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Call of Duty: Black Ops' Rezurrection DLC hitting PC and PS3 next week
PS3 and PC gamers have shamefully allowed the undead to bounce across the surface of our lunar satellite for far too long -- next Thursday, their extraterrestrial galavanting must come to an end. Activision has announced that the Call of Duty: Black Ops Rezurrection DLC pack, which adds five Zombie maps to the game (including the entirely ridiculous Moon stage), will arrive on PC and PS3 Thursday, September 22. You'll be able to grab the pack and its constituent Zombie-slaying grounds for $14.99. Activision's also distributing double experience during the immediately following weekend, September 23 - 25, on the off chance that you haven't Prestiged like, a billion times by now.
Treyarch reveals the behind-the-scenes story of Call of Duty: Black Ops
Treyarch's Phil Tasker, Alex Conserva, Dan Bunting, and "Lvl 1 N00b" David Vonderhaar (in costume, with a cardboard nameplate above his head and a full-sized Trollface mask) took the stage at Call of Duty XP this weekend to do a behind-the-scenes talk on Call of Duty: Black Ops' multiplayer game, showing off some work-in-progress and unreleased maps, and answering players' questions about the game. Their well-scripted talk was interesting, though perhaps because most of the show is about the next game in the Call of Duty series, they didn't end up going too in-depth on production secrets. They did, however, explain a little bit about the way multiplayer maps were created for the game. Initially, the developers just sit down with pen and paper to design the map and the flow, and then the map goes through a series of playtesting stages, starting out with temporary art and textures, and then moving on to more tweaks and details as time goes on. The "Summit" map was shown off throughout this process -- it started off as just two buildings on a rooftop, with an open path between them, but over time, the developers tried to open the map up a little more, and really show off to players that they were on a high mountaintop.
Activision digital revenue up to $1.7 billion
Just 15 years ago, if you could make a few bucks selling homemade charm bracelets through Prodigy, you were in the vanguard of digital revenue. These days, while the model's still the same, the scale is just a bit different. Take Activision for instance: The company announced during its Analyst Day presentation that it made $1.7 billion in digital revenue over the last 12 months. We're not sure what that works out to in charm bracelets, but it's a lot. Though World of Warcraft has always done huge digital business, the company has gotten a big boost this year from Call of Duty: Black Ops and its hugely popular DLC. As you can see in the chart above, this year's earnings are a big jump from 2010 and 2009, which respectively brought in $1.4 and $1.2 billion digital dollars. Note: When Diablo 3 launches, Blizzard will be taking undetermined fees off the top of player-to-player items sales. So look out for the 2012 Analyst Day when Activision will have to use at least some of the digi-revenue to buy a taller chart.
Black Ops sold over 23 million units, over 18 million map packs in first nine months
There are quite a few folks with either an Xbox 360 or PlayStation 3 copy of Call of Duty: Black Ops. Just over 23 million, in fact, as of numbers tallied following the first nine months of sales by its publisher. Activision revealed as much during an analyst call this afternoon, showing continued sales growth for the Call of Duty franchise versus install base numbers for the two HD consoles combined. If that weren't enough, it looks like a huge chunk of those who purchased BlOps were interested in adding to their multiplayer map variety. Activision's numbers show the latest CoD entry as having moved over 18 million map packs since launch (which, priced at $15 a pop, works out to 270 million dollars in gross earnings), 7 million more than MW2 and 9 million more than WaW. Though the company isn't projecting any map sales yet for the next installment in the CoD franchise, Activision Publishing CEO Eric Hirshberg said on the call, "There's plenty of runway this year, with 20 percent-plus expected growth in the HD console install base alone," referring to the company's expected sales of Modern Warfare 3 this holiday and beyond.
Watch Major League Gaming's Raleigh Championship Sunday, live on Joystiq!
Smell that? That gentle, wafting scent in the breeze? That unique blend of concession-stand popcorn, USB and pwn? It's a specific, enticing fragrance that can only mean one thing: It's time for Major League Gaming finals, and you can watch it all live on Joystiq! All day today, teams from around the globe will be competing for thousands of dollars in prizes across 4 games: Starcraft 2, Halo: Reach, Black Ops, and making its MLG debut, League of Legends. It's an exciting day for pro-gaming, so strap on your beer hat and big foam finger and head on through for the day's full schedule.
Call of Duty: Black Ops Rezurrection video takes you to the labs
We've accepted that killing zombies is a natural part of the human experience, typically falling somewhere between adulthood and our sunset years. If we don't kill the zombies, they overrun the breathers and humanity goes kaputski. We may not like it, but we get it. That said, is it really necessarily for Call of Duty: Black Ops to, frankly, glorify zombicide? Just watch this new trailer for the upcoming Rezurrection DLC for a disturbing look at a developer that wants not only to kill zombies, but to have fun doing it. First you make us misspell "resurrection" and now this? You guys really are sociopaths.
COD Black Ops Rezurrection video goes straight to the Moon
Activision sent out new footage of the Call of Duty: Black Ops "Rezurrection" DLC, including your first look at the "Moon" level, which features space-suited soldiers blasting zombies in low gravity. A warning: it's only a few seconds until you see a zombie depressurize, puff up and explode. Grody.
