Are you getting Modern Warfare’d out yet?

Spoilers below, so avoid reading if you are in a self-imposed Modern Warfare 2 blackout.

Outside of issuing a rather benign statement, since leaked video surfaced that showed gamers apparently playing a role in a terrorist attack Activision and developer Infinity Ward have been relatively quiet in regards to Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2.

Actually, quiet is a relative term, and fitting if you don’t include the ill-received F.A.G.S. video released, and then pulled, at the end of last week. Anyway, in response to a thread on the GetOffTheX website forums in which the leaked footage was being discussed, inside information on the title was shared from someone claiming to be a member of the Infinity Ward development team.

On the initial internal reaction to the action in the leaked level:

I work for IW. When I heard what they wanted to do I KNEW it would be a bad idea. They said that it needed to be done to get the right "feel" and that it was part of the story.

After some more give and take about the subject on the forums, the user came back and added:

I can't tell you how many people thought this level was a bad idea. The higher ups wanted to push it. Activision gave them the thumbs up and they went with it.

More on the player’s role in the terrorist scene in question, perhaps answering the question of what “skipping” means exactly:

You are under cover. You have joined a bad guy team and they are going to set up "the Russians" What you do is shoot stuff up but not the bad guys or people in the airport.

GP: This jibes with a higher-resolution video of the level in question that is currently on the MapModNews website. This version of the video actually shows a player shooting a civilian in the airport. The action immediately stops and a warning in German pops up on the screen, “Sie haben einen Zivilisten getroffen. Vorsicht beim Feuern!” Google translates this as “They have taken a civilian. Be careful when firing!” While certainly something is lost in the translation there, the fact that the level restarts when you shoot a civilian certainly implies that you are merely an observer in this mission.


Thanks Dan!

A VentureBeat story details how Activision Blizzard was able to track down a pirate selling Xbox 360 and Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 bundles on Craigslist, and how the cracking of that crime led to the arrest of another individual selling illegal copies of the game.

The game in question, of course, doesn’t come out until November 10, prompting the publisher to call in IPCybercrime, a Dallas-based private investigation firm that specializes in online crimes. Turns out, employees at a retail outlet had stolen a crate of the bundles from a store.

However, the thieves had already sold a bundle to a software cracker that was able to figure out how to make illegal dupes of MW2. In what was probably not a coincidence, copies of the game started to make their way onto online torrent and peer-to-peer websites soon after.

Using an email address from a forum post, investigators were able to link a Facebook account to the poster and then, in turn, link an address to the Facebook account. Following a buy/bust sting involving a physical copy of MW2, police were able to pin the crime on 18-year old Christian Del Amo of Miami (pictured).

IPCybercrime’s owner, Rob Holmes, said Del AMo was in position to sell “thousands” of the illegal copies.

The forced integration of the PC version of Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 with Valve’s Steamworks platform has turned off other digital game distribution services.

IGN-owned Direct2Drive has opted not to offer MW2 on its service reports Gamasutra, calling the forced use of Steam a “Trojan Horse.” The company will offer $5 off other Activision games as compensation. From a statement on Direct2Drive’s website:

At Direct2Drive, we believe strongly that when you buy a game from us, you shouldn't be forced to install and run a 3rd party software client to be able to play the game you purchased.

Meanwhile, VoodooExtreme received confirmation from both Stardock and GamersGate that neither of those two services will sell MW2 either. Stardock elaborated to VE on the reasoning for not selling MW2 through their Impulse service:

We share some of the same concerns as Direct2Drive over the bundling of the Steam client with the game. The most obvious issue is the forced inclusion of a competitor's store that blocks us from carrying the game.

Our issues with the game are solely with the Steamworks bundling. We enjoy a great relationship with Activision and would love to sell the title, but not with Steam.

GP: A commenter on the Gamasutra story noted that Direct2Drive offers other games that require a Steam install, such as Zeno Clash. Of course that game will not move nearly the amount of copies MW2 will, so it appears in this case that IGN/Direct2Drive is just being selective in its stand against Steam.

