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Another Day, Another Death Threat From Gamers to The People Who Make Video Games
“The very first death threat I got was when we decided not to support dedicated servers in Modern Warfare 2,” Robert Bowling, the former public face for the Call of Duty series, recently told me. That was in 2009. He’s had many more since, including batches of them every month throughout last year. “They were…
By Stephen Totilo Published April 23, 2012 -
On May 1, A New Call of Duty Game Will be Revealed
A new Call of Duty game reveal? Already? It’s OK. I’m as shocked/speechless/breathless as you are. Activision has updated Call of Duty’s official site with a new splash page saying that, on May 1, there’ll be a “World Reveal”. Given the increasing buzz/chatter flying around it’s probably for either Black Ops 2 or, as was…
By Luke Plunkett Published April 22, 2012 -
If Activision is Releasing “Call of Duty: Eclipse” They Picked a Good Day to Do It
I was on the fence about posting this because, I mean, “Black Ops 2 coming out in November?” Stop the presses, that’s like “Call of Duty is coming out this year”-type news. But the game does seem to have a clever codename, unless the codename is actually its title. Rumor has it that the marketing…
By Owen Good Published April 22, 2012 -
Spectacular Modern Warfare 3 Thowing Knife Kill Foiled by Pesky Portable Radar
YouTube user TehPadre would have had a pretty spectacular cross-map throwing knife kill on his hands, if not for the courageous efforts of a portable handheld radar. Missed it by that much! Good thing TehPadre checks his replays after every long-distance throwing knife attack. If not he never would have known the man that shot…
By Mike Fahey Published April 20, 2012 -
The Call of Duty Tactics Game That Never Happened
Infinity Ward may have created Call of Duty but publisher Activision has always wanted to take the hit war-game series into different directions. Most of those efforts stalled—like the third-person variant that dev studio Sledgehammer was working on—and the public never gets to see what might have been But what you’re seeing above is animation…
By Evan Narcisse Published April 19, 2012 -
Norway Killer’s Court Testimony Reveals How He Used Call of Duty to Train
It’s already a matter of record that Anders Behring Breivik wrote about using Call of Duty to hone his marksmanship before he shot 69 people to death last year. But yesterday he testified in a Norwegian court about the roles that the first-person-shooter series and World of Warcraft played in his life leading up to…
By Evan Narcisse Published April 19, 2012 -
Kotaku East
Call of Duty: Elite Abandoning Japanese
The much ballyhooed Call of Duty: Elite online service will not be available in Japan. Square Enix, Call of Duty‘s publisher in Japan, revealed that a Japanese version isn’t happening due to localization issues. According to Square Enix, the game’s original publisher, Activision, worked hard to get localized versions of Elite released in different territories.…
By Brian Ashcraft Published April 19, 2012 -
Is This an Official Poster for Call of Duty: Black Ops 2?
