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'Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2' remaster hits Xbox One and PC
After a month of PS4 exclusivity, Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 Campaign Remastered is available on PC and Xbox One.
Remastered 'Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2' is available now on PS4
As expected, Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 Campaign Remastered is now available on PlayStation 4. If you own a Sony console, you can download the game today for $20. PC and Xbox One owners can pre-order the remaster today but will have to wait until April 30th before they're able to start working their way through Modern Warfare 2's single-player campaign.
'Modern Warfare 2' remaster reportedly goes on sale tomorrow
If the recent release of Warzone has you itching to play even more Call of Duty, you're in luck. According to VGC, Activision will release a remastered version of the franchise's 2009 entry, Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2, that will feature an updated single-player campaign and graphics. With a listing for the title briefly appearing on the German PSN Store, a release seems imminent.
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 & 3 finally launch assault on Mac
Mac-loving fans of the Call of Duty series don't get attention very often, but when they do, it's from publisher Aspyr Games. Aspyr specializes in Mac versions of popular Windows PC titles, and today they delivered a gift to shooter fans on OS X. Actually, they delivered two gifts: Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 and Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3, complete with all the tasty DLC bits included. The games are now available for download via Steam, or directly from Aspyr's website. If you're not sure whether your Mac machine will run the games at a reasonable quality, you can use Aspyr's GameAgent website to run the handy "Mac Match" tool and check compatibility. If you're interested in picking up these shooter classics from yesteryear, Modern Warfare 2 -- which I believe to be the superior of the two -- will set you back US$14.99, while Modern Warfare 3 is priced at $29.99. Both prices appear to be limited time discounts, so snag them while they're cheap!
Study shows intense gaming can cause changes in real-life perception
A new study published in the International Journal of Human-Computer Interaction has linked changes in visual perception and "pseudo-hallucinatory experiences" with intense video gaming. According to the study, intensive playing can cause the player's mind to perceive real-life objects through a gaming lens and can also create a situation in which the mind generates visual distortions based on gameplay. Examples offered in the study, which was done by gathering 656 posts from 54 different forums, include a subject seeing the Mass Effect dialogue wheel in his or her mind during conversations and another mistaking in-flight airplanes for Modern Warfare 2 UAVs. Mentioned as a basis for the study are the visual "waviness" some gamers experience after long sessions with Guitar Hero, the "Tetris effect" that involves seeing how real-life items could stack after playing the famous puzzler, and "Minecraft sickness" in which gamers see square-shaped themes in everyday objects. The full study breaks down a number of different types of gaming after-effects as reported by participants and proposes that the effects can be caused by "the interplay of physiological, perceptual, and cognitive mechanisms."
Call of Duty-free: PR managers sentenced for siphoning thousands
Everything in moderation, dear. The Daily Mail reports Activision UK public relations executive Kathryn Kirton has admitted to stealing £18,963 ($29,000). Her co-defendant, Jamie Kaye, who worked for third-party firm Frank PR, admitted to taking £5,000 ($7,600). The thefts occurred back in 2011 using money intended for promoting the Call of Duty franchise.For her part, Kirton used the money for a romantic £2,000 two-night stay at a luxury countryside estate, a £1,500 engagement party and spent £9,437 in "one of three shopping sprees." It appears things started falling apart when Kirton, using the Frank PR corporate card for one of the sprees, had Kaye bill Activision for it as Modern Warfare 2 launch expense. Kaye admitted using the money to send his family on a £3,500 family vacation to Florida. He also stole six iPads.Both pleaded guilty to one count of fraud. The judge sentenced Kirton to 18 months, but suspended it due to the "devastating effect" it would have on her young son. Kirton's marriage is reportedly on the rocks and the stress of the past two years caused her two-year-old son to be born prematurely because of the strain of the investigation. Kaye was sentenced to nine months, but that was suspended for 12 months. He's been ordered to 80 hours of community service.Earlier this year, former Gamestop VP of Corporate Communications and Public Affairs Chris Olivera was sentenced to 51 months in US federal prison after he plead guilty to embezzling over $1.7 million.Seriously, folks, the accountants will catch up with you eventually. Well, you know, unless they're in on it.
