Guitar Hero franchise had been stripmined, and the brand permanently damaged, sales predictably plummeted and Activision laid off most of the studio.
Anyway, I hope Respawn Entertainment has something to announce next year.
Reply
Black Ops reminds me a lot of Guitar Hero 3.
Activision had just kicked Harmonix off of the Guitar Hero franchise, and the onus was on Neversoft to carry the franchise forward. Neversoft was able to take a lot of the assets, code, and game design work that Harmonix had done, make some tweaks, and they did a competent follow-up with Guitar Hero 3.
Guitar Hero 3 didn't blow anyone away with its innovation, but it was an enormous financial success, the best-selling music game of all time if I remember correctly.
The problem, of course, was that Neversoft eventually had to innovate the franchise themselves, and couldn't continue to just tweak whatever Harmonix had made. Each year, Guitar Hero just got worse and worse, continuing through this year's laughable Warriors Of Rock.
Neversoft, much like Treyarch, was Activision's preferred studio. Not because they were the most talented or creative team, but because they were the most loyal, and would do whatever Kotick asked to "exploit" the franchise.
Treyarch might do well to remember that Neversoft was not rewarded well for their loyalty. Once the Guitar Hero franchise had been stripmined, and the brand permanently damaged, sales predictably plummeted and Activision laid off most of the studio.
Anyway, I hope Respawn Entertainment has something to announce next year.
Posted: Dec 21st 2010 1:44PM noyesa said
@copa Of course Treyarch is loyal to Activision. They know who cuts their checks.
I feel like people are being extremely unfair to Treyarch throughout this debacle. In my eyes, they've completely proven that they can handle the series (if not with WaW, then Black Ops).
People are just grilling them because they're not Infinity Ward and because they're an in-house Activision studio. Don't let that obscure the fact that they're a competent and talented studio which has made major strides with every core CoD game they've produced.
Reply
I feel like people are being extremely unfair to Treyarch throughout this debacle. In my eyes, they've completely proven that they can handle the series (if not with WaW, then Black Ops).
People are just grilling them because they're not Infinity Ward and because they're an in-house Activision studio. Don't let that obscure the fact that they're a competent and talented studio which has made major strides with every core CoD game they've produced.
Posted: Dec 21st 2010 1:57PM copa said
@noyesa
"In my eyes, they've completely proven that they can handle the series (if not with WaW, then Black Ops)."
Well, they've certainly proven that they can iterate over Infinity Ward's codebase and game design, and that was my point.
Now that the top talent at Infinity Ward has left, Treyarch has a whole new challenge ahead of them.
Reply
"In my eyes, they've completely proven that they can handle the series (if not with WaW, then Black Ops)."
Well, they've certainly proven that they can iterate over Infinity Ward's codebase and game design, and that was my point.
Now that the top talent at Infinity Ward has left, Treyarch has a whole new challenge ahead of them.
Posted: Dec 21st 2010 12:57PM Billlop said
Wow, now thats a LOT of moolah (and i dont mean Oddworld money).
Offtopic: The article looks weird. The picture is vertical and the text is all squashed. Is this right?
Offtopic: The article looks weird. The picture is vertical and the text is all squashed. Is this right?
Posted: Dec 21st 2010 12:57PM RichardMitchell said
It's true!
Posted: Dec 21st 2010 12:57PM Gibbeynator said
And it's a Treyarch year. I hope this doesn't mean that we've devolved to the point where we'll just buy it because it says Call of Duty on the cover.
Posted: Dec 21st 2010 1:02PM TraceurRyuk Prepping for LBP2 said
@Gibbeynator
It's been like that since Call of Duty 3
Reply
It's been like that since Call of Duty 3
Posted: Dec 21st 2010 12:59PM KungFuChaosNinja said
Ugh. Not surprised at all.
Posted: Dec 21st 2010 1:01PM ClarkyAC said
For some reason, this saddens me a little..
I completed it last night and I guess it's because the game felt very manufactured, spewing out tons of ridiculous scenes one after another, taking the player by the hand directing you through one of the most linear games in modern day.
Don't get me wrong, the multiplayer is fun, and adds quite a fair bit to the CoD winning formula, but I wish games that won't split its player base halfway through it's one year life cycle (assuming that there will be another CoD next year) would get as much attention.
I completed it last night and I guess it's because the game felt very manufactured, spewing out tons of ridiculous scenes one after another, taking the player by the hand directing you through one of the most linear games in modern day.
Don't get me wrong, the multiplayer is fun, and adds quite a fair bit to the CoD winning formula, but I wish games that won't split its player base halfway through it's one year life cycle (assuming that there will be another CoD next year) would get as much attention.
Posted: Dec 21st 2010 1:05PM Shadowbender said
@ClarkyAC
At least the story was interesting. From the main menu to the scenes where numbers interrupt certain sequences, I myself rather enjoyed it. A lot.
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At least the story was interesting. From the main menu to the scenes where numbers interrupt certain sequences, I myself rather enjoyed it. A lot.
Posted: Dec 21st 2010 1:27PM xreadmore said
@ClarkyAC
Of course it was manufactured! That's how games are made!
I really liked the single player. It held together more then the previous ones. I could also keep track of the characters and plot which was pretty refreshing and ya the over-the-top action was pretty awesome.
Reply
Of course it was manufactured! That's how games are made!
I really liked the single player. It held together more then the previous ones. I could also keep track of the characters and plot which was pretty refreshing and ya the over-the-top action was pretty awesome.
Posted: Dec 21st 2010 1:49PM golfs4panzys said
@ClarkyAC
The story was horrible. The game was fun but certainly nowhere near being the best game of the year.
