Archive for the ‘OTHER GAMES’ Category

One of the greatest first person shooters of all time may be headed for a huge speed bump this week as Infinity Ward president, game director Jason West and CEO Vince Zapella were let go for apparent breaches of contract and insubordination.  Activisions human resources is conducting an internal investigation on the matter.  Activision does not expect that the game or the company will be impacted from the departures and litigation. 

The firings coincide with Activisions Security and Exchange Commission annual report which included a notice that the pair would be fired.

The included filing read:

The Company [Activision] is concluding an internal human resources inquiry into breaches of contract and insubordination by two senior employees at Infinity Ward. This matter is expected to involve the departure of key personnel and litigation. At present, the Company does not expect this matter to have a material impact on the Company

A report at G4 claims an unnamed source said that for several weeks there have been “tense” moments between Infinity Ward and parent company Activision which ultimately came to a boiling point at a morning board room meeting with studio and publisher heads.  The report claims that the Infinity Ward president and CEO apparently “vanished” shortly after the meeting and a group of “bouncer types” were left hanging around the offices which left the rest of the developers “freaked out”.  Some companies hire personal security to escort fired employees off the property if they think there will be trouble.  Obviously Activision was worried there could have been altercations after the firings.

Holy smokes!  There are huge doubts about the future of Infinity Ward and the Call of Duty Modern Warfare games in my opinion.  Will the talent who developed Modern Warfare 2 hang out and make Activisions proposed future ”unique new IP”, or if there will be a brain drain from the company as loyal developers and friends of West and Zampella leave town?  What about the new MW2 downloadable content pack due out in the spring?

Later in the week things got nastier.  There are reports that West and Zampella have filed lawsuits against Activision for wrongful termination. 

Here is a quote directly from their attorney Robert Schwartz:

Instead of thanking, lauding, or just plain paying Jason and Vince for giving Activision the most successful entertainment product ever offered to the public, last month Activision hired lawyers to conduct a pretextual ‘investigation’ into unstated and unsubstantiated charges of ‘insubordination’ and ‘breach of fiduciary duty,’ which then became the grounds for their termination on Monday, March 1st.

We’ll see what will happen in the coming weeks as more information comes to light about exactly what’s going on.  Activision has not commented on the matter and is moving ahead with the Call of Duty franchise and its new internal business unit devoted to developing the Call of Duty brand.  Three more Call of Duty games are planned and apparently Infinity Ward is not mentioned as being one of the developers involved according to current reports.  Stay tuned for this one!

The Gamestop in Virginia Beach on Shore Drive had over 100 people waiting in line for Call of Duty Modern Warfare 2. Others in nearby areas reported having close to 400 for the midnight launch.  Modern Warfare 2 the biggest selling game in Gamestop history surpassed Grand Theft Auto IV by 1.1 million copies the first day.

Activision Blizzard reports a total of 4.7 million copies sold the first 24 hours raking in more than $310 million dollars just in the United States and the United Kingdom alone.  A huge success for Activision Blizzard as other game publishers and movie studios look on with enormous envy.  The first Modern Warfare game had sold 6 million copies in its first quarter and the second game in the series is expected to do even better.

Analysts say the game will sell in any “economic environment” especially since game sales overall have been down for 2009.  The original Call of Duty games appealed to the World War II crowd, but since Infinity Ward shifted gears updating the game series to modern times the Call of Duty games have sold through the roof.  Sales of this game are expected to be strong for the rest of the year through the holiday season.

The review scores for Call of Duty Modern Warfare 2 have also gone through the roof.  The games best attributes are its graphics and multiplayer component as well as its high energy gameplay.  On the downside game sites have complained the single player campaign is short and the story telling somewhat lacking.  Overall the game wins over its critics with stunning multiplayer combat and Special Ops modes of coop play.

Gamestop has taken more preorders for Call of Duty:  Modern Warfare 2 than any other game in its history. Gamestop reports that the game will surpass Halo 3 for early orders and will notify more than 2 million customers who preodered the game the night before the launch.

The store is offering goodies to customers who buy the game early with sweepstakes style prizes as well as a $40 trade in credit for Modern Warfare 2 if returned by December 13. The prizes include but are not limited to a Hummer H2, a motorcycle, and a Zodiac Boat.  Customers who order the Call of Duty Modern Warfare 2 Prestige Edition will receive a copy of the game plus night vision goggles.  I’m not pulling your leg here.  Yes, night vision goggles!  Feast your eyes on the video below!

Footage leaked from France again depicts the player in Call of Duty Modern Warfare 2 playing as a terrorist shooting innocent civilians at an airport checkpoint.  A realistic terror attack government agencies defend against in modern times.  Can you say hype, controversy, and cold feet for retailers?  The controversy heating up around COD:  Modern Warfare 2 is spreading and we are waiting for Fox News to make a report.  Fox News hyped reports about video games past involving controversial sex scenes in Mass Effect which was widely debated by parental groups.  The noted scene in the Modern Warfare 2 has already hit a sensitive nerve in Australia in which a governmental lobbyist group may be seeking a ban on the game.

Activision Blizzard Entertainment notes that Modern Warfare 2 could be the most lucrative launch in its history. Additional attention from controversial scenes could enhance the presence of MW2 outside of the gamer geek realm.  Other controversial titles like Rock Star’s Grand Theft Auto:  San Andreas “hot coffee” sex mini game and Bioware’s Mass Effect bi-sexual cut scenes increased those games rankings for several weeks after release.

Activision in a statement released on Wednesday said the footage from France was taken illegally and is not ”representative” of the overall gameplay experience for Modern Warfare 2.  They said the scene in question was only supposed to show the ”atrocities of terrorism”.  The airport scene is part of a plot line where players can help defeat terrorists by infiltrating a Russian terror organisation.    Before the scene begins players are warned the content could be disturbing and have a chance to bypass instead of playing through the part.

It’s a very cinematic experience. “You get to play from multiple perspectives and get a broader picture of what this conflict is, and see that it’s much more than just winning a war with a bullet.”

- Infinity Ward

Limited Edition Version out March 2, 2010 with six player multiplayer, additional weapons, armored vehicles, day-one advantages.

The fantastic BioWare sci-fi RPG follow up will be coming to consoles January 26 in North America and January 29 for Europe.  Well, Great!  Not if you only own a PS3.  The PS3 console version hasn’t been announced and may not be.  Electronic Arts has announced the highly anticipated RPG shooter will be released sooner than we all previously thought for the XBOX 360 and PC.  Bonus content seems to be the thing nowadays and Mass Effect 2 is no exception.  Inferno and Terminus armors will go to fans who pre-order the game.  Unlike some games where armor is just aesthetic, these armors could actually be an advantage.  Inferno armor gives a negotiation bonus, an increase in speed and augmented damage.  Terminus armor increases your speed and shields, and you get the M-490 Blackstorm heavy gravity gun.  Be aware who you preorder the game from as the bonus content is not distributed equally at every retailer.  Fans cannot get both unless they purchase twice from different outlets.  I’m sure the hard core fans will do just that.

Choose wisely.

“Our fans are in for a genuine thrill in the New Year with Mass Effect 2 – the second installment in the trilogy will be of amazingly high quality,” said Dr. Ray Muzyka, co-founder, BioWare and Group General Manager of the RPG/MMO Group of EA. “BioWare’s fans worldwide have been eagerly awaiting this epic sequel, and we couldn’t be more excited to reward them for pre-ordering by delivering some awesome bonus content!”

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