Modern Warfare 2 map taken down after controversy over Islamic imagery
The "Favela" map has been temporarily removed from Modern Warfare 2 following the discovery of, and complaints about, items found in the map that are potentially offensive to Muslim gamers.The protest video above details the offensive item: a frame containing a quote from the Prophet Mohammed, hanging above a toilet – "a disrespectful place" as YouTube user "KhaleDQ84EveR" puts it. In response to the discovery of this image, Activision is planning to remove the image from both Modern Warfare 2 and 3 via separate title updates, the publisher told Kotaku.In the meantime, the map is down.
Modern Warfare 3 hits 'Terminal' condition July 17, for free
The popular Modern Warfare 2 airport map, Terminal, will come to Modern Warfare 3 on Xbox 360 on July 17 for Elite members and July 18 for non-Elites, but free for everyone, regardless of digitized classist regulations.Earlier this week Infinity Ward's Mark Rubin outed Terminal for Modern Warfare 3, but couldn't provide a solid release date. Terminal exists outside of the Elite content drop schedule, and its PS3 and PC release dates are still to-be-decided, Rubin tweets.
'Terminal' map taxis its way to Modern Warfare 3
Terminal, the popular airport map from Modern Warfare 2, is heading to Modern Warfare 3, Infinity Ward's Mark Rubin has revealed via a series of tweets. Better still, Rubin says Terminal will be free for everyone, existing outside of the Elite subscription model.Rubin says Terminal is in Microsoft certification now and the release date and official confirmation may not go public until Thursday or Friday. The map isn't confirmed to hit Xbox 360 first, but that is still an option. It may even drop as a title update, rather than a separate batch of DLC. MP1st has compiled a few of Rubin's tweets in one place, but he's still at it on his own feed.
Lawsuit outs West and Zampella's salaries, bonuses at Infinity Ward: Projected $13M bonus in 2010
Former Infinity Ward studio heads Jason West and Vince Zampella had projected salaries of $420,000 in 2009, with projected bonuses of more than $3 million each, emails between Activision bosses in 2009 show.The spreadsheet lists the expected salaries of the top 20 Infinity Ward employees in 2009 and 2010. The 18 remaining employees -- the bulk including software engineers and game designers -- had projected salaries between $71,500 and $173,000. The seven employees under West and Zampella each expected a bonus of $603,000, while staffers seeing the lowest percentage of the bonus pool (1.5 percent) had a projected $278,000.In 2010, the year Activision fired West and Zampella, they were each expected to earn $437,000, with projected bonuses of $13 million each. The rest of the top 20's projected salaries and bonuses rose accordingly, with salaries between $74,000 and $180,000, and bonuses ranging from $1.4 million to $2.5 million."If you recently worked on a hit FPS, read this and see how incredibly underpaid you are," ngmoco general manager Benjamin Cousins tweeted about the documents.The emails were released into public record in the lawsuit between the Infinity Ward Employee Group and Activision; West and Zampella sued Activision in 2010 claiming they were owed $36 million in royalties associated with Modern Warfare 2, after Activision fired them earlier that year. West and Zampella now claim $1 billion in damages and the case is set for trial May 29.
