Activision WWS boss Dave Stohl said he’s “100 percent confident” that Infinity Ward will rise to the occasion and “come back to what it was,” but the publisher doesn’t want to “tamper with” the studio’s culture.
West & Zampella form new studio, gives it a symbolic name
On April - 12 - 2010
Jason West and Vincent Zampella, the two executives that were unceremoniously fired from Modern Warfare studio Infinity Ward by owner Activision, announced today that they are forming a new studio, under Activisions biggest rival, EA.
The pair have formed the studio Respawn Entertainment, a name I would usually deem generic, but seems to fit their situation pretty well. This makes them the second newly formed studio to make a thinly veiled jab at their former employer.
After being fired on the spot by Activision, and escorted out by security, the two filed a complaint against Activision, and signed up with a Hollywood talent agency. Activision filed their counter-suit before the weekend, of which Kotaku has a pretty good summary. This move does lend credence to the claim by Activision that the execs were going behind their backs talking to EA, but it is of course entirely possible that they made the deal with EA after being fired.
Gamer tries to steal Breach code, gets caught
On March - 30 - 2010
At PAX East this weekend, Justin D. May (20) tried something quite daring. He brought his laptop, and attempted to steal the build of Breach that developer Atomic Games was showing off, by downloading it. He was spotted, and promptly ran off into the crowd. After a short while security found and apprehended him. He was arrested, and his laptop, along with his various modded consoles, were confiscated.
This is clearly a criminal mastermind in the making. Firstly, he bragged about stealing the code to people as he was doing it, including staff members of Atomic Games. Then it was confirmed that this was the same person that attended Stephen “Banhammer” Toulouse’s panel on Xbox Live enforcement earlier that day, who asked if his gamertag could be unbanned, since he had played Forza 3 early.
Gaming industry success will benefit movie industry, says MW director
On March - 9 - 2010
Chatting in an interview with GamesIndustry.biz today, Call of Duty and Modern Warfare director Keith Aremhe believes that the stellar success of games such as Modern Warfare and Grand Theft Auto have “changed perceptions” of gaming, and will benefit the future of both mediums.
“The success of the games industry is going to benefit those other movie industries. It’s providing more work, it’s providing more content,” said Arem. “Finding new content in the games industry is going to absolutely expand into the movie industry and vice-versa.
“By expanding these franchises out the film industry is going to re-seed stuff into games. As much as people are threatened by the fear of the unknown, it’s going to be a huge benefit to both industries as they grow hand-in-hand.
“There’s been a complete 180 in the past several years with games like Modern Warfare and Grand Theft Auto, and these have shown that these can change perceptions.”
So… Modern Warfare movie for 2012, then?
Pachter: West, Zampella “unlikely” to win Modern Warfare IP rights
On March - 5 - 2010
In the one time Michael Pachter may actually be right, he chimed in to say that in the current “war” between Infinity Ward and Activision, Jason West and Vince Zampella may be “unlikely” to get the rights to the Modern Warfare name (via Critical Gamer).
Internal Activision memo suggest talks between IW and EA
On March - 5 - 2010
A leaked Activision memo might give some insight onto why Jason West and Vince Zampella were fired from Infinity Ward.
Activision dismisses Infinity Ward suit as “meritless”
On March - 4 - 2010
Well, it just keeps going, doesn’t it?
Seeking $36 million from Activision, Activision has responded to the claim and said that they are “disappointed.”
Ex-IW bosses seek $36 million in suit
On March - 4 - 2010
Bloomberg announced that West and Zampella are seeking “at least $36 million” from Activision in the lawsuit.
The $36 million is sought in addition to control over the Modern Warfare name, which is seen as “a subset of the ‘Call of Duty’ combat games, according to a copy of the complaint,” according to the Bloomberg piece.
First part of today’s IW vs Activision news here.
Ex-IW heads get legal
On March - 4 - 2010
The shitstorm still goes on as ex-Infinity Ward heads Jason West and Vince Zampella seek action against Activision for unpaid royalties.
Rumour: Infinity Ward not paid royalties for Modern Warfare 2
On March - 2 - 2010
According to BingeGamer, Activision has not paid royalties to Infinity Ward over the success of Modern Warfare 2.
