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Call of Duty creative strategist Robert 'FourZeroTwo' Bowling departs Infinity Ward [update: Activision responds]
Longtime hype man for the Call of Duty franchise, Robert Bowling, has resigned from Infinity Ward and Activision today. Robert "FourZeroTwo" Bowling, who served as creative strategist for Call of Duty and lead at Infinity Ward, just announced his resignation via Twitter. He has yet to announce where he is going next.Bowling stayed on at Infinity Ward following the mass exodus of staff who would go on to form Respawn Entertainment in 2010.Update: Here's Activision's official comment on the news: "We sincerely thank Robert for his many years of service. He's been a trusted and valued member of the Infinity Ward team. We wish him all the best on his decision to pursue future opportunities."
Modern Warfare 2 PC mod tool news 'coming in the future'
After a string of disappointments, fans of Modern Warfare 2 on PC may be down, but a ray of hope has emerged on the horizon. Responding to a fan asking about mod tools for the game via his Twitter account, Infinity Ward spokesman Robert Bowling said, "there may be some Mod Tools news coming in the future, I'll pass it along once I have it." We suppose this news could be something like, "We're never ever going to release mod tools ever, so please stop sending us hate mail smeared with Cheeto dust fingerprints," but that would be mean -- even for a company that lets us blow away civilians. [Via Escapist]
Modern Warfare 2 players report matchmaking malfunction
Now that the exploding men and unrelenting rain of crates have been taken care of, it would seem a new issue has arisen in Modern Warfare 2. Specifically, a bug in the Xbox Live matchmaking assignments is reportedly dumping playlist searchers into private matches. (Nothing's worse than being teamed with the lowest ranking players, after all.) Penny Arcade's Gabe tweeted (warning: foul language through link) that he had encountered the issue several times. Meanwhile, Infinity Ward's man in the trenches, Robert "fourzerotwo" Bowling, confirmed the issue is known and that a fix is currently in the works. [Via Gaming Union] Source - cwgabriel [Twitter] (NSFW) Source - Robert "fourzerotwo" Bowling [Twitter]
Modern Warfare 2 Avatar gear coming to Live tomorrow
Are your Avatars ill-equipped to raid a terrorist safe house? Well, good news: Infinity Ward community manager Robert Bowling (aka fourzerotwo) revealed Modern Warfare 2 gear will soon be available for players to purchase on Xbox Live's Avatar Marketplace.Revealed in a recent Tweet, Bowling stated that Infinity Ward will upload the content to Xbox Live tomorrow -- which includes the Ghost outfit pictured above. In an email to Joystiq, Bowling confirmed the content will be made available for purchase tomorrow. Until then, we'll sleep soundly knowing that the Avatar world will soon be safe from terrorist scum.[Thanks, B. Marriner]
Initial Modern Warfare 2 budget was 'ridiculous'
During an interview with Develop, Infinity Ward's front-line man, Robert "fourzerotwo" Bowling, recalled the early planning stages of Modern Warfare 2. Unsurprisingly, publisher and owner Activision was eager to pour money into the development of the COD4 sequel, following the basic business formula: more money = better product = more sales = more money. Infinity Ward followed another school of thought: "If it ain't broke, don't fix it." "Much like we don't let ourselves get distracted by hype, if you have excess you feel like you should use excess," Bowling said. Even though Activision "estimated out a ridiculous budget" early on, Infinity Ward "didn't let the budget affect [its] mentality." Since Infinity Ward apparently didn't take the money (or, at least, all of it), we do have a pretty good idea of what Activision spent it on: night-vision goggles for everyone!
