Black Ops Launch To Be Activision's Biggest

The launch for Call of Duty: Black Ops is going to be huge.

Really huge.

During Activision's Q2 fiscal earnings call this afternoon, the publisher continuously emphasized how much bigger the marketing budget for this year's title will be compared to last, and highlighted the fact pre-sales continue to outpace Modern Warfare 2 from last year.

"This year's Black Ops will release on more platforms than ever before, and continues to pace ahead of last year's record setting Modern Warfare 2 in terms of per-sales and consumer awareness metrics," said Activision COO Thomas Tippl.

"The game continues to gain momentum, and based on the traction we have already established with our partners around the world, we expect Black Ops will yet again drive Call of Duty to be the entertainment event of the year."

Activision CEO Bobby Kotick also said on the call the publisher is backing Black Ops' launch with its biggest financial investment in the company's 31 year history, adding this year's title isn't just for hardcore gamers.

"This is, across the board, the biggest investment that we've ever made in the launch of a title," Kotick said. "The market opportunity is bigger than it's ever been, the install base of hardware is bigger than it's ever been, and the product has incredibly broad appeal, but it also has a whole host of functions that will be unique to the core consumer."

Kotick also said Black Ops' competition this holiday isn't just other shooters from major publishers, such as Medal of Honor or Halo: Reach, and that Activision hopes the title reaches new audiences.

"There's a lot of competition, not just from games, but from a whole host of other things you can do with your leisure time, and this is something we think has the potential to break through and appeal to a much broader consumer base than ever before," he added.

Call of Duty: Black Ops launches in North America on November 9.