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?
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).
A leaked Activision memo might give some insight onto why Jason West and Vince Zampella were fired from Infinity Ward.
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.”
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.
The shitstorm still goes on as ex-Infinity Ward heads Jason West and Vince Zampella seek action against Activision for unpaid royalties.
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 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.
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?
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.
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?
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.
Modern Warfare 2’s first batch of DLC is currently “planned for the wonderfully vague time-frame of Spring”, according to Infinity Ward’s Rob Bowling on his twitter today.
No details at were provided on the content and what it would be, but then, there’s not really much you can say in 140 characters.
Ah Twitter, where would us journalists be without you?
Do you live in the UK? Do you have an Xbox 360? Do you have Modern Warfare 2 and a Gold Subscription to Xbox Live? Do you like to feel better about yourself by giving to charity?
If you just so happen to fit all of those criteria, then here’s your chance to give something back, as Activision UK has announced that it will be donating money to the War Child charity during an online event in Modern Warfare 2.
The even is scheduled to run between December 5th and December 6th on Xbox Live. Activision will donate a “life changing” amount (they haven’t specifically said) to the charity per UK player that plays the game during those two days. The more UK people play, the more money will be donated.
If you’re interested in taking part, you should become a fan of the event on Facebook, add the Game For Good application, and invite others. You can keep track of details and results via the event’s Twitter feed.
Hey, it’s for a good cause, so you have no excuse!
Based on figures gathered by MCV today, Modern Warfare 2 has sold approximately 1.23 million copies on it’s first day on sale in the UK, according to GfK-ChartTrack.
The figure is impressive. Do you want to know just how impressive?
It’s double the figure of GTA IV’s day one sales (609,000). This makes making Modern Warfare 2 the fastest-selling video game in UK history, with 1,230,588 copies sold in total day one.
This roughly means that Modern Warfare 2 is in approximately one of every 24 UK homes.
Impressive would be an understatement.
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