Tag Archives: Video games

Call of Duty franchise has made $3 billion+ in worldwide sales

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Activision announced that its Call of Duty franchise has officially generated over three billion dollars in worldwide retail sales, making it one of the biggest and most successful video game franchises in history.

Bobby Kotick, CEO of Activision Blizzard: Call Of Duty has become one of the greatest entertainment franchises of all time.  If you consider the number of hours our audiences are engaged in playing Call of Duty games, it is likely to be one of the most viewed of all entertainment experiences in modern history.”

Well I think we all know what led to this historic claim–cough, Modern Warfare 2, cough.

[Via IGN]

Trailer: Lego-Halo short film coming soon

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A Halo-inspired Lego short film is six years in the making!  Creator Alex Kobbs has been hard at work shooting the Legos frame-by-frame to create what will be nothing short of a masterpiece.  The 25 minute film will take place in the Zanzibar map and will feature Red vs. Blue Halo bricks fighting it out.  The Battle of the Brick is expected to make its long-awaited round on the Internet sometime in early 2010.

[Via Gizmodo]

CoD: Modern Warfare 2 launch was a HUGE success

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And that’s an understatement.  In fact, IGN calls it “the biggest launch in the history of all forms of entertainment.”  And we’re talking about the video games industry here.  Good stuff!

On November 10 games publisher Activision released the latest installment in the coveted Call of Duty franchise, Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2.  After very positive initial reviews and a garnered hype spread by word of mouth and Twitter (MW2 quickly became (and still is) a trending topic).  In its first 24 hours on sale the game sold approximately 4.7 million copies in North America and the UK and made $310 million in sales.  DAY-UM!

Mike Griffith, CEO of Activision: “The Call of Duty franchise has become a cultural phenomenon showing the power of video games as an entertainment medium.”  “The shattering of these entertainment records is a testament to the compelling, cinematic and uniquely engaging experience that the Call of Duty brand delivers. Modern Warfare 2 has taken interactive experience to unprecedented heights setting a new standard for entertainment.”

Jump in on the action and get yourself a copy of MW2 today.

[Via IGN]

Long-awaited Xbox 360 dashboard update is coming November 17

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We’ve known for quite some time now about the next Xbox dashboard update coming to Xbox Live subscribers.  Here’s a refresher for those of you not in the loop: Facebook/Twitter integration, last.fm, Zune (video) Marketplace, and instant-HD (1080p/5.1 channel) streaming.  The new press release (in full after the break) sheds light on new additions:

In addition to these social features, Xbox LIVE will also be debuting “News and More,” a new section of the “Inside Xbox” channel, transforming Xbox LIVE into a full-fledged media portal. With a regularly-updated stream of content from MSNBC, The New Yorker and Dilbert, “News and More” brings the latest in current events, arts and entertainment right to your fingertips.

[Via Engadget]

Continue reading Long-awaited Xbox 360 dashboard update is coming November 17 →

Rumor alert: Project Natal gets priced, dated, and further detailed

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Here’s the scoop, Coop.  Details surrounding the anticipatory launch of Microsoft’s codenamed Project Natal has apparently been leaked from a “behind-closed-door meetings in the UK between Microsoft and third party developers.”  According to the leak source, Natal will launch in November 2010 from a low, low price anywhere between $50-$80, thus making it quite the “impulse buy.”  Natal will come packaged with an initial set of 14 games.  Microsoft will manufacture 5 million units (that includes standalone and bundled-with-Xb0x 360s units) for a worldwide launch.  Pretty sweet if you ask me.

[Via Gizmodo]

DJ Jazzy Jeff invades Late Night with Jimmy Fallon, DJ Hero and all

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DJ Jazzy Jeff + The Roots = pure awesomeness.

Last week DJ Jazzy Jeff sat in with house band The Roots for an episode of Late Night with Jimmy Fallon.  He was there to scratch out with the band and promote the release of DJ Hero.  This clip is a ‘best of’ that shows off Jazzy Jeff’s best material throughout the night; it also features a segment where Fallon and guests Ian Somerhalder (Lost‘s Boone) and Rosie O’Donnell give DJ Hero a try.

Also, look after the break for two IGN behind-the-scenes making-of DJ Hero videos.

Continue reading DJ Jazzy Jeff invades Late Night with Jimmy Fallon, DJ Hero and all →

Rock Band 3 to actually teach gamers how to play real instruments; Natal support?

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Dhani Harrison (son of The Beatles’ George Harrison and developer on The Beatles: Rock Band) sat down with The Chicago Tribune and spilled some new information of what’s to come with the next installment of Harmonix’s Rock Band.

“I’m working on ‘Rock Band 3’ and making the controllers more real so people can actually learn how to play music while playing the game.  Give me a couple years, it’s going to happen.”

When asked about potential integration with Microsoft’s upcoming Project Natal interface, MTV Games general manager Scott Guthrie: “We aren’t standing still – we will keep moving into new areas and look at new technologies that our platform holder partners are also developing, such as Project Natal from Microsoft.”

It’s starting to look like Rock Band 3 will not just be another rhythm game in the serieswith a new tracklist and an updated online catalogue.  With more realistic instruments and potential Project Natal integration Rock Band 3 will surely make gamers and newcomers alike ready to rock out all over again.

[Via IGN]

Halo: Reach screenshots, details leaked

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Major League Gaming forum member “ToM MoReLLo” claims to have leaked some screenshots from Bungie’s highly anticapted Halo: Reach, the next installment in the Halo first-person shooter series.  In the post MoReLLo shares information on new weapons and mission descriptions that relate to the events that happened in first Halo novel, Halo: The Fall of Reach.  Though these images could all be fakes they look pretty legitimate to me, especially with all the other details surfacing with them.  Bungie plans on unveiling the Halo: Reach beta to the masses (or everyone who purchased Halo 3: ODST and received an invite code) in 2010.

[Via Gamespot]

Nintendo DSi grows a few inches

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Rumor has turned to reality: Nintendo will be releasing an updated version of its handheld gaming platform with the Nintendo DSi XL (DSi LL in Japan).  The screen size is jumping from 3.5 inches to a noticably larger 4.2 inches.  Nintendo has confirmed that the DSi XL will be released in the first quarter of 2010.  Although there was no statement of price, take this and make what you will of it: The LL version releases in Japan on November 21 for ¥20,000 (or about $221).

[Via Engadget, here & here]