Arvind Bhatia, from the research firm Sterne Agee, predicts that Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare may ship upwards of 3 million fewer units when compared to Call of Duty: Ghosts. Specifically, they suggest that the game will ship 15% fewer copies than Ghosts, which shipped 20 million units in the fourth quarter of 2013.
Bhatia cites a few reasons for this pessimism:

- Gamers might be skeptical of Advanced Warfare because they were disappointed by Ghosts. This may lead them not to purchase Advanced Warfare unless word-of-mouth or reviews are strong.
- PS3 and Xbox 360 software sales are down 50% and 46% this year, respectively. This doesn't bode well for a mass-market, cross-gen title like AW.
- Many consumers are still considering whether to upgrade to PS4 or Xbox One. They're not going to buy the game until they decide on a platform.

Bhatia admits that this prediction could be way off the mark. He notes that the positive pre-release buzz for the game may help to boost sales back up. He also notes that without any direct competitor releasing this year, that will also help. Activision is undoubtedly thrilled that Battlefield Hardline was pushed to a 2015 release.

Just as the case is every other year, we will probably have a review up for Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare after its release.

(via Cinemablend)