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The story was horrible. The game was fun but certainly nowhere near being the best game of the year.
Posted: Dec 21st 2010 1:02PM feathyr said
i don't want to ignite anything here - but does this deny DICE it's bragging rights for BFBC2? i'm not attached to either side here, but DICE seems to be the only one trying to boast. It's kinda ridiculous at this point.
but in the end it doesn't matter, since RO: Heroes of stalingrad will reign victorious over all !
but in the end it doesn't matter, since RO: Heroes of stalingrad will reign victorious over all !
Posted: Dec 21st 2010 1:05PM Chris DPSN AggieCEO XBLThe Aggi said
@feathyr
I think those of us that prefer the pace of Battlefield over CoD are in the Minority sure......but thats simply because the masses speak louder....IMO Battlefield is a MUCH better series than CoD.....and with Battlefield 3 coming I dont see that stopping anytime soon
Reply
I think those of us that prefer the pace of Battlefield over CoD are in the Minority sure......but thats simply because the masses speak louder....IMO Battlefield is a MUCH better series than CoD.....and with Battlefield 3 coming I dont see that stopping anytime soon
Posted: Dec 21st 2010 1:11PM Billlop said
@Chris DPSN AggieCEO XBLThe Aggi
Whoah now. If we are talking Multiplayer, then yeah, but Singleplayer wise, BC2 sucked hard. The first and last missions were the only oens that were actually fun.
The best FPS ever would have the singleplayer of COD with the mutliplayer of BF
Reply
Whoah now. If we are talking Multiplayer, then yeah, but Singleplayer wise, BC2 sucked hard. The first and last missions were the only oens that were actually fun.
The best FPS ever would have the singleplayer of COD with the mutliplayer of BF
Posted: Dec 21st 2010 1:11PM eliteghost said
@feathyr
RO 2 :Heroes of Stalingrad is pretty amazing from what I've seen so far so, I can't argue that. It's a shame joystiq hasn't mentioned in a year.
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RO 2 :Heroes of Stalingrad is pretty amazing from what I've seen so far so, I can't argue that. It's a shame joystiq hasn't mentioned in a year.
Posted: Dec 21st 2010 1:46PM Jack Kevorkian said
@Billlop Speak for yourself I found the single player of battlefield better than any COD I played. I stopped after MW2.
The characters were funny, the action was fun and I still got to blow stuff up with tanks.
I beat it three times at all difficulty levels and never got bored.
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The characters were funny, the action was fun and I still got to blow stuff up with tanks.
I beat it three times at all difficulty levels and never got bored.
Posted: Dec 21st 2010 2:55PM Invigilator said
@Chris DPSN AggieCEO XBLThe Aggi
Let's just hope that Battlefield 3 is a TRUE battlefield game, with 64 player servers, huge maps, fixed wing aircraft, and helicopters that can actually fly higher than 100 feet.
Bad Company and Bad Company 2 were pathetic, watered down console games that ripped off COD's shitty tiny maps and had an emphasis on clunky infantry combat instead of the complete battlefield.
Battlefield 2 and Battlefield 1942 on PC, especially with mods, are a hundred times better than ANY of the bad company games.
But of course the people who only have consoles have never played a real battlefield game, so they don't know what they're missing.
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Let's just hope that Battlefield 3 is a TRUE battlefield game, with 64 player servers, huge maps, fixed wing aircraft, and helicopters that can actually fly higher than 100 feet.
Bad Company and Bad Company 2 were pathetic, watered down console games that ripped off COD's shitty tiny maps and had an emphasis on clunky infantry combat instead of the complete battlefield.
Battlefield 2 and Battlefield 1942 on PC, especially with mods, are a hundred times better than ANY of the bad company games.
But of course the people who only have consoles have never played a real battlefield game, so they don't know what they're missing.
Posted: Dec 21st 2010 3:03PM feathyr said
@Chris DPSN AggieCEO XBLThe Aggi
See, this is not where I wanted this conversation to go, haha. I don't want to debate what game is better here. I just wanted to stress the point that DICE is kindof ridiculous at boasting their game. In fact, I don't see activision trying to "one up" DICE. DICE just seems to want to pick fights with the COD series.
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See, this is not where I wanted this conversation to go, haha. I don't want to debate what game is better here. I just wanted to stress the point that DICE is kindof ridiculous at boasting their game. In fact, I don't see activision trying to "one up" DICE. DICE just seems to want to pick fights with the COD series.
Posted: Dec 21st 2010 9:07PM golfs4panzys said
@feathyr
COD sucks. Battlefield is a much better series. COD outsells everything else not because it is a great game but because it is a solid game that anyone can be good at. It is a game built for stupid people and, after all, stupid people are the masses.
DICE can keep bragging because they have a game built on a unique platform of a fully destructible environment. I find smaller communities to be much better in general so I hope COD keeps selling this well to keep the brofest out of BF. After all, I don't own any interest in EA so sales figures don't mean much to me.
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COD sucks. Battlefield is a much better series. COD outsells everything else not because it is a great game but because it is a solid game that anyone can be good at. It is a game built for stupid people and, after all, stupid people are the masses.
DICE can keep bragging because they have a game built on a unique platform of a fully destructible environment. I find smaller communities to be much better in general so I hope COD keeps selling this well to keep the brofest out of BF. After all, I don't own any interest in EA so sales figures don't mean much to me.
Posted: Dec 21st 2010 1:07PM Sepirioth said
Thats the same amount of $ Adobe made last year... WOW