Modern Warfare 2 will feature third-person mode for playlists
digg_url = 'http://www.joystiq.com/2009/10/26/modern-warfare-2-will-feature-3rd-person-mode-for-playlists/'; You never want to bring a third person along on a date -- not unless that date happens to be November 10th. Infinity Ward's community manager Robert Bowling (A.K.A. fourzerotwo) has taken control and confirmed that a third-person camera viewpoint will be available in this holiday's monolithic Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2, though it'll be limited to specifically labeled online playlists. "It's not something you can toggle on and off in ANY game," said Bowling. The special mode can only be played in private matches -- toggled on or off just like "Hardcore" settings -- or in playlists that are designated for third-person play. According to Bowling, everyone playing in a third-person playlist will be restricted to the viewpoint. "This is just another cool way to play the game," he said, "you obviously will still have the option to play gametypes normal as well." Our friend, the internet, has an inscrutable video of some person running around in third person, but you're probably better off waiting for the "awesome trailer" the folks at Infinity Ward have planned.
Infinity Ward's fourzerotwo thinks devs should 'take control' of marketing
With the release of the highly anticipated Modern Warfare 2 just over two weeks away, Infinity Ward's Robert "fourzerotwo" Bowling has been quite vocal with the press. Speaking with MCV, Bowling unequivocally states his opinion that game developers should retain control of marketing and PR for their own games. "I don't think any developer should not have control of how their game is presented or marketed or communicated," Bowling said. "And they should take control of that a lot, lot more." Using his own Twitter account as an example, he points out that he has a "direct line to our audience and the press," cutting out the "middleman" of a publisher handling marketing/PR duties. "Not only do we know the game but we know the gamer," he continues. Then he must know about the 160,000 or so people and nearly 600 Diggers upset over his studio's decision to not support dedicated servers on the PC, right? Ahh, the double-edged sword of control: while IW may be the one making vital decisions on its own game, the blame falls squarely on its shoulders when things go wrong. %Gallery-50567%
Activision files trademark for Call of Duty film adaptation
Perhaps the reason why video game-to-film adaptations have failed so ubiquitously is because none of them were of a truly epic scale. Perhaps what the ailing genre needs is a massive, Saving Private Ryan-esque cinematic endeavor -- which might just be coming in the form of a movie based on Activision's Call of Duty franchise, as hinted at by a recent trademark filing. Adding fuel to the speculative fire is Infinity Ward's Robert Bowling (aka FourZeroTwo) who recently tweeted, "grabbing lunch with Xavier Gens, director of the Hitman film while in town. Talking game films." Sure, we would've rather had Bowling meet with Mr. Scorcese to talk Duty movies -- but in the grand scope of video game films, Hitman ranks high on the "not completely abysmal" end of the spectrum. [Via Trademork]
PSA: Beware of fake 'COD5' beta invites
Infinity Ward Community Manager Robert "Fourzerotwo" Bowling is warning of fake Call of Duty 5 beta invites being sent out. Mr. Two states that if you happen to receive one of the invites, "just delete it." The email is an "exact replica" of invites sent our for the CoD4 beta, with all pertinent parts updated for the hoax.Bowling clarifies that there is currently no beta for the game, and if there was he'd be "screaming it from every internet rooftop." For the record: So would we.
CoD 4: Over 10 million served, 2.8% survive 'Airplane' on veteran
Infinity Ward Community Manager Robert Bowling Fourzerotwo has released some player statisticalz from a little game called Call of Duty 4. The data, pulled on Jan. 3, reveals that 10 million unique users have played CoD 4 on Xbox 360 and connected to Live "at least once" after playing.Going deeper down the fox hole (yes, it's called a mixed metaphor), Infinity Ward checked specific data on certain levels: 71.1%, or 7,111,508 people have completed F.N.G. 68.8%, or 6,886,509 people have completed Cargo Ship. 46.5%, or 5,654,643 people have beaten the game on any difficulty. 2.8%, or 283,632 people have completed Airplane on Veteran difficulty. Comparatively, pulling the multiplayer numbers from PSN revealed 4,381,276 unique users. Now we just want to know how many tries it took that 2.8% to complete Airplane on Veteran.
