Activision Publishing boss Eric Hirshberg has vowed they'll never put charges in to access Call of Duty multiplayer as its "absolutely integral" out of the box. It's "part of the package" and something they will avoid monetizing, not including map packs of course - that's sheer gold. Acti dismiss expert claims of subs.
Polyphony Digital's super long-time coming PS3 exclusive Gran Turismo 5 has arrived in the UK shops and it's taken the lead from Call of Duty: Black Ops. The racing simulator has bested the competition its opening week. Black Ops and Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood gets nudged down a peg.
EA CEO John Riccitiello reveals the secret method to "unseat a market leader" like Activision and Call of Duty. You make 'better games in a row'. Battlefield 3 from EA's DICE looks set to be one of those 'better games' according to Riccitiello. The Frostbite engine it uses is a "class act for FPS."
Call of Duty: Black Ops has retaken the top of the UK all formats chart now that we're past Gran Turismo 5's launch week, and FIFA 11 is back 2nd. Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood remains 3rd for another week, and GT5 is 4th. EA's Medal of Honor rocketed up from 25th to 14th. What a fickle bunch.
Treyarch has declared war on glitches and exploits in Call of Duty: Black Ops, especially that care package mishap for PC that's said to be all fixed now. They're also after level clipping issues, improvements on spawning and a whole host of other tweaks. The console patches are being submitted.
A Call of Duty: Black Ops live action advert ran starring some notable people, like basketball star Kobe Bryant, and so ESPN decided it was 'controversial'. Activision's Eric Hirshberg says it's "very hypocritical" networks bad mouth the ad, which had Kobe smiling with an assault rifle, as they ran the adverts.
The UK all formats chart has been struck with Cataclysm, but the World of Warcraft add-on didn't manage to make a victim of Call of Duty: Black Ops. Neither did FIFA 11 suffer at its reckoning from Blizzard. Cataclysm entered in third place, which is tremendous for a PC exclusive expansion pack.
Eric Hirshberg, Activision CEO, proclaims that despite Jason West and Vince Zampella being forced from Infinity Ward there's plenty of talent left behind. That's even after the mass exodus of staff. Even patients fresh from a coma, unaware of their troubles, would know they're the "real deal" meeting them.
Owners of PlayStation 3's Call of Duty: Black Ops are less than impressed with Treyarch's released 1.04 title update saying it's 'made things a lot worse'. The update was said to improve matchmaking for people with strict NAT types, but this appears to have backfired. Treyarch insist it's "not the game."
Developer Treyarch has addressed the growing numbers of upset PS3 Call of Duty: Black Ops gamers, saying they're "working hard" on the problems. They acknowledge people are suffering "connectivity issues" since the latest patch, and have already put out a hotfix and "do not delete your save data".
Electronic Arts CEO John Riccitiello blasts Activision and Treyarch over releasing an unfinished Call of Duty: Black Ops and implies they rode the coattails of Infinity Ward's Modern Warfare 2, while Riccitiello's counterpart, Activision CEO Eric Hirshberg defended the release, stating Riccitiello was just hating on the game.
Once again Activision will be looking to "monetize" Call of Duty multiplayer, according to Wedbush Morgan, who add news of it is due "first quarter of 2011." The firm suggests it's inevitable despite CEO Eric Hirshberg declaring they wouldn't charge for Call of Duty multiplayer, saying its part of the package.
The UK all formats chart saw a dramatic tussle between two heavy hitters with EA Sports' FIFA 11 managing to pull ahead of Acti's Call of Duty: Black Ops. Need for Speed: Hot Pursuit scored 3rd, followed by Just Dance 2 and Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood. And so ends 2010's rollercoaster of chart toppers.
In a shocking twist it apparently costs money to make money even with a lawsuit against a multi-million dollar company. Activision is playing it 'smart'. The publisher wants to wear down Jason West and Vince Zampella in their suit by attempting to delay the start of the trial, bleeding them dry.
Kinect is on fire having sold 8 million units within 60 days shattering Microsoft's own optimistic prediction of clearing 5 million by the end of 2010. However they aren't taking the Xbox 360's 'founding audience' for granted. They're "very aware of the key role" they play it getting the console where it is.
For another week at the UK all formats chart EA Sports' FIFA 11 has kept the top spot with Ubisoft's Just Dance 2 claiming the coveted second fiddle. This means Activision's Call of Duty: Black Ops has sunk to third followed by Need for Speed: Hot Pursuit. Wii Fit Plus has crept into the top ten.
Microsoft won't be glossing over their December US sales from NPD as they've had their best winter month for the platform yet managing 1.9 million. They were the only one to enjoy year-on-year growth, though overall hardware was down 6 percent. The NPD also listed the top ten charted games.
Treyarch's Call of Duty: Black Ops is once more shooting commies in first place among the UK all formats chart, with FIFA 11 budged down in the league. Speaking of leagues, DC Universe Online has entered 10th for PC and PS3. That was Kinect Sports' spot but it climbed 5th, just behind Wii Fit Plus.
Developer Infinity Ward will be looking to tackle security threats and hacks to their games on consoles themselves in the future. This follows PS3 hacking. Games rely on the "security of the encryption" on platforms and now Sony's PS3 is highly vulnerable. IW advise "play exclusively with friends" for now.
Treyarch has released a developer walkthrough of the first major downloadable content pack for Call of Duty: Black Ops, which will be released on February 1.