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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 -
Ending Leaked For StarCraft II’s Next Chapter?
A clip, purportedly of the ending for “Heart of the Swarm,” the under-development second chapter of StarCraft II, leaked out earlier today. The video’s since been taken down. We’re not sure if it’s legitimate, but spoiler alert, just in case. The clip merges in storyboards and has no lip-synching to the dialogue, indicating it’s something…
By Owen Good Published December 8, 2010 -
Call of Duty: Black Ops is Seeping Into Our Heads, Setting Up House
Message from God, insight into our subconscious, predictions of the future: Many believe dreams offer some level of insight into something deeper than simply our daily preoccupations. So what can one read into the sudden surge of dreams featuring shooter Call of Duty: Black Ops. REMclounds, which tracks Twitter and Facebook for dream retellings, says…
By Brian Crecente Published December 7, 2010 -
DJ Hero Parody Game Mashes Up Some Legal Action
That’s what a lawyer representing Universal Music Publishing Group told the creator of 8-Bit DJ Hero, which resulted in one of the year’s best parody games being yanked off the internet. 8-Bit DJ Hero, developed by Eric Ruth, took the premise (and name) of Activision’s mash-up music game and took it back in time to…
By Luke Plunkett Published December 7, 2010 -
James Bond Now Has A License To…Sneak?
According to a major James Bond universe fan site, a “stealth” game starring Britain’s most famous secret agent is being worked on by Raven Software, the guys behind Singularity, Hexen and Jedi Knight II. The game was believed to have previously been put on ice, but with MGM Studios – owners of the Bond rights…
By Luke Plunkett Published December 7, 2010 -
NSFW: Rap Makes Call Of Duty Better
This may not be to everyone’s tastes, but it’s certainly to mine, as a man freestyle raps his way through an entire round of Call of Duty: Black Ops’ multiplayer. It shows you all it’s going to show you by around 1:30, so if it’s grating you don’t feel required to sit around and watch…
By Luke Plunkett Published December 6, 2010