EA and Activision settle in Call of Duty lawsuit
EA and Activision have reached a settlement in a lawsuit that began two years ago, pertaining to the departure of Infinity Ward heads Jason West and Vince Zampella. EA had been accused of secretly recruiting the pair while they were still at Activision.No details about the settlement are currently available, but both companies said today that they will file a settlement agreement in Los Angeles' California state court.Former Infinity Ward developers Jason West and Vince Zampella sued Activision in 2010 after being fired, claiming damages of $36 million from unpaid royalties associated with Modern Warfare 2, which launched in 2009. After leaving Activision, the pair began their own studio, Respawn Entertainment, and inked a publishing deal with EA. Since then, West and Zampella's claim rose to $1 billion and Activision countersued with EA as a defendant.Activision recently paid out $42 million to the Infinity Ward Employee Group, though not as a settlement; IWEG said it would pursue litigation and is still scheduled for trial May 29.The settlement news comes the same day as a report on Activision's "dirt"-digging tactics has surfaced, stating that Activision launched an information-gathering IT spree on West and Zampella just before the launch of Modern Warfare 2, intended to see them both fired. Activision called it "Project Icebreaker."No joke.In Project Icebreaker, Activision's George Rose asked the IT department to access West and Zampella's email, voicemail and computer without anyone's knowledge, a court filing given to Giantbomb by West and Zampella's attorneys shows. The orders reportedly came from Activision CEO Bobby Kotick. Activision attempted to use third-party security specialists and threw around the idea of staging a fake fumagation to get into West and Zampella's offices, the report says.But now the case is settled -- any verdict on the level of sanity of gaming companies is, however, still out.
Activision pays $42 million to Infinity Ward Employee Group
Activision has paid out $42 million to the "Infinity Ward Employee Group," which sued Activision in 2010 seeking profits from Modern Warfare 2. A source speaking to Polygon said that the payment was not a settlement; rather, Activision's discovery phase (for its own lawsuit against former Infinity Ward leads Jason West and Vince Zampella) found no evidence that the Employee Group members were complicit in the breach-of-contract issues for which Activision is suing, and so Bobby Kotick and Activision agreed to pay them.That group sought $75 million to $125 million, plus punitive damages. IWEG attorney Bruce Isaacs told Polygon that "although it is a meaningful payment it is only a small portion of what we are seeking in litigation." And it is still going forward with said litigation. Isaacs said the payment was a "cynical attempt to look good before the jury trial."
Witcher 2, Double Fine games, more in Steam Holiday Sale today
Pace yourself! Steam's Holiday Sale is only in day two, and you can already get Costume Quest for $3.74 (or with Psychonauts for just $2 more!), Lego Batman for $5, The Witcher 2 for $24, The Witcher 1 for $2.49, and Modern Warfare 2 for $15. You're definitely going to be broke after this year's sale but, on the upside, you'll be able to play a lot of games until your electricity is shut off and you're evicted.
Infinity Ward's day in court: May 7, 2012
Former Infinity Ward bossmen Jason West and Vincent Zampella have an official court date of May 7, 2012 to settle their dispute with Activision. West and Zampella seek $125 million in unpaid royalties from Modern Warfare 2 sales and wish to reclaim their contractual rights to the Modern Warfare brand. Activision fired both developers in March 2010 for illegally consorting with EA, and has counter-sued West, Zampella and EA for $400 million, claiming EA hijacked its employees. Since The Firings, West and Zampella founded Respawn Entertainment and now have 40 former Infinity Ward employees working at the studio, which is creating an unannounced, blurry IP. Activision's suit is clear to proceed, but doesn't yet have a date -- considering how long this first case could drag on, we guess it'll go to court around January 2068.
Filmmakers share the story behind Find Makarov and Operation Kingfish
Among the festivities this weekend at Call of Duty XP in Los Angeles was the premiere of the second "Find Makarov" short film, subtitled "Operation Kingfish." In case you missed it on the live stream, you can watch the short above -- it's a segment set in between Call of Duty 4 and Modern Warfare 2, featuring part of the origin story for soldiers Soap and Price. The filmmakers from digital agency We Can Pretend and visual effects company The Junction sat down with me here at the convention to chat about how Find Makarov originally came about, how Activision contributed to this Operation Kingfish followup, and what's next for these creatives and the Call of Duty brand on film.
