Dozens of UK computer game retailers will open at midnight on Tuesday to queues of avid fans awaiting the latest title in the hugely successful Call of Duty video game series.
Major US retailer GameStop claims pre-orders for Call of Duty: Black Ops have broken all records. Its publisher, Activision, is expecting the title to perform even better than last year's predecessor, Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2, which sold over 20m copies worldwide, earning an estimated £1bn in revenue.
The arrival of the game, set during the cold war, is accompanied by a multimillion-dollar marketing blitz, which peaked on Thursday with a Los Angeles launch party featuring rock band Metallica and a wealth of celebrities. A London event takes place tomorrow night at Battersea power station.
In Black Ops, players take on the role of a special operative as he saves America from a huge communist plot – but it could be the game itself that proves a saviour for the global games business. The industry has had a challenging year so far, with software sales at high-street chains such as HMV and Game dropping significantly after a successful 2009. Several major publishers have reported heavy losses.
