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Xbox Live status warns of phishing in Modern Warfare 2 messages
Don't look so smug, Xbox Live users. You may be able to play games online and download things, but the latest Xbox Live status serves as a reminder that no online service is totally safe from malefactors. "Users may receive potential phishing attempts via title specific messaging while playing Modern Warfare 2," Microsoft warns. This should be more annoying than harmful, considering that every Modern Warfare 2 player has already had to learn to ignore messages from strangers out of self-preservation. Just be extra vigilant about ignoring people right now, because they might be trying to finagle your password or other personal info. Microsoft says it's "working to resolve the issue."
Pachter: West, Zampella have no chance of getting Modern Warfare rights
In addition to being the official economic soothsayer of the gaming industry, Michael Pachter knows a thing or two about legal affairs. Actually, he has a pair of law degrees, so odds are good that he knows more than two things. Regardless, he recently sounded off to IndustryGamers about former Infinity Ward heads Jason West and Vince Zampella's chances of gaining ownership of the Modern Warfare brand form Activision through legal action. His opinion? They've got "no prayer." Pachter suggested that any claim the two may have had on the brand was lost when their employment was terminated, saying, "They have never claimed that they 'own' the brand; instead, they claim that they were granted creative control over the brand under their employment agreement." Pachter added that a theoretical solution for West and Zampella would be to seek reemployment (yeah right) under a wrongful termination claim, though he noted, "That is simply not what West and Zampella are seeking here."
Former Infinity Ward heads seek to void original contract with Activision
The complex and claim-ridden story of Activision and Infinity Ward won't get any legal clarification for some time still, but that doesn't stop former IW heads Jason West and Vince Zampella from trying to annul their original contract with Activision. According to a GameSpot report, an amended complaint filed by the duo late last week alleges that Activision began development of "Modern Warfare and Call of Duty games and related products" without the express consent of the two men, and seeks to void the original contract they signed with Activision -- a move that would put at least partial control over the Modern Warfare brand back in the hands of West and Zampella. "Activision did not inform West or Zampella of such plans or seek their input or approval for them. Indeed, while breaching the creative authority provisions of the MOU [Memorandum of Understanding], Activision continued to pay lip-service to them, in an attempt to mask its secret development efforts," the updated complaint reads. Furthermore, the aforementioned MOU was allegedly signed by West and Zampella with pressure from Vivendi's merger with Activision weighing on it, which West and Zampella say helped them land an agreement (detailed by the MOU) that kept them in control of the Modern Warfare brand. The MOU, however, contained one passage that the ex-IW heads "remained skeptical" of, where the agreement would only continue as long as the two remained employed at the company. It's claimed that Activision CEO Bobby Kotick responded to this concern by saying, "Don't worry about it. It's impossible for you guys to get fired."
NPD: Guitar Hero 3 is this generation's highest-grossing game
Call of Duty: Black Ops might be the best-selling game by unit sales, but it isn't the US bestseller in terms of gross revenue. According to NPD data going back to 1995, and compiled by CNBC, the honor of the highest-grossing game of "this generation" goes to another Activision game, the Axl Rose-angering Guitar Hero 3: Legends of Rock. Black Ops is #2. The list of the NPD's top ten best-selling games by revenue (after the break) includes a second Guitar Hero game, too -- R.I.P. -- along with Rock Band and both Wii Fits, which suggests that the best way to make a lot of revenue is simply to make your game cost more. Although Wii Play and Mario Kart Wii are also on the list, so maybe people just really like finding peripherals inside their game boxes, like cereal box prizes.
Modern Warfare 2 patch arrives March 8, 'to address hacking'
It appears that whatever Sony did to mitigate security issues in its most recent PlayStation 3 patch has enabled Infinity Ward to address its "unplayable" version of Modern Warfare 2. Creative strategist Robert Bowling announced on Twitter that a patch "will release on PlayStation 3 worldwide on March 8," with an Xbox 360 and PC release following at some point. The patch, Bowling said, is specifically intended "to address hacking." Bowling detailed the process on the Infinty Ward forums, having updated his original post about the PS3 situation as new information was available from IW while staying intentionally light on details, "as we don't want to give out any information that could potentially hinder the security any further." He additionally noted that the patch "will also address a small geo exploit on the map Fuel, which players exploited in order to get inside a rock on the outskirts of the map." Apparently some players were ... rocking that exploit real hard. [Thanks Tom M.]