Infinity Ward on MW2's convoluted story, and how plot is addressed in MW3
At a Modern Warfare 3 preview event this morning 50 floors above Central Park, Infinity Ward creative strategist Robert Bowling spoke with me about a variety of IW-related topics. Ranging from MW2's controversial "No Russian" level, to the importance of the Modern Warfare series' running plot threads in the eyes of both IW devs and gamers alike, Bowling took a proud and optimistic stance on the franchise's less-than-clear "Task Force 141" storyline. "For the single-player campaign, especially for Modern Warfare 3 more than ever -- this is the payoff for the investment that people have put in since Call of Duty 4," Bowling began. Though he explained that IW has been "learning new ways to tell stories and learning new ways to deliver experiences" across the development of all three games, it's his belief that MW3 "is the payoff to all those lessons learned." Speaking briefly to the flawed, often convoluted plot of Modern Warfare 2, Bowling admitted, "Every game we put out, we sit back and we look at 'What can we do better? What areas can we focus on to bump the experience up?' And story was one of those coming out of MW2." To him, as MW3 is the focal point for the series thus far -- especially in terms of plot -- the goal is to tell "one hell of a story." Specifically, "we want it to build up on the key themes that we started in MW2, but really polish that storytelling ability." For me, that aim played out immediately in the single-player hands-off demo I was given. Less than five minutes in, two separate keys were required to launch missiles from a hijacked Russian submarine -- and two separate individuals turned those keys, more or less directly mocking the massively unbelievable nuke launch moment with Captain Price from Modern Warfare 2.
Infinity Ward suit against Activision going to trial
After languishing in the legal system for over a year, the lawsuit filed against Activision by Infinity Ward founders Vincent Zampella and Jason West appears to be moving forward, according to the Hollywood Reporter. The publication reports that a Los Angeles judge has ruled that Zampella and West's claims against Activision have merit -- complaints of unpaid royalties among others -- meaning the suit should finally be going to court. The news comes months after a judge allowed Activision's countersuit to move forward as well. Both sides of the suit are seeking significant damages. Appropriately enough, with both sides cleared to proceed, it looks like it's finally time for Activision and the former Call of Duty developers to go to war.
Mad Catz creates new studio to make flight sim MMOs
In 2012, you will know that an angry feline can fly! Or so hopes Mad Catz Interactive, which has just announced the formation of an internal studio dedicated to making MMO flight simulators. Dubbed "ThunderHawk Studios," this new team is already hard at work on a title slated for next year. Mad Catz President Darren Richardson sees this as another step on the road to gaming greatness: "The addition of flight simulation games should leverage the market share leadership and global distribution enjoyed by our flight simulation hardware products. The formation of ThunderHawk Studios is an important milestone as we pursue our longer term goal of expanding our participation in developing, publishing and distributing games." Mad Catz is well-known for developing gaming peripherals and other interface hardware for titles like Modern Warfare 2 and Street Fighter IV.
Microsoft treats kid hacker with kid gloves in wake of PSN debacle
Soon after Sony's aggressive pursuit of hacker George Hotz -- and potentially in an act of retaliation -- other hackers shut the whole PlayStation Network down and made off with millions of users' data. Microsoft seems to have learned a valuable lesson from that ("don't incite hackers"). During a keynote presentation at the Bank of Ireland Business Week, MS's Ireland General Manager Paul Rellis revealed that the company is dealing with a 14-year-old who hacked Modern Warfare 2 not by suing him, but by working with him. According to the Herald, Rellis said that Microsoft was helping the youngster "use his skills for legitimate purposes." It's a happy ending in this case, but we doubt this will work every time. If you get all up in big companies' systems, you're still a lot more likely to end up with police confiscating your computer than with a cool internship.
Modern War Gear Solid is totally coconuts
The latest episode in long-running series Modern War Gear Solid has just been uploaded. It's kind of hard to describe the series: it's part homage, part irreverent mish-mash of gaming's most beloved franchises. Find all five episodes past the break.
