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Infinity Ward holdouts to receive extra helping of bonuses, says Activision's Amrich
Activision's newly hired community man Dan Amrich took to a Facebook forum recently to spell out the bonus situation for the remaining employees at troubled Modern Warfare 2 developer Infinity Ward. Develop spotted Amrich's information-laden responses, which echo and expand on claims made by Activision in its suit against former IW heads Vince Zampella and Jason West (we've clipped the pieces of the lawsuit pertaining to the bonuses and dropped them after the break for you). Specifically, Amrich says that employees who have left IW will not be receiving a cut of West and Zampella's now forfeited bonuses -- bonuses for Modern Warfare 2 were never paid, apparently. "Vince and Jason had very large bonuses; those bonuses are being redistributed to everybody else, to the people who did not allegedly attempt to steal company secrets," Amrich explains. "Activision is not pocketing that bonus money; it's still going to the people who work at IW. But you have to work at IW to get it, see? I don't want to see talented people screwed out of a paycheck any more than you do."
Guinness: Modern Warfare 2 had biggest entertainment launch ever
There's been some dispute as to whether Modern Warfare 2 had the biggest first-day sales presence in the entire entertainment industry. Sure, its $401 million launch day revenue topped literally every other piece of entertainment media ever released, but in terms of units sold, it was surpassed by the Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows book and ticket sales for The Dark Knight. However, in an attempt to clear up any obscurity, the Guinness Book of World Records proclaimed that the game had the "Most Successful Entertainment Launch of All-Time." Though we shudder to think that we live in a world where success is measured in the amount of money earned, and not the number of lives a book, movie or game touches, we suppose congratulations are in order. So, congratulations, Modern Warfare 2! Guinness says you did it.
Analyst ponders impact of MW2 'Stimulus Package' pricing and success
On IndustryGamers, EEDAR analyst Jesse Divnich examines the economic impact of Modern Warfare 2's "Stimulus Package" on consumers, business and the future of DLC. He notes that "as an economist" he's glad a publisher tested the boundaries of DLC pricing, as millions of consumers (around 25 percent of MW2 owners) proved willing to drop $15 on the map pack. He points out that "if consumers deem it unfair for companies to overcharge their products, it is similarly unfair for businesses to unknowingly under-price their products." However, Divnich wonders about the long-term implications of continued high-priced MW2 DLC, should Activision go that route. He suggests that consumers could leave the Call of Duty "circle" for games like Battlefield: Bad Company 2, where the cost for new content over time appears to be lower. He also posits that "consumers could avoid the next iteration of the Call of Duty franchise, since again, cost of dedicated ownership is now much higher." Divnich explains that the current "situation" between Infinity Ward and Activision may cloud core consumer purchases of future DLC and the franchise, as well, compared to if everything had remained -- on the surface, at least -- hunky-dory.
Activision raises Q1 fiscal outlook thanks to WoW, MW2 map pack
Activision Blizzard raised its March quarter sales outlook today, expecting approximately $1.1 billion in revenues. CEO Bobby Kotick noted that the company is doing well due to continued demand for World of Warcraft (naturally) and Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2. He also stated that the company benefitted from the "record breaking launch" of the Modern Warfare 2 "Stimulus" map pack, which he claimed was originally expected to debut in the June quarter. Kotick remains cautiously optimistic about the next couple of quarters due to the economy and because "the majority" of Activision Blizzard titles aren't expected to launch until autumn. The company plans to announce the financial details of its better-than-expected March quarter on May 6.