A fan of the upcoming Battlefield: Bad Company 2 was so impressed with developer DICE’s efforts to include dedicated server support in the title he sent the company a check for $60.00.

The $60.00 was sent in lieu of Eddie from New Jersey (the letter writer) using the funds to purchase Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2, which is opting to use a matchmaking service in place of dedicated servers for PC users. Eddie suggested to DICE that they use the funds to aid development on the upcoming game.

DICE posted a copy of the letter and check on their Battlefield website (thanks Joystiq), thanking Eddie and writing, “It's moments like this that make all the late nights and weekends of crunching to make the best game possible all worth it.”

Battlefield: Bad Company 2 is due out March 2, 2010 for the Xbox 360, PlayStation 3 and PC.

The seemingly constant storm clouds surrounding the upcoming Activision-published and Infinity Ward-developed Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 have not done much, if anything, to negatively influence pre-sales of the title.

Wedbush Morgan Securities analyst Michael Pachter thinks the title can reap global sales of in excess of $500 million in its first week of release reports Industry Gamers. Pachter also believes that the game could sell over 10.0 million units in this year’s fourth quarter.

Across the pond, MCVUK talks about the Modern Warfare 2 selling 1.7 million units in its first week at retail in the UK, citing pre-order numbers for the game at around 500,000 already. Rockstar’s Grand Theft Auto IV currently holds the UK mark for unit sales in a week, with 926,000, a number that MW2 could obliterate. Factor in the rising price (suggested retail prices at least) of videogames in the UK and MW2 setting a record for gross dollars culled at launch seems almost a given.

In light of all the controversy surrounding the game, Destructoid posted a pair of opinion pieces, one stating why the author would support MW2 and the other stating why he wouldn’t.

From the “support” side, discussing "the scene" leaked to the Internet, Jim Sterling states, “Whether you approve of the scene, find it disturbing, love it or just don't care, I believe that this is a scene that needs to happen, and was bound to happen sooner or later.”

Brad Rice takes the “can’t support” side, arguing, “The way that the plot is likely being handled comes across with a lot of the wrong messages, and shows a poor method of thinking when it comes to the sensitivity of the issue.”

The lack of dedicated servers for the PC version of Modern Warfare 2 upset computer gamers enough to start a petition, which has reached almost 180,000 signatures at the time of this post, up from 96,000 when we first covered the story two weeks ago. Unfortunately for PC gamers—as evidenced on a pretty nifty Amazon pre-order page detailing MW2 pre-orders (thanks Kotaku)—the PC version accounts for a small amount of sales versus its console brethren.

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 hits retail in the U.S. next Tuesday, November 10. Are you getting it? Did any of this controversy impact your decision?

Update: Via USA Today comes word that MW2 has officially broken the record for pre-orders at GameStop. Tony Bartel, EVP for Merchandising and Marketing told the paper, “As of today, the number of pre-order reservations we've taken for the game is the highest for any title we've ever sold in our 6,200 store network."

|Image Via TopatoCo|

The missteps following Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 continue as a video posted online Friday night raised the ire of both journalists and fans of the series.

Starring Philadelphia Phillies pitcher Cole Hamels, the video was designed to highlight the problem of grenade spam within the Call of Duty series, but an unfortunate acronym pushed the video from funny to offensive reports Destructoid. The mock public service announcement was provided by an organization called Fight Against Grenade Spam (F.A.G.S.) and had Hamels proclaiming that random grenades “are for pussies.”

Game Informer’s Philip Kollar Tweeted that video was “stupid and makes me reconsider my purchase more than any other controversy surrounding the game thus far,” while freelance writer Mitch Dyer wrote that “The problem is that it was so poorly handled/executed that it looks derogatory.”

Infinity Ward Community Manager Robert Bowling responded on Twitter that “the core gag is great, the end is a bit too far from the intent of the joke & can appreciate the concerns,” and pulled the video.

