Every time a new video game is released, the more astute gamers dig in and finish the game as early as possible. But some would rather savor every level and explore it well to find the so-called Easter egg or the video game’s secrets, which the developers intentionally put for gamers to find for themselves.
When Treyarch Studios unravelled “Call of Duty: Black Ops 3” early this month, nearly every gamer grab onto it and played their hearts out and generated $550 million in sales during its opening weekend.
In fact, game publisher Activision announced that “Call of Duty: Black Ops 3” posted the biggest entertainment opening not only in the company’s history but across any media industry this year, even out-pacing “Jurassic World,” and “Fast & Furious 7,” as well as some other movie blockbusters this year.
During the weekend following the launch of “Call of Duty: Black Ops 3” on November 6, a Friday, the game has posted $550 million in digital sales and racked up more than 75 million hours of player engagement within a span of 72 hours.
Eric Hirshberg, CEO of Activision Publishing, stated that the launching of “Call of Duty: Black Ops 3” is bigger than any game, any movie, or any entertainment launch this year.
“Call of Duty: Black Ops 3” is the 12th entry in the “Call of Duty” franchise. Aside from generating $550 million sales in three days, more gamers are engaging deeply in the game than ever before as can be attested by the hours spent by each player on it than any “Call of Duty” game on record.
The ‘Doctor Who’ Easter egg
Just like other video games, “Call of Duty: Black Ops 3” has its own share of Easter egg. Of the millions of gamers who have played and continue to play the game as of today, only a few have found its secret, which those who have already discovered referred to as the ‘Doctor Who’ Easter egg.
“Doctor Who,” as everyone knows, is a TV series about time travel. Some gamers who have already found the Easter egg on “Call of Duty: Black Ops 3” have shared their find to various sites.
It turns out that the Easter egg of the first-person shooter video game can be found in the Nuketown 2065 multiplayer map that features futuristic mannequins.
Accordingly, gamers will have to shoot and knock off both arms of all the mannequins in less than two minutes to activate the Easter egg on “Call of Duty: Black Ops 3.” There are a lot of mannequins so gamers need to ensure that they get each and everyone so having a friend or two around to do the task would really help, details Tech Times.
After all the arms of the mannequins fell off, the mannequins will disappear and will be replaced by new mannequins which will attempt to kill the players. But the mannequins will only attack and make their move on the players if they are not looking, very much like the Weeping Angels from “Doctor Who” which is why the game’s secret is called the “Doctor Who” Easter egg.
Lording over Japanese charts
“Call of Duty: Black Ops 3” has been lording the Japanese software charts for two weeks already and still counting, according to Destructoid, which is kind of rare for a first-person shooter video game.
The Treyarch Studios game has moved 187,446 units since November 6 on PlayStation 4, and 32,022 on the PlayStation 3. It has outsold other new video game releases including “Project X Zone 2,” “Assassin’s Creed: Syndicate,” and “Need for Speed.”
The performance of the current release is far better than last year’s “Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare,” which also topped the Japan charts with opening week sales of 79,586 units on the PlayStation 3, 64,060 units on the PlayStation 4, and 3,370 units on the Xbox One.
However, the most interesting aspect of the data is how the Japanese gaming platform preference has evolved over the years. Despite initially struggling to sell in Japan, it seems that the PlayStation 4 is now the leading gaming platform in the country, even outperforming the very popular portable systems.
“Call of Duty” games have always pushed boundaries in game development in terms of scale, scope, and spectacles.