-
CultureTotal Recall1981 Video Explains Activision’s “Overnight Success”
Activision may be heralded/hated as one of the world’s biggest video game companies today, but in 1981, it was a much smaller company. A very different company, in a very different time. Which is the only reason I can think of to explain this bizarrely wonderful promo video the company put together in 1981, which…
By Luke Plunkett Published June 19, 2012 -
Call of Duty‘s Next Two Maps Could be Modern Warfare 2 Throwbacks
According to this video, the map names “Shipbreaker” and “Terminal” briefly appeared in the map selection list of Modern Warfare 3‘s private match menu, apparently tipping off the names of two maps to come in the game’s next DLC drop this month. The enthusiast site CallofDutyMapPacks.com speculates that “Shipbreaker” could be a new Face Off…
By Owen Good Published June 17, 2012 -
Tony Hawk and Guitar Hero Development Team Heeds the Call of Duty
Neversoft, the Activision developement studio known for introducing Tony Hawk to video games and carrying the Guitar Hero torch, updated its website to reflect its new role supporting the Call of Duty franchise. Fingers crossed for skateboarding guitarist zombies. [Gamespot]
By Mike Fahey Published June 15, 2012 -
Transformers: Fall of Cybertron Breathes New Life Into Classic Characters
Transformers is not just about giant robots shooting other giant robots. It’s about giant robots shooting other giant robots with character. During a presentation of Transformers: Fall of Cybertron last week, High Moon Studios showed me a fast-paced action game filled with rich characters that never came across as robotic. I mean, who cares if…
By Mike Fahey Published June 14, 2012 -
I Can’t Believe Skylanders Giants Still Won’t Let Me Jump
I love Skylanders: Spyro’s Adventure. I love the toys. I love the colorful world and quirky characters. I love having characters that store their progress and can be transferred from PC to 3DS to console. The only thing I hated was the inability for the characters to jump. Some of these characters have wings, mind…
By Mike Fahey Published June 12, 2012 -
The Amish Are Gonna Be Furious When They Play the New Family Guy Game
When the barns are done being raised and the butter churned, there’s nothing the Amish love doing more than settling down in front of their carved wooden televisions and acting out scenes from the latest video games. In Family Guy: Back to the Multiverse the joke’s on them, and boy will they be irate. Back…
By Mike Fahey Published June 11, 2012 -
The Amazing Spider-Man Made Me Nauseous. This Pleases Me.
As the Beenox representative controlling The Amazing Spider-Man during the game’s E3 2012 presentation launched Peter Parker off the top of a tall building in virtual New York City, my stomach heaved sympathetically. The piece of pizza I had consumed during a previous meeting (thanks, Sony Online Entertainment!) threatened to make an encore appearance all…
By Mike Fahey Published June 11, 2012 -
Activision Might be For Sale
According to a report on BLoomberg, media giant Vivendi – which owns Activision Blizzard – is going to meet soon to decide whether to offload the publishing powerhouse. With a market value of around $13 billion, Vivendi’s top brass will mull whether to sell the company, sell part of the company or simply leave things…
By Luke Plunkett Published June 7, 2012 -
Do Not Show Your Children This Trailer for Skylanders Giants
It might be well-animated and feature the voice of someone I am relatively sure is Bobcat Goldthwait, but the only thing this trailer for Skylanders Giants is really good for is making your children annoying and your wallet ache. I mean look at that. Not only are there a ton of new toys to purchase,…
By Mike Fahey Published June 7, 2012 -
There’s a PC Version of Transformers: Fall of Cybertron After All
Earlier this year High Moon Studio’s game director Matt Tieger told me his team couldn’t handle making a PC version of Transformers: Fall of Cybertron, and PC gamers were a little upset. High Moon still can’t handle creating a PC version, but High Moon Studios and developer Mercenary Games working together are getting the job…