Activision countersuit against Zampella and West seeks money back, alleges multiple acts of insubordination
Beyond the details we heard in the LA Times report from earlier today, Joystiq has obtained the entire 23 page complaint this afternoon (filed against former Infinity Ward co-heads Jason West and Vince Zampella by Activision), which details the publisher's claims about the duo's insubordination during employment. The claims detailed therein range from refusing to meet with Activision executives, to "engaging in a campaign to portray Activision and its management in a negative light to IW employees in an effort to solicit those employees," to slowing pre-production of Modern Warfare 3 as leverage in ongoing discussions with Activision. The suit even says that West and Zampella "refused to sign standard exit documents representing that they had returned all Activision property, including computer code, and would honor the confidentiality obligations that they have to Activision." Further, Activision claims that "on numerous occasions and during critical final stages of game development," West and Zampella threatened to stop production on last year's Modern Warfare 2 "in a bad faith effort to gain further leverage in their contractual relations with Activision." And during all this, the publisher claims that the studio heads were engaging in secret conversations "with Activision's direct competitor" (presumably Electronic Arts, though an EA representative refused to confirm that earlier today). As a result of these alleged actions, Activision's complaint seeks to "recapture certain equity from West and Zampella, and to recover, as a measure of damages, all compensation and benefits in addition to equity received by them during the period of their disloyalty." In English, that means that Activision is seeking an undisclosed fortune from the defendants, left up to the court to determine, but consisting of money the two earned during their amorphous "period of disloyalty." And there's a ton more in the complaint that we couldn't fit into this measly post, so we'd strongly suggest clicking through its 23 pages in the gallery below. We'll gather up some of the most notable bits and share them after the break. %Gallery-90176%
Modern Warfare 2 'Stimulus Package' DLC coming to PS3 May 4, worldwide on May 5
If you're a regular reader, you probably already know why we use the word "exclusive" in quotes so often. But if you're not, you might not know that it's because of situations like this, where the Xbox 360 "exclusive" Modern Warfare 2 DLC (a five map pack titled "Stimulus Package") is suddenly announced as heading to PlayStation 3 and PC. In fairness, as detailed by Microsoft to Eurogamer back in January, we already knew this particular exclusivity deal had a built-in expiration date. What we didn't know, however, was an official release date for the PS3 and PC versions. Infinity Ward community man Robert Bowling revealed the May 4 US release date for PSN via Twitter, also detailing a May 5 release date worldwide for PS3s and May 4 for PCs worldwide. Though he doesn't specify, we have to imagine that pricing will remain in line with the content's $15 tag on XBLM. We've followed up with Bowling for clarity's sake and will let you know the solid pricing details as soon as we hear back. %Gallery-89046%
PSA: MW2 online multiplayer goes free on Steam this weekend
Starting tomorrow, the six of you left out there with a Steam account who haven't played Modern Warfare 2 online in some form will get a free three-day pass to Murdertown (read: online multiplayer). Valve announced today that, "beginning this Thursday, April 8," the online multiplayer section of the game will become free-to-play, presumably ending sometime on Sunday evening (no time is specified for start and end, but we've followed up with Valve for a solid schedule). The announcement also notes that "There is no obligation to participate," though we imagine some totally boring editor somewhere cut off the original ending, which read "unless you're into having fun. Then it's an obligation." %Gallery-89046%
Modern Warfare 2 'Stimulus Package' sells over 2.5M units in a week
Activision announced today that the Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 "Stimulus Package" set a new Xbox Live record -- clearly, mapathy had set in. According to Microsoft's figures, the DLC pack was downloaded over one million times in 24 hours, surpassing 2.5 million units within a week. All at $15 a pop. To recap: 2.5 million of you are totally okay with a $15 map pack so, if this happens again, we aren't going to be there to kiss the boo-boo if it's suddenly $20. Just so we're on the same page. %Gallery-89046%
Modern Warfare 2 advertising keeps it juvenile
We thought Activision had learned its lesson about manufactured controversy in the Modern Warfare 2 ad campaign after Infinity Ward's "Grenade Spam" video. Unfortunately, it would appear that the lesson learned was that manufactured controversy is awesome. So here's a YouTube-only ad (after the break; via Game Informer) featuring an older gentleman talking with disgust about what sounds like sexual behavior -- but what's actually Modern Warfare 2 multiplayer. A shortened, milder version is currently appearing on broadcast television.
UK charts: Just Cause 2 just defied by Just Dance
Apparently the word "just" resonates deeply with UK buyers, as Just Dance and Just Cause 2 take the top spots on the UK all-formats sales chart, respectively. Just Dance sales rose 56 percent over the Easter holiday, hopping the rhythm title back to the top spot, which it previously held during the second and third weeks of 2010. The international success of Just Dance is absolutely fascinating and we're curious to see its impact on E3 this year. Clones must be in the cards. Just Cause 2 sales glided down 21 percent after riding the top of the charts last week. Battlefield: Bad Company 2 held its ground at third, while Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 and Pokémon SoulSilver rounded out the top five. You'll find the complete UK top 10 after the break. Source – Just Dance Just Beats Just Cause [GFK Chart-Track] Source – Latest UK Software Charts [GFK Chart-Track]
Rumor: Infinity Ward loses two development leads
According to an unnamed source "close to the studio" who spoke with Kotaku, lead designer Todd Alderman and lead software engineer Francesco ("Frank") Gigliotti recently resigned from Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 development house Infinity Ward. Alderman's LinkedIn profile (seen after the break) corroborates that April was apparently his last month of employment with the studio, though Gigliotti's LinkedIn account appears to be unavailable at this point in time (Kotaku has an alleged screengrab of Gigliotti's profile that appears to legitimize the claim). This report comes just weeks after studio co-heads Vince Zampella and Jason West vacated their positions at Infinity Ward, filed a lawsuit against Activision, and headed for the Creative Artists Agency in Hollywood. We've asked Activision and Infinity Ward for an official response and will let you know if we hear anything back.
