The Fix is in: Bookies Bet Call of Duty: Black Ops 2 Will Be The Holiday Season’s Best-Selling Game

Holiday shopping has become a bit of spectacle, hasn’t it? Between the rise of Black Friday sales and the mass hysteria that can ensue over “it-gifts”, it’s not hard to see how you could get a sort of disturbing, secret enjoyment about watching the world’s mad dash to buy the right presents. For some of us, though, watching simply won’t be enough… Which is why a couple of UK-based online bookies are setting odds for what video game will sell the most copies this holiday season. Of course, the odds heavily favor Call of Duty: Black Ops II. With Call of Duty games winning the holiday race for the last three years, how could they not?

Both Paddie Power and Ladbrokes.com are basing their analyses on sales numbers in the UK. Though they’re covering the same event, their lists of likely candidates are very different. While both bookmakers agree that Black Ops II is the favorite, the rankings vary wildly after that.

Here are the odds, as determined by Paddie Power:

1/20   Call Of Duty: Black Ops II
8/1     FIFA 13
20/1   Medal of Honour: Warfighter
28/1   Borderlands 2
33/1   World Of Warcraft: Mists Of Pandaria
33/1   Assassin’s Creed III
33/1   New Super Mario Bros. U

Personally, I prefer the Ladbrokes odds, mainly because their list better represents the entire field of potential holiday hits.

1/8 Call of Duty: Black Ops II
12/1 New Super Mario Bros. U
14/1 Halo 4
16/1 Assasin Creed III
16/1 FIFA 13
25/1 LEGO Lord of the Rings
25/1 Hitman Absolution
33/1 Medal of Honor: Warfighter
33/1 WWE ’13
50/1 Just Dance 4
50/1 Football Manager 2013
50/1 Need for Speed Most Wanted
66/1 Far Cry 3
100/1 Madden NFL 13
100/1 Forza Horizon
100/1 Diablo III
100/1 Resident Evil 6
100/1 Dishonored

If the supremacy of Black Ops II makes it feel like the whole thing is rigged, Paddie Power also has set of odds for the highest seller other than the next Call of Duty.

4/9     FIFA 13
6/1     Medal of Honour: Warfighter
8/1     Assassin’s Creed III
16/1    World Of Warcraft: Mists Of Pandaria
16/1    Borderlands II
16/1    New Super Mario Bros. U

With the odds stacked so heavily in Call of Duty’s favor, betting on the chart-topper doesn’t really feel like its worth it. Then again, gambling on sales numbers doesn’t really like it’d be worth it in general.

(via MCVUK)

Relevant to Your Interests

• I bet Mario Warfare would beat Black Ops II.
• Then again, you always sink your money into Facebook gambling…
• At least gaming sales aren’t rigged liked arcade claw machines.