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Modern Warfare 2 talent director Keith Arem moves to film
[IMDB] What do you do once you've directed actors for a game that's piled up millions faster than pretty much everything? Well, if you follow the Keith Arem School of Thought, you move on to directing in film. Variety reports that Arem's just signed on to direct upcoming action-thriller Frost Road -- the story of a man who awakens from a car crash to find the world is infected with a deadly disease to which he is inexplicably immune. Moving on to movie making is not much of a stretch for Arem, who was the talent director responsible for rounding up actors and coordinating their efforts in Modern Warfare 2. He also penned the script for Frost Road, so we're totally expecting the protagonist to have one bitchin' mustache.
So long, 2500 Modern Warfare 2 Steam cheaters
digg_url = 'http://www.joystiq.com/2009/11/30/so-long-2500-modern-warfare-2-steam-cheaters/'; Employing Steam's built-in VAC anti-cheating system, Infinity Ward has dropped the ban hammer on its first round of Modern Warfare 2 cheaters – 2,500 PC gamers, more specifically. In responding to a question on Twitter last Friday, community man Robert Bowling said, "The Steam ban hammer is coming down on about 2,500 confirmed #MW2 cheaters on PC today." We contacted Bowling to find out how frequently the bans will be taking place and have yet to hear back. We'll keep you updated when we have more info, but for now we're going to get back into these hacked private servers to do some superhuman jumping and grenade spamming. You know how much we love our grenade spamming. [Via Big Download]
Call of Duty now a $3 billion franchise
Activision announced this morning that, according to data garnered from the NPD, ChartTrack, GfK and internal estimates, the Call of Duty franchise has accumulated $3 billion-with-a-b in sales over its lifetime. As all but the densest among you have likely deduced, CoD was put over the top by the release of Modern Warfare 2, which moved $550 million in its first five days on sale. For a bit of perspective, $3 billion is pretty darn close to the gross domestic product of the Kingdom of Swaziland, a comparison that's especially appropriate when you realize that 54 percent of Swazis have a Gamerscore over 20,000. ... Oh, wait, this doesn't say "a Gamerscore over 20,000," it says "access to clean water." Sorry, smudge on the page.
Video game tacticians could save a lot of lives
From the medium that taught us a console is just a "hard drive with games on it" comes a new episode of NCIS (not to be confused with CSI FYI or CSI NY) that highlights the significant military advantage of employing a video game tactician. But don't even think about deploying them! As the episode's summary reveals, "a government think-tank filled with child prodigies" may be the only safe refuge for the killer's next victim. You know what else could save a life? Not being so smug.[Thanks, Danny]
Analyst: Modern Warfare 2 DLC could make $140 million in 2010
Now that Modern Warfare 2 has smashed launch records -- raking in serious cash in the process -- the way is paved for inevitable downloadable content. DLC will likely rake in serious cash of its own, according to Broadpoint AmTech analyst Ben Schachter, who tells IndustryGamers that DLC could bring in an additional $100-140 million in revenue next year. The figure is based on the DLC attach rate for the previous Call of Duty title, World at War, which sold 0.625 downloadable map packs per copy, according to Schachter. At $10 each, that means every copy of World at War generated an additional $6.25 after the initial retail purchase. Assuming there are 14-16 million copies of Modern Warfare 2 in players homes by the time DLC launches, Schachter says the content could generate up to $140 million, minus the portion Activision has to pay to platform holders that host the DLC. Schachter also believes DLC will go beyond map packs, theorizing that Infinity Ward could offer in-game items, new game modes and new missions (more co-op sniping, please). Of course, expanded DLC content could result in higher prices this time around. Only time will tell how well Modern Warfare 2 does post launch but, regardless of what kind of content is on offer, we imagine it will probably do okay.