It’s looking more and more like this year’s Call of Duty is going to be a sequel to 2010’s Black Ops. A retail source forwarded the following image from a poster received today. It’s been widely speculated that this year’s Call of Duty game will be a sequel to Black Ops, which was developed by…
By Evan Narcisse Published April 18, 2012 -
Pro-Hitler Video is a Call of Duty Elite ‘Staff Pick’
You’d expect to see videos showcasing epic killstreaks and particularly inventive death-dealing chosen to be highlighted as staff picks on Call of Duty Elite‘s Theater pages. You might not expect to find Adolf Hitler there, though. And yet, there he is. Alongside how-to videos where players show other players how best to wield certain weapons,…
By Evan Narcisse Published April 16, 2012 -
Call of Duty Might Finally be Running Out of Puff
For years now, through thick and thin, one thing has remained constant in this business: every holiday season, a new Call of Duty game arrives and outsells the last one. Except for this year, that is, because it looks like 2011’s Modern Wafare 3 will, at the rate things are going, sell less copies than…
By Luke Plunkett Published April 15, 2012 -
Conan O’Brien Debuts Call of Duty: Teenage Girl Edition and Keeping Away From the Kardashians
Black Ops 2? Forget that noise. Late-night funnyman Conan O’Brian has the scoop on Activision’s not-actually-real bid to win over a segment of the population who probably isn’t playing the company’s hit FPS franchise. Call of Duty: Teenage Girl Edition led the way in a segment of fake video games that the red-haired talk show…
By Evan Narcisse Published April 5, 2012 -
A Real Shooting Range for Call of Duty Fans
Machine Guns Vegas, a company in…Las Vegas which lets you shoot…machine guns, likes to entice customers with themed package deals. One of those is called the “COD”, and lets fans of Activision’s Call of Duty series squeeze off rounds from some of the series’ most prominent firearms. For $170 per person, you get 25 rounds…
By Luke Plunkett Published April 2, 2012 -
The Nasty Twitter Hate Sent To the Former Face of Call of Duty
We know that Twitter is a forum rife with negativity, just as surely as we know that Xbox Live contains the same. But it’s still sobering to look at the kind of venom that was spewed in the direction of Robert Bowling, who recently resigned as the public face and “creative strategist” of lead Call…
By Stephen Totilo Published March 28, 2012 -
Call of Duty Cited As Possible Factor in Fatal Shooting of 10-Year-Old Boy
A preteen who killed a friend inside a Georgia home was playing Activision’s popular first-person-shooter before the fatal shots were fired. According to ABC affiliate WJBF, three young boys were playing Call of Duty: Black Ops on the night of March 26th, when the eldest of them picked up a semi-automatic that belonged to his…
By Evan Narcisse Published March 28, 2012 -
Call of Duty‘s Robert “fourzerotwo” Bowling Steps Down
Infinity Ward Creative Strategist Robert Bowling, known as one of the most public faces of the Call of Duty franchise, has stepped down from his position, he said on his Twitter feed today. Activision sent over an official statement on the situation this afternoon: We sincerely thank Robert for his many years of service. He’s…
By Jason Schreier Published March 26, 2012 -
When Will a Modern Military Shooter Let a Woman Lead the Charge?
Will we ever see a Call of Duty game with a female protagonist? Commenter Nameloi wonders if the modern military shooter genre will ever give females a starring role on the battlefield in today’s Speak Up on Kotaku. Will there ever be a modern military game with a prominent female character(s)? This is something that…
By Mike Fahey Published March 21, 2012 -
This Nazi Zombie Hungers for Your Brains (Well, Cash)
Nazi zombies are the stars of both movies and video games. With good reason. You combine a Nazi and a zombie and you’ve got twice the bad guy. The premise is now set in (poly)stone with this statue from Sideshow, which shows an undead member of the 1000-year Reich in full lurch. As with most…
By Luke Plunkett Published March 21, 2012 -
With Any Luck, The Terrorists Really Are Using Call of Duty To Train
Semi-reliable British news source The Sun reports that terrorists are using Call of Duty and Halo to keep in touch with each other and train for terrorist attacks. “Kids’ fave keeps their plots secret,” The Sun blares, which may well be possible. Scum terrorists may be using Call of Duty voice chat over Xbox 360…
By Stephen Totilo Published March 20, 2012 -
Shooting 15-Year-Old Modern Warfare Players is Fine, Just Don’t Sleep With Them
Maine resident Cassandra Grant, 22, faces charges of second-degree assault and risk of injury to a minor after a round of Modern Warfare grew into a nine-month relationship with a 15-year-old Connecticut boy. According to authorities, Grant met her unnamed victim (which I suppose is the correct term here) in March of 2011 while playing…
By Mike Fahey Published March 13, 2012 -
WTPT: Kid Loses It When His Mom Insists He Quit Call of Duty
We’ve all encountered some pretty hilarious gamers on Xbox Live, whether they’re intentionally comedic or not. The diverse age range means that many of these encounters involve some kid battling with his mom or dad to stay online for just a little bit longer. Two guys camp out in an airplane in Call of Duty,…
By Tina Amini Published March 12, 2012