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Escalation marks GameStop's biggest DLC launch in record first quarter

by Mike Schramm on May 20th 2011 12:00AM

The recent Call of Duty: Black Ops "Escalation" DLC has taken the crown at GameStop as its largest DLC launch ever, according to the company's latest earnings call. The map pack sold 50,000 copies as pre-orders and 200,000 in store during the first week of availability. Digital sales in general are on the rise at the retailer as well, growing 53 percent year-over-year.

The first quarter of 2011 was a good one for GameStop overall, as the company reported record sales of $2.28 billion. HD console games were a big driver, as was the Nintendo 3DS launch, combined with a solid 9.5 percent growth in "pre-owned" (read: used) games and accessories. Pokémon Black and White were the top titles of the quarter, with Mortal Kombat, Marvel vs. Capcom 3, Black Ops and Homefront filling out the top five.

Source: Industry Gamers, BusinessWire

Tags: Call-of-Duty-Black-Ops, digital, earnings, gamestop, microsoft, money, pc, playstation, ps3, q1-2011, retail, sales, xbox

Reader Comments (31)

3 cheers for overpriced DLC!

@MixingIt

I'd rather be Osama Bin Laden than get this.

Come on guys, is five bucks really worth not supporting the developer?

@Mikey XBL gamertag Sgt Mikey 516

No, not really.

@Mikey XBL gamertag Sgt Mikey 516

Ah, love that line, especially sinve the game itself sold enough to " support" the oh-so strapped foe cash publisher.

@Mikey XBL gamertag Sgt Mikey 516

Maybe, but Escalation was $15... so no.

@Mikey XBL gamertag Sgt Mikey 516 Developer isn't anywhere near as important as content versus price.

@Mikey XBL gamertag Sgt Mikey 516

Didn't Black Ops sell like 7 bazillion copies? Consider the developer supported... or publisher supported, it is Activision we're talking about...

@Mikey XBL gamertag Sgt Mikey 516

Your math is terrible.

When you have people pre-ordering DLC, something is deeply wrong with the industry.

@Red Runner

I honestly didn't know that was even possible.

@Red Runner

kids dont have money. they do have left over games tho. They bring them in, trade them towards the DLC, the DLC code is then emailed to them the day of the release.

Its just another way for the consumer to get the content. Nothing wrong with it.

@(Unverified)

Right, but this is a couple maps and, um, some zombies. Zombies are awesome, don't get me wrong...but why is it that people piss themselves over something as trivial as multiplayer maps for an FPS? I've learned my lesson with overpriced maps with Halo, and I don't see why this is enough to get people super-excited.

Plus, even if they buy an XBL card, they could spend the extra $5 on something more worthwhile than this map pack. Like one of the arcade classics for 400 points.

@Red Runner

holy crap some people play this game all the time. for those people $15 dollars is a deal.

I played the maps in MW2 for well over 4 days. That's more time than I spent on the last 6 full retail games I bought

This is EXACTLY why the price will continue to be $15. I bet you they can switch it to $20 and people would still buy it like hot cakes.

@DarkPinoy The problem is we'd need to collectively boycott the DLC until the price hits a better sweet spot, like $8-$10.

Unfortunately everybody's selfish and there's no way to get people to boycott it in that sort of organized manner.

@TheMCFacemanBandcampcom

Wow, do you honestly think that MW2 is superior? That was one of the most broken games I have ever bought. The online was constantly being spammed with cheaters, and there was some new hack pretty much every time I played that game.

I don't understand why everyone always says that IW is better than Treyarch. I have enjoyed both WAW and Black ops more than either of the MW games

@Banana Hammock

it's not fun when the link spoils what the GIF is.

@Noksukow

Nope. Gamestop now offers XBLA content codes in addition to all-purpose points cards (Probably also PSN cards, I'm not sure).

@MixingIt

id rather fish for upvotes than get this

@Riley Freeman
http://i56.tinypic.com/262o1g4.jpg

@Noksukow

you can go to gamestop and buy the DLC package for 15. (tax is charged, so its 15.89) A code is printed on the receipt that you can type in at redeem code and then you have the dlc in your system.

Why buy it at gamestop? you save 5 dollars if you buy the DLC specifically instead of just buying the $20 1600 pt card. Its kind of Microsofts fault because when the guy at the register says "do you need the extra 400 pts?" hes got a point.

Also, most kids, teenagers, and even a decent amount of college students, dont have credit cards. So they either have to buy the DLC or buy a pt card.

once more, activision has got you again... this time, 50000 strong.

@(Unverified)
I live in California and bought my DLC code at gamestop. I wasn't charged tax. It came out to 14.99. Enjoying the new zombies and maps! :D *prepares for down vote*

Why would anyone drive to the store to buy a DLC code? It's not like they don't have to download the maps anyway.

Everything wrong with the games industry.jpg

@Sprinkled Cupcake

After that one debacle from those sackers, sacking Hony I can only imagine more and more people will be purchasing their cards at retailers.

With the money I've spent on DLC just for Black Ops, MW2, and World at War, I could have bought two (three?) great games (maybe even four used ones?) for my Xbox.

@MixingIt ... I'd rather get this.

I liked this map pack way more than First Strike.

You can drive to a store and preorder something that's downloadable? Will wonders never cease?

Breaking News

Call of Duty: Black Ops

Escalation marks GameStop's biggest DLC launch in record first quarter

Reader Comments (31)

Posted: May 20th 2011 12:07AM eliteghost said

Posted: May 20th 2011 12:07AM eliteghost said

Posted: May 20th 2011 12:11AM Mikey XBL gamertag Sgt Mikey 516 said

Posted: May 20th 2011 12:14AM Banana Hammock said

Posted: May 20th 2011 12:15AM Red Runner said

Posted: May 20th 2011 12:20AM liqmalty said

Posted: May 20th 2011 12:21AM Schlecht said

Posted: May 20th 2011 12:48AM The Joy of Painting w Bob Ross said

Posted: May 20th 2011 1:28AM kentuckyfried said

Posted: May 20th 2011 12:14AM Red Runner said

Posted: May 20th 2011 12:36AM FreshBryce said

Posted: May 20th 2011 1:23AM (Unverified) said

Posted: May 20th 2011 8:30AM Red Runner said

Posted: May 20th 2011 9:48AM eat it said

Posted: May 20th 2011 12:45AM DarkPinoy said

Posted: May 20th 2011 1:53PM kentuckyfried said

Posted: May 20th 2011 2:11PM Brodo said

Posted: May 20th 2011 12:52AM Riley Freeman said

Posted: May 20th 2011 12:59AM Acosta02 said

Posted: May 20th 2011 1:01AM xyloPhipps said

Posted: May 20th 2011 1:13AM The Only Girl said

Posted: May 20th 2011 1:18AM (Unverified) said

Posted: May 20th 2011 1:25AM badaboompowman said

Posted: May 20th 2011 1:35AM Sprinkled Cupcake said

Posted: May 20th 2011 4:25AM Genaldar said

Posted: May 20th 2011 7:28AM Mehbah said

Posted: May 20th 2011 8:34AM Cap Morgan said

Posted: May 20th 2011 10:14AM Enosoma said

Posted: May 20th 2011 12:08PM GreenLight said

Posted: May 20th 2011 12:09PM GreenLight said

Posted: May 20th 2011 2:18PM 343 Guilty Fart said

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