Update: Several copies of the video are still on YouTube for those who haven't seen it.

Is Activision taking a little liberty with their explanation of a leaked controversial scene from its upcoming title Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2?

In a response issued earlier this week, Activision stated that gamers had the option of “skipping” over the controversial scene in question, which had players taking part in a terrorist act. The publisher’s statement doesn’t exactly jibe with a description of the game as presented in the Entertainment Software Rating Board’s rating information page for the title.

Spoiler ahead! Avoid if you’re trying to maintain a media blackout on MW2.

The ESRB’s description of the terrorist scene:

The most intense depiction of violence occurs during a "No Russian" mission where players take on the role of an undercover Ranger: Several civilians are gunned down at an airport as players are given a choice to participate in the killings (e.g., players can shoot a wounded civilian that is crawling on the ground), or walk by and observe without opening fire.

In my mind, an option for “skipping” the scene would mean avoiding/not seeing all the action within that specific chapter, which, to be honest, if implemented, could interfere with or ruin the storyline of the game. Observing, as used by the ESRB, implies that the player is still fully immersed in the action, just not pressing the “fire” button on a controller or mouse.

Semantics? Perhaps, but it appears Activision’s explanation is a little misleading. We have a request for clarification on the matter in to Activision and will update this post if/when they respond.

Thanks Andrew!

The leaked Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 footage has raised the hackles of a few parties in Australia.

The footage, which showed gamers playing the part of a terrorist and taking part in a massacre of civilians at an airport, prompted the Australian Council on Children and the Media to call for a re-review the game’s MA15+ rating.

The group’s President, Jane Roberts, told Australia’s The Age:

The consequences of terrorism are just abhorrent in our community and yet here we are with a product that's meant to be passed off as a leisure time activity, actually promoting what most world leaders speak out publicly against. We understand that it's a game but ... we're not far off when you look at the images that you could actually put it on a Channel Nine news report and you'd think maybe that is real.

South Australian Attorney-General Michael Atkinson, who is usually described as the main reason the country does not have an R18+ rating for videogames, offered that, “Expecting game designers to be responsible by not glorifying terrorism will always lead to disappointment."

Electronic Frontiers Australia lobbyist Nicholas Suzor was a bit more rational, saying the topic highlighted even further the need for an adult rating in Australia:

Films often show the villain's perspective and, by doing that, they get across the character's story and the heinous nature of people who carry out atrocities. Games, too, are becoming more expressive, and are telling more involved stories

Suzor added:

We may make an argument that these sorts of topics are not suitable for children, but I don't at all accept that it is unsuitable for adults.

An Office of Film and Literature Classification (OFLC) spokesperson said the Board could not review its own decisions.

Activision has since said that the scene in question is skippable by players.

Thanks Ryan and Dante

Responding to footage leaked online yesterday from Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 which showed the apparent ability for gamers to take part in a terrorist attack, Activision verified that the content was legitimate and explained that players will have the opportunity to skip over the scene in question.

VG247 has the full statement:

Players have the option of skipping over the scene. At the beginning of the game, there are two ‘checkpoints’ where the player is advised that some people may find an upcoming segment disturbing. These checkpoints can’t be disabled.

Modern Warfare 2 is a fantasy action game designed for intense, realistic game play that mirrors real life conflicts, much like epic, action movies. It is appropriately rated 18 for violent scenes, which means it is intended for those who are 18 and older.

About the events taking place in the scene itself, Activision explained:

The scene establishes the depth of evil and the cold bloodedness of a rogue Russian villain and his unit. By establishing that evil, it adds to the urgency of the player’s mission to stop them.

Game play from the upcoming Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2, which appears to cast players in the role of a terrorist, has caused a maelstrom on the Internet.

While Activision has been extremely active in trying to get the footage off of the Web, clips still appear on a variety of websites.

Warning: if you were planning to play the game without knowing anything about it, these videos definitely contain spoilers, so watch at your own risk.
 
