Modern Warfare 3 pre-orders top 6.5 million

The latest release of Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 worldwide makes it the latest in a series of million selling titles to hit the current generation of consoles and computers.

While Black Ops may have gathered record sales of its own, Modern Warfare 3 has already shattered pre-order sales, and currently sits at a healthy 6.5-million orders. Activision, publishers of the Modern Warfare series have already gone on record to say that the pre-orders are its best yet.

The US has seen the largest share of the sales figures and holds more than 60% of the pre-orders. Console sales are favouring Xbox as it too as managed to gather 60% of the pre-orders, compared to the PS3’s 35%.

During its midnight launch, fans lined the streets to secure the latest addition to the world’s most successful first-person shooter series. Launch parties were held at some of the 13 000 retail stores worldwide.

The previous game, Call of Duty: Black Ops, managed to amass US$360 million in sales and became the biggest launch in both the UK and North America.

Modern Warfare 3 will now have to compete against Electronic Arts Battlefield 3, a military shooter with the same emphasis on all-out online multiplayer mayhem. Released last month, Battlefield 3 has already sold in excess of five million copies. According to Electronic Arts, Battlefield 3 is its fastest-selling title of all time.

Both titles will now compete for the hearts and minds of gamers across the world and being available on all platforms means that no-one will be left out.

Prior to the launch of Modern Warfare 3, a video titled “The Vet and the N00b” was released by Activision and has gathered close to five million views in its short release time. The video can be viewed below.