The Ant Farm talks successes of Modern Warfare 2 marketing
While we might argue that Infinity Ward's 2009 follow up to Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare, Modern Warfare 2, likely earned the lion's share of its sales through Infinity Ward's history of making quality games, building a strong and loyal fanbase, and, well, the very fact that it was a sequel to an insanely high-selling game, the marketing team behind MW2 would likely disagree. Speaking at this week's MI6 Conference (and picked up by VentureBeat), contract marketing team The Ant Farm discussed some of the reasons that the sequel's advertising campaign worked so well -- and helped the title sell millions more copies than it would have without. "With us, it became a challenge of basically breaking it down to 'how do we engage the core first?'," explained Ant Farm executive creative director Rob Troy. "By the time you see the invasion on US soil, which was a secret for a long time, you definitely wanna go out there and kick some ass." For him, the marketing campaign was about slowly doling out aspects of the story while keeping fans in the dark about specifics, and resulted in a resounding success. We have to imagine landing commercial premieres during major sporting events likely helped out the sales as well, not to mention those MW2-branded energy drinks. Also, hey, blowing up castles is always a good way to advertise your product -- let's not kid ourselves, folks. We've embedded the whole conversation for your viewing pleasure after the break.
Infinity Ward: Modern Warfare 2 glitches affected 'one percent' of players
CVG had a chat with Infinity Ward's Robert Bowling recently, and surprise surprise, the guy is really good at towing the company line (he'd better be, especially when he's getting confronted with Modern Warfare 2 questions even during random PAX panels about Twitter). He easily fended off questions about whether or not the Stimulus Package's two older maps are worth the $15, the ensuing competition from Battlefield: Bad Company 2 and the supposed backlash from hardcore players, saying that MW2's popularity proves the company has done everything right so far. Bowling was especially dismissive of the glitches that plagued what seemed to be most of the game's players, saying that only "like one per cent of our user base" of 25 million players "experienced those types of things and even participate in those types of things." Could have fooled us -- from our perspective, the frustration over the game's widespread cheating seemed significant. But Bowling persisted throughout the interview. According to him, Modern Warfare 2 is doing just fine, thanks.
PSA: Modern Warfare 2 'Stimulus Package' is live on XBLM, title update coming soon [update]
Your crippling case of "mapathy" can finally be treated, dear Modern Warfare 2 player. Just a few minutes ago, the "Stimulus Package" DLC bundle, which includes three new multiplayer maps and two tarted-up arenas from Call of Duty 4, went live on Xbox 360. At $15, it's a pretty pricey prescription for your blues, but it might just be the only option you've got. Curse you, pharmaceutical empire! Unfortunately, it seems the launch of the new maps was botched -- we've received a number of tips claiming the maps aren't loading in-game. Major Nelson recently Tweeted that the game needs a title update in order to incorporate the new content, which he says is coming soon. We'll let you know when everything's in working order. Update: The Major just confirmed that the title update is live, and should be available worldwide in "a few minutes." %Gallery-89046% [Thanks to everyone who sent this in!]
