Activision’s latest “Call of Duty” 
game continues to set records for the company. The video game publisher announced Thursday that in its first five days on store shelves, “Call of Duty: Black Ops” has generated sales of $650 million.
That’s $100 million better than last year’s “Modern Warfare 2,” which set a new bar for the video game industry — as well as the entertainment industry at large. Activision claims the opening is the biggest ever for any movie, book or video game.
A year ago, “Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2” set an all-time entertainment industry record, generating $310 million in sales in its first 24 hours. On Tuesday, its successor will try to top that.
Right now, the odds look pretty good.
Last year, “Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2” 
set an all-time entertainment industry record for opening day sales – and has gone on to become one of the best selling titles in the industry’s history.
No one was expecting the follow-up – “Call of Duty: Black Ops – to match those numbers, but a comment today from a GameStop executive might have some people rethinking their estimates.
Electronic Arts is counting heavily on its Medal of Honor
franchise to help boost revenue in the holiday quarter, but as the title gets closer to launch, it’s finding itself in the crosshairs of game industry critics.
Set in modern-day Afghanistan, the latest version of the franchise casts players as a Tier 1 Operator, a relatively unknown branch of the Special Forces, fighting the War on Terror. Developers say they are striving to present the conflict in an authentic manner, with respect for the soldiers. But the disclosure that gamers could play as the Taliban in the game’s multiplayer mode has raised a few eyebrows.
While most videogame publishers are taking advantage of digital 
downloads to extend their profits these days, none are doing so as successfully as Activision.
The company on Monday announced that life-to-date sales for downloadable expansions to its “Call of Duty” games have surpassed 20 million units.
Chris Morris: Journalist 