Australian Attorney General Atkinson plans appeal of Modern Warfare 2 rating
In a statement to AU GameSpot, South Australian Attorney General Michael Atkinson said he plans to appeal Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2's MA15+ rating in the region. If successful, the game will be banned in Australia and this would be Atkinson's first time intervening on a rating by the Classification Board. Atkinson explains, "I worry about any game that encourages gamers to perpetrate extreme violence and cruelty on screen, but this game allows players to be virtual terrorists and gain points by massacring civilians." Those points for killing civilians aren't the only ones Atkinson is missing. The anti-game antics of Atkinson are coming dangerously close to reminding us of the United States' disgraced, former attorney Jack Thompson. The Age reports Atkinson was recently on Aussie national radio and expressed that the Classification Board in Australia "does everything" to "get games in under the radar, and film, generally." Later, he stated that he has "no trust" in the board to apply guidelines, thus drawing up guidelines for games to have an R18+ classification "would be to draw them up in sure and certain knowledge that they would be stretched and then broken." So, games aren't being rated properly, but he won't support an R18+ rating. Feel free to drop your "facepalm" reactions below in the comments. Source -- Atkinson confirms MW2 appeal [AU GameSpot] Source -- No confidence [The Age]
UK Charts: Modern Warfare still tops; Assassin's Creed 2 outperforms original's debut
The Assassin's Creed sequel may not have taken out Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 from the top spot on the UK charts, but the game did outperform the original's 2007 debut by 12 percent in unit sales. Although Chart Track doesn't give specific unit sales figures, it's staggering to think that Infinity Ward's FPS dropped 86 percent after its launch week and still retained the top spot. Behind the big boys of violence, Nintendo's New Super Mario Bros. Wii, Wii Sports Resort and Wii Fit Plus took the next three spots, respectively. The hardened Left 4 Dead 2 shambled up to seventh spot. Source -- Call of Duty stands firm [Chart Track] Source -- All formats chart [Chart Track]
LFG in Call of Duty?
Well, it's a possibility, at any rate. Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2, was officially released November 10th with what the LA Times described as a "Hollywood-scale launch". The launch expenses turned out to be money well spent, as the game had generated $550 million in sales as of last Saturday. Fans lined up days in advance to pick up their copy of Modern Warfare 2, complete with free night vision goggles. While this was all very nice for Activision Blizzard, it was the end of the article that really got MMO fans interested: "One person close to the company said it also was considering adapting Call of Duty as a massively multi-player online world. The genre, in which Activision's Blizzard Entertainment subsidiary is a leader, requires huge upfront investments but can be very profitable as players pay a monthly subscription fee." The possibility of a Call of Duty MMO is an exciting one for a very large group of gamers, and Blizzard is certain to be aware of that. We will definitely be keeping an eye out at Massively for more news on this possibility. [Thanks Abel!]
GameStop earnings up in Q3, Modern Warfare 2 company's biggest launch ever
GameStop remains an unstoppable retail force, as the juggernaut slammed cash register drawers shut with $1.83 billion in sales and $52.2 million in profit for the quarter ending October 31. The figures represent 8.2 and 11.8 percent increases, respectively, from the same quarter last year. The top five games during the quarter were Madden NFL 10, Halo 3: ODST, Batman: Arkham Asylum, NBA 2K10 and Wii Sports Resort, with all titles having "exceeded" the company's initial sales expectations. GameStop also revealed thar Modern Warfare 2 -- which released in Q4 on November 10 -- sold 2.5 million copies at the retailer in 72 hours. GameStop CEO Daniel DeMatteo is optimistic and believes MW2 is a bellwether for the rest of the holiday season.
Activision: Modern Warfare 2 earned $550 million in first five days
Activision has announced that, according to its internal estimates, Modern Warfare 2 has racked up $550 million in its first five days on the market. Considering that $310 million of that was in the game's first 24 hours, it means that it took another four days for the game to make another $240 million -- a great example of the big-bang starts enjoyed by many blockbuster games before their sales steadily decline. Still, Infinity Ward's latest managed to squeak by Grand Theft Auto 4's five-day record by $50 million. If there were any tears to shed about that, Activision could dry them with some other impressive statistics, such as 5.2 million multiplayer hours logged and 11 million achievements unlocked on the game's first day. It could also presumably dry any tears with crisp bajillion dollar bills.
