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Quick, How Many Ads Can You Spot On This NASCAR Box
Let’s thank the crew behind the Activision Eutechnyx NASCAR 2011 The Game Lowe’s GoDaddy Cheerios Impala. They gave us some super box art that run real good today. The game releases March 29, part of a sportspocalypse month in gaming.
By Owen Good Published January 12, 2011 -
Was Modern Warfare 2 An Act Of Sabotage?
Was Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 a “silent rebellion” on the part of Infinity Ward, an early shot in the big Activision legal battle? Kotaku commenter Shibuya ESPer explores the possibility in today’s Speak-Up on Kotaku. Has anyone ever considered the ridiculous possibility that (Modern Warfare 2) was actually a premeditated “silent rebellion” type…
By Mike Fahey Published January 12, 2011 -
James Bond Comes Back To Movie Theaters In 2012
James Bond will be coming back to the big screen for his 23rd film on November 9, 2012, starring Daniel Craig as the super spy, a film that’s reportedly a direct follow-up to 2008’s Quantum of Solace. The next Bond film was originally planned for a 2011 release, but financial woes at studio MGM pushed…
By Michael McWhertor Published January 11, 2011 -
Modern Warfare Creators Taking Damage From Legal Fees
According to new documents released today, the ongoing legal battle between the creators of Call of Duty and the franchise’s publishers is beginning to take its toll on those involved. Last month, Activision sought to expand the scope of the lawsuit by including Electronic Arts, the publisher that is now home to the new studio…
By Luke Plunkett Published January 5, 2011 -
Will Call of Duty Get Standalone, Pay-To-Play Online Multiplayer?
Call of Duty publisher Activision has been talking about new ways to make even more money from its shoot ’em up cashcow for years. A new report makes it sound like a new way to play Call of Duty online is imminent. The analysts at Wedbush Securities believe that Activision is set to reveal a…
By Michael McWhertor Published January 3, 2011 -
Activision Threatens 600 UK Jobs Over Loss of Tax Breaks
Activision’s so incensed over the United Kingdom’s rollback of promised tax breaks for video games development that the publisher is considering the withdrawal of its 600-employee office from the country, according to The Telegraph. Though tax relief proposals had support from both the Conservative and Liberal Democrat leadership in Parliament, the plans were scrapped in…
By Owen Good Published January 2, 2011 -
Activision Rips Lawmakers’ Fixation On Postal
When the mainstream debate turns to violent video games, it’s inevitable that someone will dredge up Postal. It’s like the triple dog dare, or comparing someone to Hitler, a completely bogus trump card with no real argumentative value. George Rose, the chief public policy officer for Activision Blizzard, finally called bullshit today in a guest…
By Owen Good Published December 30, 2010 -
Call of Duty Players Log More Than 600 Million Hours In 45 Days
Lending weight to CEO Bobby Kotick’s claim that Call of Duty is as much a social networking phenomenon as it is a video gaming one, Activision released numbers boasting of online time that, per user, surpasses the Facebook average. More than 20 million users on Call of Duty: Black Ops logged more than 600 million…
By Owen Good Published December 30, 2010 -
Call of Duty: Black Ops Nabs ‘Most Pirated Game of 2010’ Distinction
Not only is Call of Duty: Black Ops one of the fastest selling video games of all time, racking up more than a billion dollars in sales in 2010, it’s also impressively enough one of the most illegally downloaded. According to a report from BitTorrent news site TorrentFreak, the PC version of Black Ops has…
By Michael McWhertor Published December 28, 2010 -
Activision CEO Sees Call of Duty as a Form of Social Media
Speaking to CNN earlier this week, Activision’s CEO noted that more people play Black Ops, daily, than watch the late night hosts Leno, Letterman and Fallon, combined. No offense, but that would seem to be an easy goal to beat. No, network television isn’t the yardstick Bobby Kotick uses to measure Call of Duty as…
By Owen Good Published December 26, 2010 -
Call of Duty Publisher’s Accusations Are ‘Deliberate Misdirection,” Rival Says
Yesterday, Activision accused rival games giant EA of all sort of skullduggery while suing them for $400 million for allegedly trying to “hijack” the Call of Duty franchise. Today, EA fired back. “This is a PR play filled with pettiness and deliberate misdirection,” EA’s head of communications Jeff Brown told Kotaku. “Activision wants to hide…
By Stephen Totilo Published December 22, 2010 -
The Modern Warfare Fight: Your Guide to Activision Vs. Infinity Ward
The ongoing legal tussle between Call of Duty: Modern Warfare developer Infinity Ward and publishing giant Activision is full of intrigue, accusations, lawsuits, a mass exodus of key staffers from the studio behind the game and, now, allegations of sabotage. Updated with recent developments. At stake is the future of Infinity Ward, the studio behind…
By Michael McWhertor Published December 22, 2010 -
Call of Duty Giant Suing Rival Over Modern Warfare Meltdown, Paints Uglier Picture
The nasty lawsuits between Call of Duty publisher Activision and the ousted lead creators of that hit series got nastier today with accusations that the president of rival EA was instrumental in trying to “hijack” the Call of Duty developers. And there’s more mud being slung. Activision also says the makers of Modern Warfare gleefully…
By Stephen Totilo Published December 21, 2010 -
You’ve Purchased $1 Billion Worth Of Call Of Duty: Black Ops
Activision makes with the corporate gloating today with news that Call of Duty: Black Ops has surpassed $1 billion in worldwide sales since its release in November. That’s faster than Modern Warfare 2, but James Cameron still has it beat. Selling $650 million in the first five days after its November 9 worldwide release, Call…
By Mike Fahey Published December 21, 2010 -
Black Ops’ First Downloadable Content Is Oscar Mike
The first downloadable content for Call of Duty: Black Ops has been revealed. It’ll go on sale on the Xbox 360 on February 1, and cost $15. The DLC comes in the form of a multiplayer map pack, containing four “regular” levels and one for the game’s zombie mode. Two of the regular maps are…
By Luke Plunkett Published December 20, 2010 -
Games Makers At The Fore Of Science Education Push
If you’re asking industry heavyweights to make a video to fire up kids about math and science, it’s probably no surprise that the video game maker is the one getting the most views. There’s nothing on the line in this informal competition – maybe bragging rights. But Activision Blizzard’s three minute spot for Change the…
By Owen Good Published December 17, 2010 -
LEGO Black Ops Is Too Gory To Ever Be A Video Game
Will we ever get a Call of Duty game for the kids? Not if it’s as bloody and gory as LEGO Black Ops, the stop motion animated elimination bloodbath from YouTube movie maker Keshen8. You won’t find much in the way of killstreaks, perks or outrageous tomahawk kills, but LEGO Black Ops, via FourZeroTwo’s Twitter,…
By Michael McWhertor Published December 13, 2010 -
New X-Men Game Sounds Mass Effect-y
This new trailer for fall 2011’s X-Men Destiny keeps hammering away at one point: as a virtual X-Man, we will be able to choose our destiny in Destiny. That sure makes it sound like this game’s a role-playing game. Maybe it has a morality system? We know it has a “branching storyline that features a…
By Stephen Totilo Published December 13, 2010 -
Black Ops Has Probably Already Outsold Your Favorite Video Game
Call of Duty: Black Ops was released a month ago today. In that time, it has already sold more copies in the USA than games like Ocarina of Time, Super Mario Kart and Halo 3. Looking for specifics? That’s 8.4 million copies sold. In just the United States. Of course, it helps that the game…
By Luke Plunkett Published December 10, 2010