The article cites sources “associated with Activision” who says this could be one of the reasons for the confrontation between publisher and developer earlier today.
BingeGamer also mentions that Infinity Ward have been looking for a new deal with another publisher.
IW is contracted to Activision as a developer until October, and it’s rumoured that Activision’s move is a power play to try and bully Infinity ward into staying with Activision. Both developer and publisher owns equal parts of the Call of Duty Franchise, so Activision might be moving to acquire IW’s half of the CoD name.
Randy Pitchford knew Borderlands was to be a success
On February - 20 - 2010
Randy Pitchford stated that making Borderlands was a “labor of love” for Gearbox, so upon hearing famed video game analyst Michael Pachter of Wedbush Securities say the game was “sent to die,” he felt a little disheartened, but didn’t let that sway him.
Borderlands was a success, as he told Gamasutra, even with being released around the same time as Halo 3: ODST, Dragon Age, and Modern Warfare 2.
“We were sandwiched between the two biggest first-person shooter franchises ever and the guys at BioWare, who walk on water, were releasing Dragon Age around the same time,” Pitchford said. “It was tough for me, because it’s [Pachter's] job to analyze these things.”
Pitchford went on to call out Pachter by saying, ““You know what, Mike? I knew you were wrong.”
Borderlands went on to sell over 3 million copies across three platforms and became one of the best-selling intellectual properties of 2009.
Gearbox has sold over 20 million units and generated over $500 million in revenue – and that’s not including any figures from Borderlands.
Pitchford states that Borderlands is getting a third piece of DLC sometime this year to join the already available Zombie Island of Dr. Ned and Mad Moxxi’s Underdome Riot. The third installment of DLC will increase the level cap and offer new challenges to players, but no date or price have been officially announced.
New Call of Duty title confirmed for 2010
On February - 11 - 2010
To nobody’s surprise, Activision announced that a new Call of Duty title will be available this year of 2010. They hope to make annual installments of the game, but really, what hope does Activision have of reaching the success they had with Modern Warfare 2?
(Hint: None)
No details about the new Call of Duty installment have been released.
Who wants to bet on another World War II shooter?
Modern Warfare 2 grosses $1 billion since launch
On January - 13 - 2010
Activision has announced that Modern Warfare 2 has grossed over $1 billion since its launch in November. That’s… a lot of money.
The game grossed over $550 million in its first five days on sales, and has continued to sell like hot-cakes since then, consistently standing at the top of the charts. It finally hit the $1 billion mark recently.
Press release after the cut.
Keith Vaz: Violent games worse than violent films
On January - 7 - 2010
Politicians. Don’t we just love all their various outbursts and opinions on things they know absolutely nothing about?
The latest person up on the soapbox is none other than Labour Party member Keith Vaz, who wants cigarette packet-style warnings on the front of all violent video games, stating that violent video games are worse than violent films.
“A film with inappropriate content is not interactive. The point about video games, which is backed up by research from America, is that the player is part of the process. Players shoot and stab people in a videogame, and that is different. I accept that inappropriate content is wrong, wherever it is found, but videogames are different.”
I love how he cites “research from America” without really specifying anything. Vaz used the current source of controvery, Modern Warfare 2′s “No Russian” level, as an example of violence in a video game.
“If a young person gets hold of Modern Warfare 2, for example, they will be asked to participate in a terrorist attack; they will be asked to shoot at civilians in Moscow airport as part of the game.”
Apart from the fact that the scene is completely optional and you can get through it without shooting anyone.
Vaz stated he wasn’t against censorship, but merely wants people to “please think of the children!!!” So maybe he should go after the people buying these games for their kids, instead of being mad at the game designers?
The New Greatest Modern Warfare 2 Video
On November - 26 - 2009
Chances are you’ve all seen that incredible Modern Warfare 2 Knife Throw from a couple of weeks back. While not as much of an amazing display of skill or luck as that video, Youtube user BobLeeSwagger gets revenge on an entrenched sniper in a way that is just way too funny to not post.
To all of you brave soldiers who have been gunned down by hidden snipers with silencers and cold blooded from across the map over and over again: this one’s for you.