CNN’s iReport still has a 3.00 minute plus video up, showing a group of characters, dressed in civilian clothes with body armor over top, emerging from an elevator into an airport and wantonly gunning down a group of (what appears to be) civilians. Another disturbing image shows a non-player character attempting to drag another injured NPC to safety, only to have them both gunned down by the player. The group of terrorists then systematically marches through the building killing and finishing off any people still left in their path.

OnlineGamingEurope has much the same footage, but with a little differing overlap, showing the group of terrorists emerging from the airport and killing people on the tarmac in the shadow of an airplane.

Comparing officially issued screenshots with the leaked footage, along with other visual cues, GameSpot verified, to the best of their knowledge, that the footage is from the actual game. Activision’s full-scale attempts to take down the videos appear to back up GameSpot’s claims.

GameSpot further compared the rampage shown in the video to the killings that took place in Mumbai, India last year.  The gaming site speculates that the terrorist mission might be one of an undercover nature for the player, who must contribute or blow his cover.

What’s different about this bubbling controversy is that even some gaming websites are questioning whether or not this takes things too far. OnlineGamingEurope wrote that they found the footage “hard to stomach.” GameSpot added that, “The brutal nature of the airport massacre and the ever-sensitive subject of terrorism might prove a toxic mix, publicity-wise, if the mainstream media decides to pounce on it.” The Escapist asks, “Tell me that this doesn't have "moral outrage" written all over it.”

IndustryGamers was a bit more reflective:

It'd be easy for Infinity Ward to simply have a non-interactive cut scene depicting parts of this terrorist action, but by putting players into the middle of it, it makes the actions much more real and the consequences more tangible; it's hard not to get a lump in your throat as innocents are being shot down in your gunsights.

GP: The context of the footage is still unknown, and while it could even be a dream sequence or flashback, players do man the guns and pull the trigger. What makes the footage so striking is the level of visuals in Modern Warfare 2, as even in blurry online footage the action looks almost real, taking this a level beyond the cartoonish violence of games such as Grand Theft Auto.

Thanks to everyone who sent this in, we saw it too!

Poking, prodding and massaging NPD U.S. videogame sales data, Gamasutra has arrived at the conclusion that the average owner of a console version of Call of Duty: World at War spent $9 on downloadable content.

DLC packs were released in March, June and August of this year with a price of $10 apiece. 6.5 million packs had been sold as of August, with the author rounding up to 7.0 million in order to make sales current. Based on estimates of an analyst, it was estimated that 65% of the 7.0 million DLC sales were within the U.S., meaning an approximate $45.0 million in additional revenue for Activision Blizzard stateside.

The average price paid for World at War was $56.00, adding in the total spent on DLC brings the total average price spent to $65.00, increasing revenue per software unit by 15% (with reduced overhead), ensuring that DLC is not going away anytime soon:

With Modern Warfare 2 expected to best World at War's 11 million units in sales, it seems certain that consumers will again be tempted with paid DLC throughout 2010 as Activision Blizzard attempts to maximize its revenue per sale.

Activision’s latest entry in the Call of Duty series has received an 18 rating from the British Board of Film Classification (BBFC).

MCVUK notes that all the previous entries in the series were rated wither BBFC 15 or PEGI 16+. The only statement made in the BBFC’s rating memo was that the game “contains strong bloody violence.”

In related news, it appears the PC version of Modern Warfare 2 will no longer be the beneficiary of dedicated servers. A EuroGamer story states that developer Infinity Ward will roll out a new proprietary service, called IWNet, which will focus on matchmaking.

This news served to irritate PC-based fans of the series, who immediately started an online petition demanding dedicated servers. At the time of this post, there were more than 96,000 signatures on the petition.

Update:  A 13-page thread on the Infinity Ward forums details the cancellation of many pre-orders for the game by those upset over the lack of dedicated server option for the PC version of Modern Warfare 2.

A sampling of comments:

I also cancelled my preorder. I've got better things to spend my money on than that. A great Singleplayer? that's no comfort to me. -.-

I work at EB games in a shopping center here in Australia. We got hit with an onslaught today, 193 total preoders for Modern warfare 2 on PC, today alone we lost 78!