Modern Warfare 2 headshots XBLA activity
Okay, so headshot might be too strong a word here, but Modern Warfare 2 has certainly wounded Xbox Live Arcade activity, as GamerBytes reports that top Arcade titles have seen a massive reduction in leaderboard activity since the release of Infinity Ward's latest blockbuster. Specifically, Trials HD -- long the reigning XBLA champion -- saw its leaderboard numbers drop from 14,890 players on the week of November 2 to 8,942 the week of November 9, about a 40 percent loss. Meanwhile, other titles including South Park, Zombie Apocalypse and Tower Bloxx Deluxe saw their leaderboards almost halved. Castle Crashers, curiously, only saw its numbers drop from 8,395 players to 6,034, a reduction of only 28 percent. Still, it's pretty clear that Modern Warfare 2 has pulled a lot of gamers away from the more casual fare on XBLA. Either that, or lots of hardcore Call of Duty fans unceremoniously yanked the controllers from their more casually-oriented significant others.
Activision pulled MW2 'No Russian' scene in Russia on advice of 'local counsel'
Activision has confirmed that it decided to remove the controversial "No Russian" scene from Russian versions of Modern Warfare 2, noting that there was no influence from the Russian government to do so. In a statement to Eurogamer, the publisher explained that Russia does not have a formal ratings board and that the company decided to block the scene "after seeking the advice of local counsel." The publisher's statement went on to explain that the console versions of the game had never been released in the region and that the alteration would only affect the PC version, which was released on November 10 -- which wasn't too long before hackers turned their attention to the other things that had been removed from the popular shooter.
BBC's 'The Big Questions' tackles Modern Warfare 2
In case you were wondering yet had no intention of finding out for yourself, Modern Warfare 2 was released specifically to offend you. "The Big Questions" takes on this exact subject in this week's episode, hosting a handful of religious leaders as well as a couple of knowledgeable game industry folks. Though we feel that the game's graphic scenes are somewhat on par with action movies like Heat or Ronin (and are nowhere near as offensive as something like, say, Hostel – or even the 30-year-old Texas Chainsaw Massacre), religious leaders guesting on this week's BBC program took approximately forty seconds before enacting Godwin's Law when speaking about the game, according to an MCV report. "Joseph Goebbels said his entertainment did more for the German people, in terms of creating the psyche for war and hostility towards others, than the speeches of Adolf Hitler ... the idea this is entertainment is not justification whatsoever, " Fazan Mohammed of the British Muslim Forum told viewers. Thankfully, Future Publishing's James Binns kept a level head among knee-jerk claims (unlike that other gentleman). "We can make all entertainment for children, or we can take proper steps to try and protect children from adult entertainment." So, whaddya say, folks? Modern Warfare 3 with major battles between adorable stuffed pandas and adorable stuffed kodiaks, and when they get shot (with hearts) they explode candy? Where do we sign up?!
Rumor: MW2 recalled in Russia due to 'No Russian' scene [update]
The console version of Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 has allegedly been recalled in Russia due to the controversial "No Russian" scene. Hellforge's translation of a Russian report claims that a censored console version will be released later this month in the region, and that an official patch removing the scene from PC and Steam versions is en route. It would seem that the choice of killing innocent Russian civilians in the scene isn't one that the government would like to leave up to players. To make sure this report stays as "fair and balanced" as possible, we've contacted Activision and Infinity Ward for comment. Any Russia-based readers that can shed a little bit more light on the situation should feel free to contact us. Update: Activision confirms [Via Edge]
Infinity Ward talking about spin-off game starring Modern Warfare 2's 'Ghost'
Though Modern Warfare 2 is rife with instantly accessible, beloved characters with fascinating names, we all know that one stands out as the franchise's most memorable protagonist: Ghost. You know, Ghost! He's got that skull mask, and there was that one scene where that guy's about to shoot you, and then Ghost shoots him right back. He's already risen to fame somewhat when he received a six-part comic series telling his story -- but if the actor who provides the spectral hero's voice is to be believed, he might just show up in his own video game as well. Craig Fairbrass, who not only did the voice for Ghost in MW2, but also voiced the equally unfortunately named Gaz in the original Modern Warfare, mentioned, "I'm now voicing a guy called Ghost, who now just got a spin-off comic of his own and they're talking about another little game to go with it." Little game? Based on the number of Michael Bay-esque explosions in the first five minutes of Modern Warfare 2, we're not sure Infinity Ward is capable of making those.
