Copies of Treyarch's Call of Duty: Black Ops were apparently stolen from a factory and then fell into the hands of 'hackers' readying it to be leaked. At least that's what was said to be happening but those accused of receiving copies say they were "scammed". Treyarch contacted the 'leakers'.
Okay you win Activision for having the most lavish videogaming merchandise, what with your "integrated partnership" with car makers Chrysler Group. The black Jeep Wrangler Rubicon will be on sale next month costing $30,625 to $33,500 and it comes with exterior Call of Duty: Black Ops graphics.
Lead character Alex Mason in Treyarch's Call of Duty: Black Ops was given a face and voice so the player can "relate to him" from the very first scenes. This is a first for the Call of Duty series, to actually humanise the player avatar. We'll see "Mason's relationships" shift as we go "back and forth".
Blizzard's Jason Bender has said the studio choose to use a "Call of Duty-style progression" system for Diablo III's PvP arena battles. This allows the experience to be "inherently fun" by removing the need to grind for loot in PvP. It's designed purely for "fun and for bragging rights."
Wedbush Morgan's crystal ball reader Michael Pachter says that studio Treyarch is always regarded as "the 'other'" Call of Duty developer - poor guys. The games press carries a deep prejudice against their efforts says Pachter, so we'll "find many things wrong" compared to Infinity Ward's instalments.
Say what you want about Activision boss Bobby Kotick but he's got pulling power in the world, despite the fact he's "infuriated legions" of us gamers. Kotick commands after all mega IPs Call of Duty and Guitar Hero. His 16th place profile even mentions him as the "Hitler of the Gaming Industry."
Activision and Treyarch's latest Call of Duty has been handed an 18 certificate in the UK by the BBFC, citing "strong bloody violence and strong language". That's to be expected given we play an elite CIA operative hell-bent on screwing up those chemical weapons plans the Soviets have cooked up.
During their investor call Activision has said Call of Duty: Black Ops will be receiving it's "largest line-up of exciting new digital content ever," in the series. The publisher has poured "significant resources" into getting tons more in the way of DLC. While unspecified most will likely be map packs and such.
Retailers GAME and HMV will be keeping stores open past midnight for the launch of Call of Duty: Black Ops, which releases tomorrow officially. A price war has ignited over Activision's latest shooter with many offering trade-in deals which slash the price of Black Ops as low as 99p.
US retailer GameStop has had its Bel Air store in Harford County, Md. robbed by armed assailants who made off with over 100 game copies. Their target was Call of Duty: Black Ops which releases officially tomorrow. The two also stole cash and consoles. The local sheriff appeals for info.
Activision will only stop Call of Duty when "people get bored of it," notes BBC tech reporter Daniel Emery. The games industry is one big IP milk factory. That's the gist of his observation. We're "famous" for creating a great property and then "running it and running it." Are we just a software dairy farm?
If you've picked up the PC version of Call of Duty: Black Ops you might be experiencing issues with performance, as many people are rushing onto the Internet to report on lag and stuttering during cutscenes, even on high-end systems. It seems to be caused by a memory leak, with CPU usage nearing 100% even at relatively quiet areas of the game. Multiplayer modes aren't free from these issues either.
The Sledgehammer Games' Call of Duty project is apparently now a first-person shooter, not an action adventure, and it's set in space say sources. The studio has pedigree from Visceral Games, developer of Dead Space. Activision is heavily invested in this sci-fi 'space marine' Call of Duty.
Activision's Call of Duty: Black Ops has the communist nation of Cuba spitting out their cigars in disgust, especially that assassination bit at the start. What the US "couldn't accomplish" in 50 years they're now "trying to do virtually" says Cuba, regarding Black Ops' opening objective to kill Fidel Castro.
Vietnam veteran Ron Parkes is not happy with Activision's Call of Duty: Black Ops releasing during a week "supposed to be honouring" fallen soldiers. Remembrance Day is not "a consumer advocate's day" and Activision "clearly" is using it as a "marketing strategy." Parkes toured 3 months in Vietnam.
Treyarch has barraged all three versions of Call of Duty: Black Ops with updates, with PC getting it's game-busting lag serious shock treatment therapy. The studio promises that more tweaks and fixes are in the works. PC also got a performance boost with "dual and quad core" systems.
Activision and Treyarch's Call of Duty: Black Ops has been crowned King of the UK chart hill, which is certainly no surprise. 56% of copies for Xbox 360. FIFA 11 2nd with Just Dance 2 at 3rd. Rare's Kinect Sports scored one for the motion tech team landing 4th. Kinectimals came 26th; cute isn't everything.
While a patch for Call of Duty: Black Ops fired off last week for PC to address the terrible lag, and some CPU issues, more changes are inbound. An exact ETA is unknown but we do know at least four main areas of focus; GPU "hitching", better Quickmatch and complete server browser results.
Activision's Bobby Kotick says the used games business is simply market forces at work, and Acti is "not doing anything" to suppress it right now. Initiatives like EA's Online Pass aren't in the "best interest of the gamer," and so they've "chosen not to" adopt that type of system. Betting on DLC.
Call of Duty: Black Ops won't let go of the UK all formats chart fending off both Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood and Need for Speed: Hot Pursuit. They placed 2nd and 3rd respectively. The new Harry Potter game entered 20th. FIFA 11 has been pushed down to 4th and Just Dance 2 to 5th.