I'm going to revisit the sales of Call of Duty: World at War. It has been a popular discussion lately due to the strong holiday sales. This game has legs that can give Betty Grable a run for her money.  So lets take a look at the performance of this game on the primary, tracked consoles (Xbox 360 and Playstation 3) and compare it to the "gold standard" of the multiplat first-person shooter genre, Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare.

Early Assumptions: (We can build on this but these 2 are the dominant assumptions)

-  Treyarch does not produce top quality games and pale in comparison to COD first party productions.

-  It is another WW2 shooter, people are tired of this genre/time period

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Game Performance:

Using the VGChartz compare games database I first took a look at the Playstation 3 version, comparing it to Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare.

http://vgchartz.com/swlaunch.php?reg1=All&game1=Call+of+Duty+4%3A+Modern+Warfare+-+PS3&reg2=All&game2=Call+of+Duty%3A+World+at+War+-+PS3&reg3=All&game3=&weeks=100

Analysis:  Treyarch's production is performing noticeably stronger than Infinity Ward's release with a similar release time frame.  This could be partially due to the sharpely stronger install base of the PS3 this year.  Regardless, despite game assumptions it is outperforming it's "gold standard" relative.

Using the VGChartz compare games database I first took a look at the Xbox 360 version, comparing it to Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare.

http://vgchartz.com/swlaunch.php?reg1=All&game1=Call+of+Duty+4%3A+Modern+Warfare+-+X360&reg2=All&game2=Call+of+Duty%3A+World+at+War+-+X360&reg3=All&game3=&weeks=100

Analysis:  During the first weeks of release, Treyarch's title seemed to track along side of it's relative.  Towards recent weeks it has begun to outpace Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare.

So what does this mean?  Discussion topics:

-  Why is this game performing better than it's gold standard FPS relative despite the assumptions many had on the genre?

-  Is Treyarch prooving their maturity to the industry by pumping out quality creations (in comparison to past releases that were lack luster)?

-  Are WW2 and Modern shooter's 2 entirely different genres thus meaning the direct comparison of sales between these two games is abnormally skewwed?

-  Betty Grable's legs were over-hyped, so any game can have legs better than her.

LET US DISCUSS! Enjoy!

*Please no negative posts unless you are submitting useful data or information pertaining to this topic

**Please no console war arguments that do not directly apply to this topic

cod4 expanded the series fanbase thus, more front loaded sales for cod:waw. Lifetime sales of cod:waw would definitely be lower as some who dislike ww2 won't pick up the sequel even though they love cod4 e.g me

I already pre ordered Killzone 2, I skipped on WaW but will get back to COD with the next iteration, they almost got me to buy WaW when Amazon had that $35 DoD sale...almost

I have been tired of realistic shooter since Counter Strike, didn't stop the hundred released since then. Even if some gamer got tired of shooter set in WW2, so as long as new gamer enter the fray, which a lot did this genereation or the last with the Xbox with Halo and the 360 with Gears they would still sell well because to these new shooter fan the concept is fresh and interesting.

WW2 is an interesting setting, just not if you played a myriad of the hundred of WW2 shooter.

Treyarch has indeed proven that they can do something better than Call of Duty 3. I still enjoyed Call of Duty 4 more, especially the dramatic moments.

The main thing though is that I know I'm getting bored of revisiting World War 2 in first person shooters and despite what sales might say, I stand by my initial disappointment when it was announced that this game was taking us back in time again.

At the very least it covers areas that haven't been as heavily covered in other games.

I didn't get it, but the Nazi zombies are the shining feature in the game. Treyarch always does multiplayer very well and Infinity Ward perfects what they do.

Can't wait for the real Call of Duty 5.

Also, the PS3 increase is due to the bigger userbase as most new yearly iterartions have had the largest increases this year on PS3.

I really can't figure out why this game is selling so much. Playing the single player lasted 2 days, playing the multiplayer makes me want to buy COD4 again...Zombie mode was cool for another 5 minutes. I usually keep my blockbuster rentals for 30 days...this one i kept less than 2 weeks.
Also, for 360 owners, gears 2 or left 4 dead is a much better choice and for ps3 its Resistance 2 all the way.

I guess kudos to Teryarch for striking that special nerve and making a game that general FPS public loves...

Except for the Nazi zombie thing, World at War's multiplayer is pretty much the exact same as Call of Duty 4's multiplayer, but with timeline correct differences(weapons and kill streak specials).... and tanks.

I really liked CoD:WaW,

I think the WW2 appeals to casuals fairly well for various reasons.
I believe that CODWaW will outsell 4, because the Wii version will add 1.5-2 million sales, and the PS2 at least 500k. That should be enough to cover the fact this game will not have as good of legs during the year, even the COD4 was the 4th, it was different, and kinda sold like a really hyped New IP, word of mouth sold it throughout the year, and now 5 is reaping the rewards of expanded consumer awareness.

Honestly, world war two games are going longer than the actual war itself.

Just think about that for a second.