How not to boycott Modern Warfare 2
Don't worry, guys. We're fairly certain that most of those copies are pirated. (Click here for the full version of the image, as captured by PC Gamer forum poster Olu446.) [Via Rock Paper Shotgun]
Using only words, man steals nearly $7000 of GameStop merchandise
It's totally possible at this point that a strange ploy to keep us writing about Modern Warfare 2 at least four to five times per day exists. WPXI in Pittsburgh today reports that Western Pennsylvanian police are still looking for a man who robbed a Meadville, Pa. GameStop of 100 copies of the game (and "a few other items") last Tuesday evening. According to the report, the man told the store clerks that his friend outside would shoot them if they called the police. Okay, first things first – how did he carry them out? 100 copies of the game, all by himself?! Those cellophane-covered boxes can get slippery when they're all stacked up! Assuming the games are in a box, that'd still be awfully cumbersome to maneuver out of a store. Second of all, where is this GameStop that has plenty of extra copies of any game on launch day? This whole thing stinks! Stinks, we say! [Thanks, Yahya]
Fox & Friends gets 'fair and balanced' with Modern Warfare 2 discussion
Did you know that there's a murderer in your house ... right now? It's sitting there on your coffee table, in your Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, or PC. It's name is Modern Warfare 2, and it lets your eight-year-old child become a terrorist and kill people. Our pals at Fox & Friends got together for a "fair and balanced" discussion about the game's controversial airport scene, with the show's host Steve Doocy inviting Common Sense Media's Jim Steyer and /gamer's Jon Christensen into the fray. Unsurprisingly, Steyer makes the oft-cited connection between violent games and real-life violence. And when Doocy gives Christensen the final word, he cobbles together an anecdote about his friend the retail manager not selling copies of Modern Warfare 2 to underage consumers, which is met with, "You bring a game into a house, nothing to stop an eight-year-old kid from becoming a terrorist and shooting people" from Doocy. So far, we haven't received any reports of the game sneaking its way into people's homes or making parents blind and unaware of their children's actions, but we'll keep our ears to the ground.
As easy as 1.23 million: Modern Warfare 2 breaks first-day UK sales record
Citing "astonishing" first-day sales figures in the UK, the Entertainment and Leisure Software Publishers Association has trumpeted Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2's debut as a sign that "interactive entertainment has completely come of age." Said Michael Rawlinson, Director General of the ELSPA: "These first day sales figures are astonishing and clear evidence that video games are now mainstream in the UK."Smashing through the estimated 631,000 units sold by 2008's Grand Theft Auto IV, Infinity Ward's slick shooter grossed £47 million (roughly $78.3 million) in first-day sales, which ELSPA and GFK-ChartTrack pair with 1.23 million units sold. Sold to adults, of course! "So, as an 18-rated video game, it is important that this game is not played by children, and parents should be appropriately vigilant," said Rawlinson. "We ask everyone to make sure they check the packaging of games to ensure they are suitable for their players, especially as we enter the festive season when video games are one of the most popular gifts of the holiday."We hope you don't take offense, people of the UK, but some of you have awfully high-pitched voices online.
Eyes-on: Modern Warfare 2 night vision goggles
There might be a game buried deep in the Modern Warfare 2: Prestige Edition box that showed up on our doorstep yesterday, but if so, we're not aware of it. See, we've been a little too busy harnessing the miracle of modern technology so we can see in the dark. We've opened our eyes in the blackness and seen the green-tinted future, and now we want to share our vision with you. (And yes, we'll be giving the whole thing away soon.)
