‘Destiny’ Game Sales Figures Not $500 Million? Activision May Be Playing A Numbers Game

The Destiny game has been hyped by Activision as one of the biggest launches in gaming history, but it turns out the Destiny sales numbers may not be exactly $500 million.

In a related report by The Inquisitr, a Destiny review roundup shows that the critics are not exactly as pleased with the Bungie game as they were when it was being shown off at events like E3. the Destiny PC version release date has the PC master race crowd grumbling that their version wasn’t launched with the others. But if you’re gaming on a console, then you might be interested in the locations of the Destiny gold chest and dead ghosts.

Earlier this week, Activision officially made this press release where the Destiny sales numbers definitely made it sound like they had reached $500 million within the first 24 hours after launch.

“Activision Publishing, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Activision Blizzard, Inc. (Nasdaq: ATVI), announced today that the company sold more than $500 million of Destiny into retail stores and first parties worldwide as of day one, making the game the biggest new video game franchise launch in history.

“‘Based on extraordinary audience demand, retail and first party orders worldwide have exceeded $500 million for Destiny,’ said Bobby Kotick, CEO of Activision Blizzard. “This industry milestone marks another blockbuster success for our company and demonstrates our unique ability to create some of the most successful entertainment franchises in the world. The success of Destiny, along with the recent introduction of Blizzard Entertainment’s Hearthstone, is further validation of our unique capabilities to create great entertainment franchises from the ground up.'”

The title for the press release even proclaimed, “ACTIVISION SELLS IN MORE THAN $500 MILLION OF DESTINY.” And that is where the language might be a wee bit misleading. Notice how Activision phrases the Destiny sales numbers with the phrase “sells in”? They also highlight how “the company sold more than $500 million of Destiny INTO retail stores.”

In corporate speak, the phrase “sells in” does not mean that is how many sales were generated. It just means they have shipped out at least $500 million worth of copies of the game. The real Destiny sales numbers would be reflected by the “sell through rate,” which we do not currently know. Still, it’s very possible Activision will meet their goal of selling $500 million, never mind the $1 billion they hope to generate over the long term.

And the long term is what is really at stake since Bungie intends on extending the content of the Destiny game over time with free updates and DLC in order to keep gamers logging in. Already, there are many players who have reached level 20 and are wondering when the new content will be coming in. The good news is that due to the MMO-like nature of the game, if there are any significant downfalls to the game then Bungie can fix them post-release, and like fine wine the Destiny game may become better as it matures.