FindMakarov.com teasing Toronto group's 'Call of Duty-inspired' project [update]
Some times, some crimes go slipping through the cracks, and when that happens there's one gumshoe we can count on to pick up the slack: Dean (Hon.) Geoff Keighley. The Spike TV personality says he's unearthed the source of the FindMakarov.com teaser site and it couldn't be further from a Modern Warfare 3 announcement as we and many others assumed. Keighley says the countdown was created by We Can Pretend, a Toronto-based group that's supposedly working on a Call of Duty-inspired project of some sort. Keighley added "production sources who worked on the self-funded project call it visually spectacular." We Can Pretend appears to be closely tied to VVO Media, the group that mailed out the mysterious dog tags that got this whole train rolling. On VVO's now-defunct portfolio page, it takes credit for marketing two We Can Pretend-created videos, "Doritos Tablet" and "Wateraid." As Activision stated previously, the megapublisher doesn't appear to be involived, though we'll hopefully have all the details when the countdown ends on March 2. Update: The creators of the project sent us a teaser image of the finished product, which we've posted after the jump. If we were the guessing type, we'd say it's a still from a short film. Or an advertisement for super, super untrustworthy riot shields. Update 2: The project has been revealed. [Thanks, Morey]
AvP, Modern Warfare 2 on XBL Games on Demand, Bayonetta next week
Let's just start this post by advising readers not to purchase Modern Warfare 2 via Xbox Live Games on Demand. The game was just added to the service and currently commands a price of $60. Please, if you must purchase Modern Warfare 2, buy it elsewhere -- like, literally anywhere else. You'll save some money. Now, with that out of the way, two other games are now available on demand, namely Aliens vs. Predator and Rapala Tournament Fishing. The former will set you back $30 while the latter can be reeled in for $20. Finally, Sega has also announced that Bayonetta will strut her way onto XBL Games on Demand next week for an undetermined price. We're going to guess it's lower than $60.
Report: Infinity Ward co-developing Modern Warfare 3 with Sledgehammer Games, Raven Software
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare publisher Activision has repeatedly stated that Infinity Ward is doing fine since heads Vince Zampella and Jason West were ousted from the company early last year. A report on the LA Times' Company Town blog, however, tells a different story -- according to the piece, both Sledgehammer Games and Raven Software have been tasked with helping develop the next, still unannounced Modern Warfare title, Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3. "People familiar with the situation" claim that Sledgehammer is working with the remaining staff at Infinity Ward on developing the game's single-player campaign, while Singularity developer Raven Software is in charge of bringing up the multiplayer side of things. The sources also contend that, like past Call of Duty titles, MW3 is expected to ship this November. Additionally, Sledgehammer is said to have halted production on its own spinoff Call of Duty title in order to help IW out. Update: Activision issued a comment in response to the LAT piece, stating, "There's been much specultion recently. We look forward to releasing details for the next Call of Duty in the near future."
Mandatory Xbox 360 update sneakily halts Call of Duty pirates
Apparently, Microsoft sneaked a super secret feature into its recent, Boot-to-Disc-restoring mandatory Xbox 360 firmware update: the ability to stop Call of Duty: Black Ops and Modern Warfare 2 pirates and hackers dead in their tracks. Posters on the Xbox-Scene forums are claiming that consoles with backed-up versions of the two games took an awfully long time to download the relatively small update -- and once it arrived, it stopped backup versions of the two games from working altogether. Was this a coincidence, or was Microsoft targeting illicit players of two of Xbox Live's most active multiplayer titles? We've contacted Microsoft to try and find out.
Xbox 360 mandatory update restores boot to disc, detains Call of Duty pirates for a tad
The story of the Trojan Horse must be a favorite among video game console manufacturers, because software updates these days often come with more than bargained for -- today, Microsoft issued a mandatory Xbox 360 update, reportedly for a single bugfix, but which seems to have coincidentally halted scores of pirates and hackers from playing Call of Duty: Black Ops and Modern Warfare 2 on the console. Members of the Xbox-Scene forums noted the update was taking suspiciously long to download, discovered that backup copies of these games ceased to work, and presently believe that Microsoft included a patch for these two games to enable an anti-piracy feature that specifically targets burned copies. What does the mandatory update do for you if you're not part of the hacking scene? It merely enables the console to automatically boot a pre-inserted game when you power it on, a feature that was accidentally disabled in November. [Thanks, Brian]
PS3 hackers make Modern Warfare 2 'unplayable,' Infinity Ward cannot patch a fix
"It's in total shambles and unplayable." That's how one Joystiq reader describes Modern Warfare 2 on PSN. With PS3 system security in disarray, hackers and cheaters have run rampant on Infinity Ward's Call of Duty games. Players unwittingly placed into a hacked server can meet the unfortunate consequence of losing all their stats and, unfortunately, it doesn't appear a fix is in sight. "Games rely on the security of the encryption on the platforms they're played on," Infinity Ward's Robert Bowling explained on the game's official forums. "Unless the security exploit itself is resolved on the platform ... updates to the game through patches will not resolve this problem," he admits, adding, "at this time, we do not have the ability to restore or adjust individual stats." Although Bowling adds that "we are looking at every option available to us to help any user affected," it appears the situation is quite dire, especially when one considers the workarounds Bowling suggests. You can submit a PSN grief report, play exclusively with friends via private matches, or play Black Ops, which does "not rely solely on platform security" -- something Infinity Ward promises to learn from in future games. [Thanks, Jordan!]
