Avatar DVD Release Drives Game Sales To Nearly 2.7 Million

Sales of Ubisoft's James Cameron's Avatar: The Game started off slow last year, but the blockbuster film's April release on home video helped the game gain some sales traction. Ubisoft management said during its quarterly earnings call this week that the game has sold-through nearly 2.7 million units to consumers, according to an investor note from Stern Agee analyst Arvind Bhatia. Ubisoft's game is available on six platforms: PC, PSP, PlayStation 3, DS, Wii and Xbox 360. The video game launched December 1, while the movie released on December 18 in the U.S. In February this year, Ubisoft management expressed disappointment with the commercial reception of the game during the October-December quarter. It was one factor that the publisher said negatively-impacted sales for the period. But now that the hit sci-fi movie is back on the radar with heavily-promoted releases on Blu-ray and DVD, along with a discounted price point, the critically-panned game picked up some momentum. Ubisoft said in this week's conference call that the game ended up exceeding forecasts, "notably on Wii." Ubisoft also said this week that November's high-profile release Assassin's Creed II has sold-in nearly 9 million units.