'Call of Duty: Black Ops' Sells Record $360 Million in 24 Hours

(Nov. 11) -- The numbers are in, and "Call of Duty: Black Ops" has beaten not only the previous installment in the series and James Cameron's "Avatar," but everything else as well, earning it the title of biggest entertainment launch of all time. The video game sold 5.6 million units, making it a total of $360 million, in its first 24 hours on sale.

Video games have recently penetrated deeper than ever into the mainstream with casual offerings like "FarmVille" on Facebook. But Eric Hirshberg, CEO of "Call of Duty" publisher Activision, says the record sales figures show that the demand for involved, blockbuster gaming experiences has grown as well.

"We're thrilled that this franchise has taken on this level of pop cultural relevance. This is bigger than a gaming event -- this is a pop culture event," Hirshberg told AOL News. "It's rare that a franchise is so satisfying to core enthusiast gamers and also so appealing to a mass audience."

Reviews of the game have been generally positive as well, if not as effusive as they were for the past two titles. Prominent gaming website IGN gave hard-earned praise to the next installment in a series that has seen wild critical acclaim: "Doesn't disappoint."

The game is set during the Cold War, amongst the deniable operations carried out by special forces in locations around the world. The last game sparked outrage over a level that allowed players to participate in a terrorist massacre at an airport, and while there's nothing quite so explosive in this offering, Hirshberg admits that some controversy is unavoidable with their source material.

"Anything with a historical patina, even though this is particularly fictional, is obviously going to ruffle some feathers," he said.

The first grumblings are coming out of Cuba, where the government is protesting a level where the player attempts to assassinate Fidel Castro. (The attempt fails, naturally.)

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