Four of my co-workers went to GameStop at lunch yesterday to cancel their pre-orders. They said the guy working told them that there had been a slow but steady stream of people coming in to cancel pre-orders throughout the morning.

And, just to be fair:

I walked into my local game store and... ...went ahead and paid for MW2 in full after putting $5 down on it a couple of months ago. You people that are canceling are going to miss out on a great game.

Update 2: Infinity Ward developer Robert Bowling has taken to his blog in an attempt to further explain/clarify some aspects of the online experience PC users will face.


Image via Cheezburger.com

The trailer for Activision’s Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 premiered on national television Sunday night and it didn’t take long for the question to be posed of whether the game’s environment—a destroyed Washington D.C.—goes too far.

While a story on The Christian Science Monitor website asks just that question, it fails to connect COD:MW2 with Fallout 3, an obvious link given the post-apocalyptic setting (in the same city) of Bethesda’s title and the flack it subsequently received.

The author does attempt to include Grand Theft Auto IV in the conversation however:

And with what’s coming out of the gaming industry these days (Grand Theft Auto IV, anyone?) is this any worse? Maybe not. But this is one of the first times such striking imagery has surfaced since 9/11, when the idea of widespread destruction on US soil was suddenly thrust into reality.

Furthermore, while the story’s sub header states, “Some say the images of destruction on US soil are too much for a post-9/11 audience,” no one in the article is quoted or referenced as saying any such thing. To be fair, the story did generate a number of comments; perhaps this was the ultimate goal of the piece.

British Private Richard Hunt made the ultimate sacrifice last week when his company was struck by an explosive device while on patrol in Afghanistan.

During a well-attended ceremony back home in Monmouthshire on what would have been the fallen soldier's 22nd birthday, Private Hunt's father, Phillip, commemorated the time they spent together playing Call of Duty: World at War.

Along with flowers and other items, a copy of the game was laid at the site of the memorial service. A handwritten not attached to the game read:

Happy Birthday 'Hunty'. Play you again one day. Dad.

Via: BBC

Activision Blizzard, the world's largest video game publisher, has been raising the ire of many gamers of late. So much so, in fact, that there is at least preliminary talk of a boycott of Activision products.

So what has the publisher done to create so much ill will?

A few things, actually.

UK gamers are incensed over Activision's plan to price the upcoming Modern Warfare 2 at £54.99 (roughly US$90). Wedbush-Morgan analyst Michael Pachter ominously described the move as a trial run for Activision:

Activision knows it has a 'hot' game, knows that the market will pay an additional 10 per cent, and has decided to increase price accordingly.

Game consumers are also concerned about Activision's pricing plans for specialty controllers for the upcoming Tony Hawk: Ride and DJ Hero.

Adding gasoline to the fire was a recent comment by Activision Blizzard CEO. During an earnings call last week, Kotick said:

You know if it was left to me, I would raise the prices even further.

PS3 News reports that some gamers are planning a boycott and links to an online petition which has garnered nearly 5,000 signatures to date. From the petition:

You're increasingly making your fanbase more angry. Your recent moves on the business side are head scratching and completely apauling [sic]. Tony Hawk peripherals to start, PC and UK price hikes and ridiculously overpriced collectors editions for MW2... Than [sic] your CEO decided to further anger your customers... I believe we are in what we call a "recession." What the consumer needs is not more expensive items, but less expensive...

UPDATE: Activision boss Kotick made $15 million last year, reports gamesindustry.biz. You keep raising those prices, Bobby...

When we last heard from Joseph DeLappe, the artist/professor was was participating in online matches of the Defense Department's own America's Army game as a means of protesting the war in Iraq.