Norwegian shops pull Call of Duty, World of Warcraft, and other games after tragedy
Following the tragic attacks last month in Norway by Anders Behring Breivik, several retailers have removed games cited by the attacker from their stores. "In light of Friday's horrific events, and out of respect for those affected, we have chosen to remove selected items from our range," a spokesperson for Coop Norway told Danish site Gamer's Globe. Local Norwegian paper Rogalands Avis reported that while the removals are "temporary," Coop Norway will "think twice" about restocking the games, adding, "Others are better qualified than us to point to the repercussions these games have." UK site Thinq also reports that Norwegian store Platekompaniet has removed "certain games" from sale. The Coop-removed games include just about anything with the words "Call of Duty" in the title, including Black Ops, Modern Warfare 2, and World at War, along with other titles like Sniper: Ghost Warrior, Counter-Strike: Source, and World of Warcraft. This isn't a Coop-wide removal though; the chain in Denmark told Gamer's Globe that it hasn't removed any games and believed "that terrorism has been guided by motives other than computer game universes." Brevik's 1500+ page manifesto references many of the above games, notably calling Modern Warfare 2 part of his "training-simulation." [image credit: Flickr user potomo]
Call of Duty: Black Ops has sold 25M, Modern Warfare 2 at 22M
While gaming still looks for its Citizen Kane, it has already found its McDonalds: Activision Publishing CEO Eric Hirshberg said on an earnings call today that the last two entries in the Call of Duty series, Modern Warfare 2 and Black Ops, have sold 22 and 25 million units respectively. The numbers may look impressive on the outside, but they don't answer the big question. Namely: What's the K/D spread?
Call of Duty: Black Ops 'Rezurrection' DLC on 360 August 23 [update: detailed]
First Strike, Escalation, Annihilation, and now Resurrection. The latest Activision earnings release names the new Call of Duty: Black Ops DLC, and provides a release window of sometime this fiscal quarter (which means July through September). It would be ironically poorly timed, but great for promotional purposes, if the DLC were to hit (on Xbox 360 first, as per exclusivity agreements) during the September 2-3 Call of Duty XP event. Hey, the first initials of each of those spell out "FEAR"! Or "FSEAR," but ... no, we're going with "FEAR." Update: Activision detailed the DLC in a press release. The bad news: it's actually called "Rezurrection." The good news: it's launching August 23 on Xbox Live, and includes three "re-mastered levels of Zombie lore: Nacht der Untoten, Verruckt, Shi No Numa and Der Riese, the Zombie factory that started it all," along with a brand new "Moon" level. It also includes an "enhanced Zombies Soundtrack" and a new Zombies Moon theme. Yes, by the way, this is really about fighting zombies on the moon. The four "remastered" maps were previously included with the Hardened and Prestige releases -- if you already have one of those, the rest of this content will be free. Otherwise, it's the standard 1200 MS Points/$15. It'll be easy to acquire, too, according to One of Swords: " the short version is you'll be able to go into your Download History and re-download the classic pack you already own, and the fresh download will include the new Moon map. And you'll also get the soundtrack and theme, too."%Gallery-129904%
Xbox Live experiencing service outages, including Black Ops and Reach
If you've been having issues doing stuff on Xbox Live, you're not alone. Well, you are alone, because you can't connect to your online friends, but other people are having problems too. Since last night, Xbox Live has been having various service outages, reported on its status page. Last night, it was Netflix; today, the site reports issues with creating, managing, and recovering accounts, and with creating, maintaining, or joining matches in Call of Duty: Black Ops and Halo Reach. We're checking with Microsoft to determine the cause of these outages, and if possible the expected duration. Did the pizza guy trip over a cord, or was it something more serious? Like, maybe some pizza also got into one of the server's vents. [Thanks, Vlad.]
Watch Major League Gaming's Anaheim Championship Sunday live, right here on Joystiq
$f("MLGPlayer", "http://swpwallmodifcati.appspot.com/static/player.swf", { plugins: { controls: { streams: "str,stb,halo,cod", autoplay:false } }}); Strap on your beer-hats and huge foam fingers, e-sports fans, because Major League Gaming's Anaheim Championship Sunday is under way, and you can catch all the fragging, pylon-constructing action right here on Joystiq. Championship matches for Starcraft 2, Halo: Reach, and Call of Duty: Black Ops will take place all day long on 4 different streams, so make sure you've got enough overpriced concession-stand munchies to last you a while. Head on through for the day's full schedule, and be sure to let us know how you feel about competitive gaming coverage on Joystiq, either in the comments or in the poll. This sort of post is a new jam for us, and if you like it, we'll do more!
