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Guitar Hero Ponders A Subscription Model For DLC
As Guitar Hero‘s catalogue of downloadable content grows larger, it gets harder and harder to make a buck selling the older stuff individually. So…what about a subscription to the whole service instead? It’s something Red Octane and Activision are thinking about, RO’s founder Kai Huang telling the Seattle Times “[a monthly subscription is] definitely one…
By Luke Plunkett Published November 24, 2009 -
Then vs Now: Infinity Ward On Dedicated Servers, Mods In 2007
How time changes men. In 2007, Infinity Ward were gushing over the important things in Call of Duty 4’s PC version, like dedicated servers and the involvement of the mod scene. Wonder what, in the intervening years, has changed?
By Luke Plunkett Published November 24, 2009 -
Modern Warfare 2 Selling Just Fine On PC
Proving that the Modern Warfare 2 “boycott” was more hollow tantrum than actual boycott, Infinity Ward have revealed that the PC version of the game has been outselling its predecessor. “The PC version of Modern Warfare 2 has actually outsold the PC version of Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare in it’s first week”, IW’s…
By Luke Plunkett Published November 21, 2009 -
Valve Bans Gray-Market Modern Warfare 2 Keys
Some who bought CD keys for Modern Warfare 2 – no physicial media in other words – from import resellers have seen their access to the game vanish, as Activision has apparently asked Valve to ban such keys. A poster in Valve’s official forums complained that a key he bought through G2Play.net no longer lets…
By Owen Good Published November 20, 2009 -
Try Jurassic: The Hunted Before You Stare At It Quizzically On Store Shelves
Activision sprung Jurassic: The Hunted on us only a month ago, barely giving folks time to see it, much less find out how it played. Perhaps an Xbox 360 demo will shed some light. Jurassic: The Hunted, developed by Cauldron HQ and released two weeks after it was announced on the Wii, Xbox 360, PlayStation…
By Mike Fahey Published November 20, 2009 -
Modern Warfare 2 Could Have Had Aliens, Zombies
Absurd excesses aside, Modern Warfare 2 likes to keep thing pretty straight. Real men, real weapons, real countries. But during the game’s development cycle, Infinity Ward were open to things of a quirkier nature. “In the beginning we talked about having things in Modern Warfare 2 like outbreaks, viruses, chemical warfare, and even outlandish things…
By Luke Plunkett Published November 19, 2009 -
Tony Hawk Ride Gets Stood Upon By Giant Bomb
We’re still waiting on our own copy of Tony Hawk Ride for a Kotaku review, but the Giant Bomb crew bravely ventured out of doors to secure a copy, offering their trademark Quick Look at Activision’s new peripheral-based skateboarding game. Not only is it informative, giving curious Tony Hawk Ride investors a 20-plus minute video…
By Michael McWhertor Published November 19, 2009 -
How Much Did It Cost To Make Modern Warfare 2?