Now DeLappe and machinima artist J. Joshua Diltz have collaborated on 6 Days in Call of Duty 4. The anti-war video project combines a static view of CoD4 multiplayer action with a mobile cam. The kill count scrolls in a separate window. Diltz describes the project, which incorporates the recent Six Days in Fallujah controversy in its title:

"6 Days" is an experimental documentary that examines the consequences of a military conflict that rages over a period of six consecutive days in a virtual game world.  Through the lens of both a static and roaming ground camera, the movie captures both  visceral action and a sobering body count.

Based in the game "Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare", the film pays homage to the lives, both military and civilian lost during the Second War of Fallujah.

Download a copy here...

Partially via: Kotaku

Game writer Rob Watson of the Philadelphia Inquirer takes Infinity Ward to task in today's column for the company's plan to include real, functional night vision goggles in the upcoming Modern Warfare 2 Prestige Edition:

I hate trippin' over games with a violent angle because I know there are many people out there who believe that these video games are the product of Satan or some such nonsense, but [night vision goggles are] a bad idea.

I would say 99.9999 percent of gamers who buy the Prestige edition will have a blast with these new goggles, innocently playing around at night with them.

Yet, it is also like giving away a free race car with Gran Tourismo or Forza - someone is going to cause a highway wreck. In Modern Warfare 2's case, I shudder (just a bit) to think of someone, who may have a hard time with reality anyway, donning these goggles for real mischief or even worse.

Infinity Ward should know better. They are great at fake realism. One of the best. This maybe be crossing that line, however.

FULL DISCLOSURE DEPT: Rob and I share game coverage chores for the Inquirer.

If you're not up to date on the mini-controversy brewing around the need to shoot enemy attack dogs in Call of Duty: World at War, check out our previous story on animal rights group PETA's complaint about the game.

Publisher Activision has just forwarded a response to GamePolitics:

In order to create believable, real-world scenes and heighten the game playing experience, “Call of Duty: World at War” depicts the ruthless and gritty combat of World War II.  

 

Dogs are included in the game for authenticity since they were used extensively by German, Japanese, U.S. and Soviet troops during the war. Activision in no way endorses or condones cruelty to animals, and we don’t believe the game will encourage cruelty in any way.

Last week GamePolitics reported that a group of animal lovers at a Massachusetts high school were outraged by the need to shoot enemy attack dogs in the best-selling Call of Duty: World at War.

Animal rights organization People For the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) has now joined Academy of Notre Dame students in their criticism of the World War II shooter. In response to a request for comment, GamePolitics received this statement from PETA:

Not since we were pitted against Nazi attack dogs when we first escaped from Castle Wolfenstein 17 years ago have we seen such barbaric treatment of dogs in gameplay as we did in Call of Duty, World of War.

 

To help the folks at Activision Blizzard learn about the ethical treatment of animals, we're offering to let them take PETA's "Developing Empathy for Animals" free of charge and are sending a package of Nintendogs games to their office.

UPDATE: PETA has blogged about their objection to the canine killing in CoD:WaW

If you've played Call of Duty: World at War, you know how nasty those enemy attack dogs can be: They're fast, vicious and frightening (see video at left).

But a group of students at a Massachusetts high school are upset about the need to shoot dogs in CoD:WaW. They're taking their protest to Activision Blizzard, which publishes the best-selling game.

Breanna Lucci, who serves as president of the Animal Rights Club at the Academy of Notre Dame in Tyngsboro, said:

Killing dogs as a form of entertainment ... over and over again. That's one of the objects of the game. Parents need to know what they are buying their kids. Killing animals should not be a form of entertainment...

 

My little 12-pound Pomeranian, Winnie the Pooh, is sitting next to [my brother, who is playing CoD:WaW], and I'm thinking, 'This looks horrible!' My brother is a sweetheart. He won't be killing dogs after playing. But some people might.

Jen Dupras of the Massachusetts Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals supports the students' efforts:

I feel like these video games are dangerous for a lot of reasons. We can all rationalize and say it's just pretend. Even so, why pretend shooting people and dogs? They really desensitize kids and adults to what that violence signifies.

Via: Lowell Sun