By Mike Fahey Published June 1, 2012 -
EA Weighs in on Activision Settlement in Delightfully Catty Fashion
Not one to sit on the sidelines of a good fight, EA has issued a wonderfully catty, short statement regarding the just-resolved lawsuit between Modern Warfare makers Jason West and Vince Zampella and EA’s rival Activision. In an email to Kotaku, an EA spokesperson relayed the following: “Activision’s refusal to pay their talent and attempt…
By Kirk Hamilton Published May 31, 2012 -
Ex-Modern Warfare Makers’ Lawsuit Against Activision Has Been Resolved [UPDATE]
According to Polygon‘s Michael McWhertor, Modern Warfare creators Jason West and Vince Zampella lawsuit against Activision has been resolved. The L.A. Times‘ Ben Fritz reports confirmation from both parties” lawyers Kotaku has reached out to both parties for comment and will update once we hear more. Update: West and Zampella’s Lawyer has told Kotaku the…
By Kirk Hamilton Published May 31, 2012 -
Square Enix’s American Boss Calls Activision “Crazy” for Dumping True Crime: Hong Kong
Publishing executives say complimentary stuff about their upcoming games all of the time. So what. But there’s an unusual history with Sleeping Dogs, which Square Enix will release Aug. 14—it was formerly known as True Crime: Hong Kong until Activision washed its hands of the franchise in the Feb. 2011 bloodbath that killed off Guitar…
By Owen Good Published May 26, 2012 -
Even If No One Listens, Let the Review Bombs Fall
It’s easy to sit back and scoff at “review bombing,” as we saw last week when Blizzard released a broken Diablo III. Flooding Amazon to give zero stars to something others have called a perfect 10, sure, that’s not a legitimate review. And people staging a sit-in aren’t there to legitimately patronize a public accommodation,…
By Owen Good Published May 25, 2012 -
“Hacker” May Have Asked for Microsoft’s Help Breaking Into Call of Duty Creator’s Emails
According to a report from Robert Schwartz, the lawyer currently representing Call of Duty creators Jason West and Vince Zampella in their big case against Activision, the notorious “Project Icebreaker” sounds even crazier than we first thought. Schwartz tells Game Informer that Thomas Fenady, the Activision IT expert approached to hack into Infinity Ward’s email…
By Luke Plunkett Published May 24, 2012 -
So Why Are There Dinosaurs on Pre-Earth Cybertron? Blame Shockwave
In the original Transformers cartoon, Grimlock and the Dinobots are created by Wheeljack and Ratchet after volcanic activity unearthed prehistoric fossils near the Autobot base. High Moon Studios’ explanation for the Dinobots appearance in Transformers: Fall of Cybertron makes a whole lot more sense. The Dinobots’ Fall of Cybertron origin borrows elements from several different…
By Mike Fahey Published May 24, 2012 -
Activision-Bungie Contract Has Rules About Everything, Even Easter Eggs
The ongoing legal saga between Activision and former Infinity Ward heads Jason West and Vincent Zampella continues to bring all sorts of once-secret documents to light. We already learned that Bungie’s 2010 contract with Activision guarantees the delivery of four “sci-fantasy” shooter games, called Destiny. But what other details are hiding in that 27-page contract?…
By Kate Cox Published May 23, 2012 -
Even Activision Executives Joked That StarCraft II Was Never Coming Out
StarCraft was released in 1998. By 2010, three years after it had first been revealed, StarCraft II still wasn’t out. If you thought it was understandable that fans were wondering if it was ever actually going to come out, it’s pretty funny seeing even Activision’s top executives thinking the same thing. Buried in the emails…
By Luke Plunkett Published May 23, 2012 -
Modern Warfare Creators Were Going To Make $16 Million Each In The Year They Were Fired
All manner of dirty laundry is currently being aired the ongoing ongoing lawsuit between Activision and Vince Zampella and Jason West, creators of Call of Duty: Modern Warfare A series of internal Activision emails indicate the projected 2009 and 2010 earnings of the most well-paid 30 employees at Infinity Ward. In 2010, the year that…
By Kirk Hamilton Published May 22, 2012