Zumba Fitness spends fifth week atop UK charts, Harry Potter fizzles
The unstoppable Zumba Fitness won't let go of the spotlight, holding the top spot on Chart-Track's UK all-formats chart for a fifth week in a row. Despite a 24 percent drop in sales, the dance-ercise title celebrates its eighth time holding the crown since the Wii version launched in March. Stupefy simulator Harry Potter & The Deathly Hallows Part 2 premiered in seventh place. Chart-Track notes it's the lowest sales performance ever for a Harry Potter game. Thanks to "significant" price promotion, EA Sport Active 2 sales shot up 338 percent, sweatin' its way back into the top ten in eighth place. Check out the full UK top ten after the break.
PSA: Call of Duty Elite beta invites rolling out
Listen up, recruits! If you signed up for Operation Call of Duty Elite Beta, keep an eye out for a dispatch from Activision HQ. The top brass has informed us that beta invites are beginning to be sent now. "The beta will be activated in phases for feature testing, with limited invitations rolling out in the coming weeks," the classified document reads. These Call of Duty Elite beta invites only extend to Xbox 360 users playing Call of Duty: Black Ops right now, but will support all future franchise titles, starting with the launch of Modern Warfare 3 on November 8. The PS3 release of this beta was held back by the PSN outage, according to the FAQ. According to Activision, over 2.8 million have signed up for the beta, so if you have yet to receive your beta invite, exercise patience. For more information on Call of Duty Elite, be sure to check out our preview of the service and interview with Activision's VP of Digital, Jamie Berger.
Black Ops 'Annihilation' DLC blows up PC and PS3 on July 28
C'mon PC and PS3 gamers, you're starting to depress us. You press your noses against the window as you watch 360 gamers enjoy the new four new multiplayer maps in the Call of Duty: Black Ops "Annihilation" DLC. You drool like Dickensian orphans at a Golden Corral as they raze hordes of the undead in the new zombie scenario, Shangri-La. You wonder aloud what it must feel like to be them and, frankly, we've seen enough. It's time to reclaim your dignity. Thirteen days. That's all you have to wait. Less than two weeks and you'll finally be back on even footing with those jerks. ... What's that, pumpkin? No, we're sure they haven't "used up all the fun." Oh, that's adorable. No, you'll see. On July 28, if you've got your $15 in hand, there will still be plenty of fun waiting for you. We promise.
Call of Duty XP invites Australia to start qualifying rounds for $1 million tourney
The Call of Duty XP Event is set to be the gala of the year for fans worldwide, with an international Black Ops tournament worth $1 million and the chance to play Modern Warfare 3's multiplayer two months early -- and Australia has snagged the first invitation. Australia's qualifying rounds for the million-dollar Black Ops tournament will be on July 13 at Monash University, with 32 teams of four players. The brackets will comprise four rounds of Search and Destroy on Summit and Havana, with winners advancing and losers weeping silently into their AK-47s. Killstreaks will be turned off, friendly fire will be turned on and custom classes will be made with a selection of pre-determined weapons, as listed on Level3. The Call of Duty XP Event will run September 2-3 in Los Angeles, and more international qualifying rounds are expected to be announced soon.
Call of Duty: Black Ops sets UK sales record with 3.72 million copies sold
According to UK sales snoops Chart-Track, Call of Duty: Black Ops has sold more copies than any other game in the region. That's, like, in all of history. As of June 25, Black Ops managed to move 3,722,411 copies, besting the previous top place holder, Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2, which set a record with 3,702,410 copies sold. And if we were a betting blog, we'd say that 3.72 million figure will only increase. With today's release of Annihilation, the latest map pack for the game, we're going way out on a limb here and suggest there's still some blood left to be squeezed from that stone.
Black Ops 'Annihilation' trailer tours the latest zombie stomping grounds
No, Activision -- stop it! We're all for the new zombies map coming in the next Call of Duty: Black Ops map pack, Annihilation, but we never, ever want to associate the joytime feelings we get from "The Lion Sleeps Tonight" with the feelings of desperation and panic in Black Ops' co-op survival mode. It's just two things that we never want to mix together, kinda like baby sea otters and Hellraiser. %Gallery-127231%
Call of Duty: Black Ops 'Annihilation' trailer hits those familiar notes
That one hamburger-stand guy? "Gimme Shelter?" Fifteen dollars floating out of your wallet in anticipation? Yes, it's that time again: Activision posted a new Call of Duty: Black Ops DLC trailer, this one for the "Annihilation" map pack.
Call of Duty: Black Ops 'Limited Edition with DLC' listed on GameStop [update: it's official!]
Headed to the store to buy Call of Duty: Black Ops right this second? Hang on. A listing spotted on GameStop.com suggests that, next week, you'll be able to buy a version bundled with DLC. The listing is light on specifics, but the name is "Call of Duty: Black Ops Limited Edition with DLC." According to GameStop, it's set to come out June 28 on Xbox 360 and PS3, for the same $59.99 price that the normal edition commands. We're checking with Activision to determine exactly which DLC is included and if this package will be sold at other retailers. (Oh, and whether or not it's real.) [Thanks, BrownWing!] Update: Activision confirmed to Joystiq that the "Limited Edition" version of Black Ops will be available at "all retailers" in North America on June 28. For $59.99, it will include the game and a token for the "First Strike" DLC.