Activision claims EA and former IW execs schemed to 'inflict serious harm on the company'
Following last March's lawsuit filed by ousted Infinity Ward execs Jason West and Vince Zampella against former employer Activision, and Activision's countersuit filed the following month, Activision has filed a motion to amend its countersuit based on new evidence born of the discovery phase. What kind of evidence? Namely that "Electronic Arts conspired with two former senior Activision executives, West and Zampella (the "executives") to derail Activision's Call of Duty franchise, disrupt its Infinity Ward development studio, and inflict serious harm on the company." As a result, the lawsuit now includes Electronic Arts as a cross-defendant and is asking for $400 million in "actual and punitive damages from EA and the former executives, including profits Activision would have made but for EA's interference, costs incurred in rebuilding the affected studio, and damages suffered as a result of delays and disruptions." Activision is also asking the court to allow it to "recapture compensation previously awarded to its faithless executives" and, even more notable, "to prevent Electronic Arts and the former executives from benefiting from their illegal conduct." The 39-page document details the history of Infinity Ward, the Call of Duty franchise and the public termination of its two founders, West and Zampella. It seeks to prove that West and Zampella colluded with Electronic Arts, despite having more than two years on their employment contract. The suit reveals that, following a private meeting in August 2009 at EA CEO John Riccitiello's house in San Francisco -- coordinated by CAA agent and former Xbox face Seamus Blackley -- CAA enlisted the help of lawyer Harold Brown to evaluate their employment contracts. Brown was ostensibly chosen because he is a "former Activision board member and former legal counsel to Activision."
'Splosion Man 'splodes to top of XBLA sales chart
'Spolsion Man, one or our absolute favorites of 2009, enjoyed a surprise sales surge last week, rocketing to the top of the Xbox Live Arcade bestseller list. That's the power of Black Friday and a one-day, 75-percent discount. In fact, thirteen of the top twenty bestsellers for the week of November 22 were on sale for at least part of the period, and the only discounted XBLA title not to chart was poor Voodoo Dice. Amidst the apparently too-good-to-refuse deals, Crazy Taxi made a strong debut in the number six position in its first week of release, and Pac-Man CE DX ate up a top-ten spot in its second week of availability. As for Xbox Live activity, Black Ops recruits and Modern Warfare 2 veterans (who aren't about to surrender that easily) continue to hog the most bandwidth, followed by the Reach faithful and -- watch out for that Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood sneaking up the activity chart! Speaking of no surrender, how about World at War and Call of Duty 4 (remember that one?) hanging around the top twenty most-played Xbox Live games? No wonder Activision wants to better tap its gold mine next year. Both Top Twenty charts are posted in full after the break.
Bobby Kotick on the business of Call of Duty: DLC, Treyarch, Infinity Ward
This is the second part of Joystiq's in-depth discussion with Activision Blizzard CEO Bobby Kotick, in which we've covered his side of the Brutal Legend situation, Activision's Bungie partnership, and why Kotick's been cast in the role of video game industry villain. Up second: The Call of Duty business, from Xbox Live to DLC to a rotating stable of development teams. "You know, Call of Duty games probably represent more than 50% of the total Xbox Live traffic," Bobby Kotick told me when I asked him about Microsoft's recent $10 Xbox Live price hike. You see, Activision is tasked with monetizing an immensely popular online game through a traditional – and inflexible – system: a retail disc played in a video game console controlled by another company. And despite a constant refrain of Call of Duty subscription rumors, the only subscription you may pay to play it online isn't to Activision at all; it's to Microsoft. "I think the thing that sometimes even I don't fully appreciate – and I think I have a greater appreciation for it today, having spent a lot of time up with Microsoft recently – but they invest billions of dollars in the Live platform. Billing, credit collection, things like foreign currency conversion, being able to manage point systems. All of that is extremely expensive to manage and maintain." Of course, this is all to say that it deserves something, but how do Activision and its customers factor into Microsoft's agenda? "Because of our Blizzard experience we have an incredible understanding of how important the provision of appropriate customer service is," Kotick said, citing 2,500 World of Warcraft customer service employees for the US and Europe alone. "What we'd like to ideally see is that the investment in the subscription fees going towards the provision of a higher level of customer service [...] to see some portion of the subscription fees go towards game enhancement." Activision does enjoy a "very modest amount of the subscription fees," Kotick told us, but he's more interested in seeing any cost increase in the service go towards "directly benefitting the Call of Duty players."
