Modern Warfare 2 breaks UK sales record

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2, the video game only officially released on Tuesday, has sold 1.23m units in its first day – more than double the previous record set by Grand Theft Auto IV in April 2008, according to figures released by the games software association Elspa.

The game is estimated to have grossed around £47m in the UK alone – not quite double the amount that GTA IV, which sold 631,000 units and grossed £27.2m, managed.

Activision, the company behind the game, expects that up to 3m copies could be sold in the first week in the UK alone, earning up to £150m – and sales in the US will be proportionately larger.

Although it does not yet put the game into the ranks of highest-grossing films – where the top weekend opening, the traditional measure by which the initial success of a film is measured, is $158m for The Dark Knight in July 2008 – it is more evidence that video games have become as integral a part of modern culture as films, music and television.

Michael Rawlinson, director general for Elspa, the Entertainment and Leisure Software Publishers Association in the UK, called the sales figures "astonishing" and said: "Video games are now mainstream in the UK. Our form of interactive entertainment has completely come of age."

Before the game's release there had been controversy over the depiction in part of its gameplay of a scene where the player, in the guise of an undercover agent amidst a group of terrorists, has to kill civilians in an airport.

Responding to that, Rawlinson said: "Just like some movies and books, this is specifically intended for an adult audience and accordingly has emotional, adult content. So, as an 18-rated video game, it is important that this game is not played by children, and parents should be appropriately vigilant. We ask everyone to make sure they check the packaging of games to ensure they are suitable for their players, especially as we enter the festive season when video games are one of the most popular gifts of the holiday."

The game had sparked its own mini-controversy within Parliament, with the Labour MPs Keith Vaz and Tom Watson debating its merits. Vaz seemed worried about the possibility of children getting hold of the game, but Watson, a former Cabinet Office minister, responded: "UK gamers need their own pressure group. I want to help [them] to start one up."

It remains to be seen whether the success of the game will persuade ministers to accede to requests from the gaming industry for a series of tax breaks to encourage games writing and publishing companies to remain in the UK. Other countries such as Canada have brought in such schemes with some notable successes, but the UK has seen a loss of talent, games companies complain, due to unfavourable tax conditions.

Related: read our reviews of Modern Warfare 2 by: Charlie Brooker; Mike Anderiesz