Fans do their Duty as game pulls in €360m in a day

CALL of Duty: Black Ops has blasted entertainment records by raking in $360 million in its first 24 hours on sale, a dramatic and lucrative indication that video games have cemented their place as mainstream entertainment on a par with movies, books and music.

For the hordes of devoted fans who waited to get their hands on the military shooter, this is hardly a surprise. For them, popping Call of Duty into a console is the equivalent of turning on the TV to watch the latest blockbuster movie.

But, while movies happen at you, video games allow the user to affect the story’s outcome. That hands-on experience fit the emerging social-media era where consumers demand a voice in whatever they do.