Amazon Lightning Deals marking down Call of Duty games all day
If there are a few installments in the ever-lucrative Call of Duty franchise that you, unlike every other human being alive on planet Earth, failed to purchase at launch, today's a good day to play catch up. Amazon's Lightning Deals are currently marking down prices on a bunch of installments on the shooter series, while the Deal of the Day is a discount on Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2, currently available for $36.99 on Xbox 360, PS3 and PC. Click past the jump for all the hints for the remaining Lightning Deals, which your considerable brainpower (and prior knowledge that it's a Call of Duty game) should make quick work of.
Modern Warfare 2 DLC half off on Steam this week
First Xbox Live Marketplace, then PSN -- now Steam is offering a fire sale on all Modern Warfare 2 DLC "inventory." Hmm ... that must mean there's a new Call of Duty coming out soon ...
Modern Warfare 2 map packs discounted this week on XBLM
Are there still a few multiplayer maps in Modern Warfare 2 which you've yet to decorate with your own bullet-splattered blood? You might want to look into this week's Xbox Live Marketplace deal: The Stimulus Pack and the Resurgence Pack are half-price this week, available at 600 Microsoft Points.
Infinity Ward's Robert Bowling to be noob tubed for charity
Is there anything worse than succumbing to the grenade launcher -- AKA the dreaded noob tube -- in Modern Warfare 2? Several scientific studies (not really) have shown that there is not. And yet, Infinity Ward's Robert "fourzerotwo" Bowling has agreed to do just that. As part of an Extra Life charity gaming marathon supporting Children's Hospital of Los Angeles, Bowling has agreed to a match of Modern Warfare 2 with Pixel Enemy's BrassMonkeigh. Furthermore, Bowling will actually allow himself to be noob tubed during said match. Bowling is hoping to raise $5,000 with his marathon, with users contributing $1 for each of the 24 hours he will be playing various games. With a degrading noob tubing on the table, we can only hope he reaches his goal. If you're interested in setting up your own charity marathon (with or without celebrity pwning), head over to the Extra Life charity website.
Video: What if Call of Duty was a Pokemon game?
The problem with Pokemon is that it's pretty embarrassing to tell people you play it, especially if you're over the age of 13 -- just ask Griffin. They're great games, don't get us wrong. It's just that we're adults, with actual utility bills and Netflix memberships, and alive and breathing significant others. We can't risk losing all of that. That's why we want to draw your attention to this Call of Duty and Pokemon mash-up clip, available just past the break. By incorporating the two, we can maintain our adult facade, while enjoying the deep and robust RPG experience Nintendo's line of games offers without all the kiddie stuff. It's the best of both worlds!
Modern Warfare 2 glitch unlocks five SNK XBLA games
In a stroke of exceptionally bad luck for SNK, a glitch has been discovered that unlocks free access to the full versions of five of the publisher's XBLA games for users who already have the demos on their hard drives. To make it worse, the glitch occurs within Modern Warfare 2 (a game that bajillons of Xbox 360 owners already have) -- or its recent demo (which is freely available). Somehow, running Modern Warfare 2 coincidentally fools the system into thinking it's authorized to temporarily unlock full versions of Garou: Mark of the Wolves, The King of Fighters '98 Ultimate Match, Metal Slug 3, Metal Slug XX, and Samurai Shodown II. Joystiq tested the exploit with Garou and KOF '98, and can verify that it works. For now, at least. We're certain this issue will be patched by one of the three affected parties -- SNK Playmore, Activision, or Microsoft -- in the near future, now that it's known. In the meantime, just because you can get these games for free doesn't mean you aren't a major jerk for doing so. [Note: This doesn't permanently unlock the games; only if you launch them directly from inside MW2. If you launch from the Dashboard, they'll behave just like plain ol' trial games.]
