Developers are strange, strange people, and some of the easter eggs they leave in their games can be completely inexplicable. For example, one gamer found in a Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 multiplayer map - using spectator mode - a 2D image of a growling bear wearing a tutu.
FIFA 12 continues to have a strong hold on the UK market, as it was the leading retail seller in the British Isles. Star Wars: The Old Republic, the major licensed BioWare MMO, debuted at 10th.
Ronnie Nelis, the CEO of FlatOut 3 developer Team 6, has defended the fact that the game has had three updates since its release two weeks ago by stating his game was not a beta like Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3.
It seems that Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 is highly susceptible to something gamers call "spawn trapping", a form of spawn camping in which during the Domination game mode, a team easily captures two zones and then leaves one zone for the enemy to capture, which will force them to constantly spawn near it. This shrinks the team's spawn area, making it easy to kill them right as they spawn. One team has gotten so prolific at the practice that they were able to achieve a "Mother Of All Bombs" (M.O.A.B.) killstreak in a record 47 seconds. It resulted in one player racking up 144 kills, with the entire other team getting a grand total of 4.
According to site TorrentFreak, the PC version of Crysis 2 was the most pirated game of 2011, having been illegally downloaded 3.9M times. Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 and Battlefield 3 followed with 3.6M and 3.5M downloads respectively.
Chris Capel has a good old-fashioned moan about the state of his favourite genre last year.
Activision's Call of Duty claimed 1st, 2nd and 3rd place in the Xbox Live chart for most played in 2011, with Halo: Reach and Battlefield 3 without medals 4th and 5th respectively. Bethesda's The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim struck a mighty blow for RPGs managing 6th, with sports pinching 8th, 9th and 10th thanks to EA Sports' FIFA and Madden NFL franchises.
The first week of video game sales in the UK has been led by EA Sports' FIFA 12, followed by Battlefield 3 and then Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3. Just Dance held 4th from 2011. The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim climbed to 5th, with Zumba Fitness rocketing 6th - must be all those Christmas puddings. Zumba Fitness 2 got an adrenaline shot as well, coming 12th.
Activision has laid out its extensive plans for the next eight months of downloadable content releases for Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3, which will begin on the 24th January and run through to September. The DLC will be completely free for Call of Duty: Elite premium members, while Xbox 360 premium members will receive the DLC first. The "Modern Warfare 3 Content Season", as Activision calls it, will purportedly have a broader scope and variety than any other Call of Duty game in history.
We take a look back at 2011's highlights...
Sorry Activision but your 2,814,609 units sold of Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 just couldn't hack it in 2011, as Adele's album 21 blew past with 3,924,985 units. Make music not war! In 3rd place was Harry Potter & The Deathly Hallows - Part 1, the movie not the game, followed by EA Sports' FIFA 12. Battlefield 3 came 11th with 1,186,895 units cleared.
The NPD has released its list of the top selling games and consoles of 2011, and unsurprisingly, Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3, which made over $1B USD in just over 2 weeks, was the number one selling game of the year.
The digital chart for retailer Amazon has Square Enix's Deus Ex: Human Revolution wearing the 2011 crown, with Battlefield 3 coming 2nd. EA also claimed 3rd and 4th. In the physical chart - surprise, surprise - Activision's Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 sat upon the throne, followed by Just Dance 3 and The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim. No Deus Ex.
EA Sports' FIFA 12 has kept itself atop the UK all format chart for the fourth consecutive week, with Just Dance 3 the heir apparent. The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim follows in 3rd place. Zumba Fitness 1 and 2 claim 6th and 7th respectively. Battlefield 3 manages to get ahead of Modern Warfare 3 taking 4th. Need for Speed: The Run bookends 10th.
Before Activision had the chance to officially unveil Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 to fans, game details and art assets spilled onto the Internet. Eric Hirshberg tells us what happened. The Activision Publishing CEO describes how the company was blindsided, and how it was his "first real crisis" probably. "Like it or not, our launch just started," he told his team.
Capcom's Dave Turner, head of UK marketing, has said the Resident Evil franchise has had its popularity "increase massively" as it marched toward more action over the years. Resident Evil 5 is the "biggest seller" so far, and it "makes sense" to keep going in that direction "more fully." It would be a "dream" for Capcom to entice Call of Duty gamers to Resi Evil.
Yet another week for the UK all format chart sees FIFA 12 hogging the top spot, followed by The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim who swaps with Just Dance 3 from the week previous. Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 and Battlefield 3 also trade places holding 4th and 5th respectively. Saints Row: The Third leaps up 7th and Rayman Origins gets within the top 10.
The top 10 best-selling PSN games last year have been counted, which tally only digital sales over the service. Wearing the crown is Tetris, followed by Capcom's Resident Evil 4. In 3rd place is Infamous Festival of Blood, stalked by Telltale Games' Back to the Future: The Game - Full Series. Call of Duty map packs hogged the top 10 paid downloads.
Hogging the top spot for another week is EA Sports' FIFA 12 as it stays number one in the UK all format chart, with Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 surging back up to 2nd place. Bethesda's The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim is 3rd with Battlefield 3 holding the fort 5th. Capcom's Resident Evil: Revelations for Nintendo 3DS debuted 6th. What about The Sims 3's latest add-on?
Activision has announced that the PlayStation 3 version of Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 will be getting the first downloadable content of the Call of Duty: Elite Season Pass season on the 28th February, in the form of the Piazza and Liberation maps.