Modern Warfare 2 'Stimulus Package' DLC in stills
Click to see the heavy rain more clearly Coming March 30 to cure you of that nagging case of Mapathy are Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2's new (well, mostly) multiplayer maps: Bailout, Crash, Overgrown, Salvage and Storm. Sounding like X-Men monikers, the five DLC levels (two of which, Crash and Overgrown, hail from the original Modern Warfare) that make up the MW2 "Stimulus Package" are going to set you back 1200 ($15). Check out the first screens of them below and Get Stimulated™! %Gallery-89046%
Modern Warfare 2 double XP weekend starts Apr. 2 on Xbox Live
Infinity Ward community manager Robert Bowling has announced that Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 will host its first worldwide double XP weekend from April 2 until April 5 on Xbox Live, just a few days after the "Stimulus Package" maps are set to arrive. Unfortunately, in conveying this to Joystiq readers -- many of whom are statistically likely to be interested in the news -- we've expanded a perfectly concise tweet into a pompous, self-referential article and unfairly reduced the internet's available supply of letters and punctuation. we r rly sry try 2 do bttr in futr
XBLM listing reveals 5 maps, 2 CoD4 remakes in MW2 'Stimulus Package' DLC
We may have to wait until March 30 for Modern Warfare 2's first DLC, the "Stimulus Package," but thanks to an Xbox Live Marketplace listing for the map pack, we aren't in the dark anymore as to its contents. The blurb reveals the pack will contain "5 additional action-packed maps," including three all new ones ("Bailout, Storm, and Salvage"), as well as two remakes from Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare ("Crash" and "Overgrown"). "Bailout" is said to be "a multi-layered apartment complex," while "Storm" is described as "an open industrial park littered with heavy machinery," and "Salvage" is "a snowy junkyard fortified by stacked debris and crushed cars." Presumably, if you're reading about the details of unreleased a MW2 map pack, you already knew that "Crash" is a "war-torn urban environment" and "Overgrown" is set in a large dry creek. No pricing is set, unfortunately, though you can ogle the XBLM listing for now if it makes you feel any better (though we wouldn't suggest it). [Update: Clarified Stimulus Package DLC date of release.] [Thanks CL4P-TP!]
Rumor: Infinity Ward employees not leaving due to unpaid royalties, morale 'extremely low'
According to a report on Kotaku, a "source" has told the site that the remaining Infinity Ward developers still working for Activision in the wake of the recent leadership shakeup are holding out on leaving the company for now due to royalties owed by the publisher. As claimed by ex-Infinity Ward heads Vince Zampella and Jason West in their recent complaint against Activision (with regards to themselves, that is), the publisher is allegedly holding out on promised royalties owed to the entire company. The tipster says that, rather than a traditional salary-based reward system at IW, the studio pays "regular or even low salaries" and offers "ridiculous royalties" to the whole staff. Furthermore, the piece alleges that Activision "continues to delay royalties to other employees in order to keep them at the company" (though it's not clear whether that means other Activision-owned studios as well), and that morale at IW is supposedly "extremely low." We've asked Activision for comment on the claims and will update you if we hear more. Update: Activision responded by saying, "Activision doesn't comment on industry rumor or speculation." Not exactly a definitive "no," but not a confirmation by any means either. We'll keep you updated as we hear more.
EA's John Schappert comments on Activision & Infinity Ward situation
EA's John Schappert spoke on the sticky situation regarding Activision and Infinity Ward at GDC today, and rather than put a spin on what he said, we'll let the man speak for himself: "I'm sure there's two sides to that story, I'm certainly not passing judgement," Schappert said. "On the human side, they're two great guys. I'm disappointed on a couple of fronts. I'm disappointed because I think Jason and Vince, on the human side, are two great guys. I know them personally, and they've done great things. And I think they're two of the best creative leaders in our space, and to think that they're going to be spending their future dealing with litigation and lawyers rather than crafting the next great experience." "I don't think that's good for them," Schappert continued. "I don't think that's good for our industry. I think that's disappointing. I hope that they find a way to make games and focus on that during this period." "I think the other disappointing thing is that, rivalries aside, Modern Warfare 2 is a great game," Schappert concluded. "It's the biggest launch our industry has seen, it's a great franchise. I'm putting my consumer industry fan-hat on to think that there could be some challenges -- what's the future of that franchise? I don't know what's going to pan out. I feel bad for Jason and Vince and the franchise itself because they're great leaders and it's a great franchise for our industry."
First Modern Warfare 2 map pack coming to Xbox Live on March 30
Infinity Ward community manager Robert Bowling has pointed us toward a new self-help website filled with good news: new Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 mutliplayer maps are coming to Xbox Live on March 30. While the powers that be at Activision might have ousted the creators of the game, they haven't affected the delivery of eagerly awaited new maps. People afflicted with "mapathy," your cure is on the way. PS3 players ... well, you'll have to suffer a bit longer. Have you spoken to your FAMAS-ist about a prescription? [Thanks Legion!]
