Posts Tagged ‘Call of Duty Modern Warfare 2’

The story keeps getting better as a new lawsuit is borne against Activision.  Just to keep things up to date.  Activision fired the president and CEO of the Call of Duty Modern Warfare 2 studio Infinity Ward claiming they were scheming against the company.  Jason West and Vince Zampella then sued Activision for $36 Million for wrongful termination.  Activision then responded in kind with a counter lawsuit.  Jason and Vince then set up a new game studio Respawn Entertainment around the corner from Infinity Ward with “seed” money from Electronic Arts after taking  a private jet ride North.  Top Infinity Ward employees then began heading for the door leaving Activision.  Who knows where they were headed.  Now, are we all up to date with this “Soap Mac Tavish” opera?

Last week Activision decided to pay its employees a small portion of their rightfully earned bonuses.  Activison had apparently only doled out $28 million of the $118 million dollar bonus pool accumulated from the last quarter of last year.  40 Infinity Ward employees have “opened fire” on Activision with a lawsuit of their own accusing the publisher of “breach of contract”, “breach of the implied covenant of good faith and fair dealing,” “unjust enrichment,” and “violation of the California labor code.”  The Infinity Ward employees also claim Activision is withholding $50 million in royalties to ensure the delivery of Call of Duty Modern Warfare 3 which has been confirmed as a game the team had been working on as a result of these lawsuits.  The employees at Infinity Ward claim Activision had withheld the bonuses and royalties agreed upon and was tantamount to “holding them hostage” so they would complete Modern Warfare 3.

Activision believes the lawsuit is without merit, and that they are to determine the amounts and schedules to deliver the bonus payments to its employees.  They are looking for judicial conformation that they are in the right.

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