Call of Duty 4 getting double XP Sept. 13-14
When the Joystiq staff goes back to Call of Duty 4, it's usually because we're tired of getting our asses handed to us on a little silver platter in practically every other first-person shooter. Before too long we pine for the one game we've played enough that we're not embarrassed to admit to our team that we write about video games professionally.But, according to Infinity Ward spokesman Fourzerotwo, we'll have additional reason to go back Sept. 13-14, when CoD 4 will be offering up double XP on PSN and Xbox Live. Come, play with us, and tremble before our staggering (and doubly rewarding) moderate competence.
Call of Duty 4 maps coming to PC June 5
Those on active virtual duty in Call of Duty 4 have seen combat in all manner of locales during their tours -- though earlier this year, their theater of operations saw a major expansion with the "Variety" map pack, allowing them to get their war on in four new exotic, terrorist-rich locations. Unfortunately, these lush warzones were only available to those playing the game's console iterations, and devout WASD-ers were left out of the new territories.Fear not, mousegrabbers, your day has come -- or rather, it is coming on June 5, according to Infinity Ward figurehead fourzerotwo. As expected from a map pack that's been available on other formats for nearly two months, the pack will be free to download on PC thanks to a sponsorship from NVIDIA. Little has changed for the PC versions of the four maps, though we find it regrettable that "Chinatown" is now known as "NVIDIAtown" and the Spetsnaz have been renamed the "GeForce Freedom Fighters".[Via Evil Avatar]
Call of Duty 4 map pack going live in 30 minutes
Infinity Ward spokesman "fourzerotwo" (or Robert Bowling, to his parents) has announced that the new Call of Duty 4 map pack will arrive at 6:30 PST, or 9:30 EST or, to put it in terms we can all appreciate: In 30 minutes. So watch a video or flip through the gallery, do whatever you have to do to prepare yourself. What's that sound like blood pumping out of your ears? That's you getting totally, absolutely pumped. ... Oh, also, there's blood pumping out of your ears. We should probably get you to a doctor. Think we can be back in a half hour? Come to think of it, can you drive yourself?Once the maps drop (and you part with 800 points/$10) try to pull yourself away for a few minutes to come back and share your thoughts. [Thanks, Lucas] Gallery: Call of Duty 4: Modern Combat DLC
Call of Duty 4 DLC in the works for PC
As excited as we are about new maps for Call of Duty 4, we have to admit to being a bit perplexed as to why we weren't hearing anything about the content coming to PCs, the system that's usually first in line for downloadable content. Now, after reading a recent post on Infinity Ward spokesman "fourzerotwo"/Robert Bowling's blog, we're even more confused.Bowling writes that while no plans have been announced, "we are working to bring PC users the same content in the future, however logistics are being worked out on how to make that happen." Wait, can't they just download a file? After all they -- hey! Wait a minute, we get it now! Maybe by "logistics" he means "how to charge money for them." Now that would make perfect sense. Sure, there are other things he could mean, but our monetization sense is definitely tingling.
Call of Duty 4 patch now available for PS3
Infinity Ward spokesman Robert Bowling ("fourzerotwo" to the l33t kids) let fans of the game know that PS3 players should be receiving a new feature patch for Call of Duty 4: Modern Combat this week. But according to a few tipsters and commenters on his blog, it's now up and ready for your enjoyment.In case you missed the post (or haven't talked to your 360-owning, Call of Duty 4-playing friends since last month) the patch includes better sniper rifle and ACOG accuracy, as well as host migration and playlist changes. You can find some more info right here. ... Or hey, why not just go play?[Thanks, RileyFreeman]
COD4 dev becomes most popular gamertag
Move over Major Nelson, thy reign has come to an end. According to Xbox.com, the most popular gamertag honor has been transferred to fourzerotwo, a lowly developer working on a little-known-game entitled Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare. How did this underdog best the Voice of Microsoft's console? We expect a full-on popularity assault by The Major (real name Larry Hyrb). This fight isn't over, you can bet your gamerscore on it.