Modern Warfare 2 has made about a bazillion dollars so far around the world, but that’s not all profit. You’ve got to subtract the game’s development costs. And for such a polished game, those must be pretty high… And they are. An LA Times report on the game’s launch says the game “cost $40 million…
By Luke Plunkett Published November 18, 2009 -
More Call Of Duty Movie Talk Bubbles Up From Soap Himself
Were Activision to pass on creating a Call of Duty-based film, it would be leaving millions on the table. Not their style. That’s why more chatter about a possible Call of Duty doesn’t surprise, especially coming from “Soap” MacTavish himself. No, not the video game character. We’re still pretty good at discerning reality from fantasy.…
By Michael McWhertor Published November 18, 2009 -
Modern Warfare 2: PC Versus 360
How does the PC version of Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 compare to the console versions? I spent some time with the game on the Xbox 360 and Steam to find out. The single player experience in the PC and Xbox 360 versions of the game is largely the same, with a few obvious…
By Mike Fahey Published November 18, 2009 -
Report: Activision Sets Up Third Call Of Duty Team
Having two teams dedicated to annual output of Activision’s Call of Duty franchise may not be enough for the publisher. A report from the LA Times says that a third team is now tasked with Call of Duty development duties. While the news outlet doesn’t name the studio responsible for providing gamers with even more…
By Michael McWhertor Published November 18, 2009 -
Tony Hawk: Ride Versus Skateboarding Dog
This dog obviously has had more time to play Tony Hawk: Ride than 3 hours on a Saturday afternoon. I’m going to assume you’ve all seen at least one skateboarding dog video in your lifetimes. If not, welcome to the internet. This rather obvious viral ad for Tony Hawk: Ride plays off the skateboarding dog…
By Mike Fahey Published November 18, 2009 -
Modern Warfare 2 By the Xbox Live Numbers
Luke already pointed out that Modern Warfare 2 is an entertainment industry record setter, so today’s Activision confirmation isn’t too surprising. But the Xbox Live numbers included along with that confirmation sure are. More than 2.2 million gamers logged more than 5.2 million multiplayer hours playing Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 on the first…
By Brian Crecente Published November 18, 2009 -
Reviewer: Opportunity To Review New Tony Hawk Early Limited To Three Hours On A Saturday
Game publishers are under no obligation to provide access to games early so that reviews can be online by launch. For big titles, usually they find a way. Sometimes, one reviewer found with the new Tony Hawk, it’s complicated. Here’s Giant Bomb‘s Jeff Gerstmann, one of the most respected and tenured reviewers in the gaming…
By Stephen Totilo Published November 17, 2009 -
Activision Announces Sledgehammer Games, New Home To Ex-Dead Space Leads
Publisher Activision officially announced today the formation of Sledgehammer Games, the Foster City-based, Activision wholly-owned game development studio headed by ex-Visceral Games leaders Glen Schofield and Michael Condrey. Yes, the folks responsible for last year’s brilliant Dead Space. The ex-Visceral duo, who jumped ship from EA to Activision this summer, are reportedly working on an…
By Michael McWhertor Published November 17, 2009 -
Activision Cut MW2 Airport Scene For Russia
Activision confirms that the controversial “No Russian” mission in Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 doesn’t appear in the Russian version of the game, as they nip rumors of Russian bans in the bud. The “No Russian” scene in Modern Warfare 2 has players working undercover with a terrorist organization as they open fire on…
By Mike Fahey Published November 17, 2009 -
Modern Warfare 2 Gets Dedicated PC Servers (Well, Sort Of)
So Infinity Ward ditched dedicated servers for the PC version of Modern Warfare 2, eh? It’s of little consequence, as it hasn’t taken hackers long to enable a workaround, bringing the feature back. And here it is, in action. With predictable shenanigans in tow. Whether it’s actually better than IW’s present solution is another matter,…
By Luke Plunkett Published November 16, 2009 -
Band Hero Offers New Ways To Torment Kurt Cobain
Maybe Kurt Cobain and Johnny Cash’s respective wills demanded that their spirits live on in the form of a digital Village People cover band, meaning the option to export Band Hero songs into Guitar Hero 5 isn’t totally bad. On the other hand, seeing Cobain, Cash and Muse frontman Matt Bellamy performing “YMCA” or, say,…
By Michael McWhertor Published November 16, 2009 -
Call of Duty: World At War Zombies Attack iPhone
Thanks to the iPhone and iPod Touch you need never be away from the mass re-killing of hordes of shuffling, reanimated Nazi soldiers. Call of Duty: World At War: Zombies has been released via the iTunes App Store today. Call of Duty: World At War: Zombies consists, according to the official description, entirely of the…
By Michael McWhertor Published November 16, 2009 -
Activision Exec: ‘Expect’ Additional, Paid Online Modes
Whoops. Kinda sorta missed this, another pearl of wisdom from this week’s BMO Capital Markets forum. Activision’s CFO told conferees that extracting more dough out of players, via charging for certain online play or features, is something we should expect. Here’s what Tom Tippl told the gathering: It’s definitely an aspiration that we see potential…
By Owen Good Published November 15, 2009