Neowin.net / Gamers

Updated: Modern Warfare 2 grosses $550 million in five days

Joshua Seed — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 20:06:07 +0000

According to an Activision press release, Infinity Ward's highly anticipated Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 has passed $550 million in sales in the game's first five days at retail. The title has now broken a slew of records for entertainment sales, claimed the publisher.

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Firm considers class action over Xbox Live bannings

Joshua Seed — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 23:30:00 +0000

Law firm AbingtonIP has revealed that it's currently "investigating" what it calls the "convenient" Xbox Live bannings over modded consoles. The firm believes that it's no coincidence that Microsoft banned "tens of thousands" of users after receiving its money for Gold memberships, post release of Halo 3: ODST and Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2. Therefore, the law firm is considering a suit in order to get the membership fees refunded to subscribers along with a "refund for the prorated sums". "To me, this certainly sounds a lot like a cash grab directed at a company with deep pockets, but perhaps there are more facts than they are letting on," said Joystiq legal columnist Mark Methenitis.

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PlayStation Network turns three years old

Joshua Seed — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 04:27:42 +0000

Sony Computer Entertainment of America has announced that the PlayStation Network will be reaching its three year milestone this week. "We are extremely proud that in just three years into its lifecycle, PlayStation 3 and the unmatched digital offerings of PlayStation Network have helped to redefine the connected home entertainment experience," said SCEA's Patrick Seybold. "From a tremendous lineup of blockbuster titles, to Blu-ray movies and games, to access to a library of thousands of movies, TV shows and games on the PlayStation Store, no other system on the market today delivers a more complete entertainment experience or a better value than PS3.

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Confirmed: EA closes Pandemic Studios

Joshua Seed — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 01:36:56 +0000

Pandemic Studios, the developer behind such games as Star Wars: Battlefront, Destroy all Humans! and Mercenaries: Playground of Destruction, will be closing its doors with a core IP team consolidated into Electronic Arts' EA Los Angeles studio. According to an internal EA memo obtained by Gamasutra, the cuts are part of new round of layoffs and restructuring following EA's second quarter losses of over $391 million. The publisher plans to cut 1,500 jobs by April 2010.

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TechSpot: CoD Modern Warfare 2 Graphics Performance

Julio Franco — Wed, 11 Nov 2009 10:28:27 +0000

The wait is over as Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 was released worldwide this week. Developed by Infinity Ward and published by Activision, this is the sixth installment in the series and a direct sequel to Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare. We expect Modern Warfare 2 to be just as hardware friendly as its predecessor despite the numerous engine enhancements.

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Dragon Age: Origins tops Steam weekly best sellers

Joshua Seed — Wed, 11 Nov 2009 03:47:38 +0000

Steam's latest weekly sales charts shows two versions of Dragon Age: Origins topping the chart, taking the number one and two spots. BioWare's newly released role-playing game marks the studio's full return to the PC gaming industry after a few years of PC ports of console games. The title has so far been embraced by gamers, receiving many positive reviews. Valve's upcoming zombie-infused cooperative first-person shooter Left 4 Dead 2 claimed the number three spot on the list, while Gearbox Software's first-person shooter role-playing game Borderlands continues to sell well at number four. Newcomer Runic Games' action role-playing game Torchlight claimed number five. The following are the top 10 PC games for the week of November 1-7.

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Modern Warfare 2 set to enter the record books

Elliot Harrison — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 23:46:29 +0000

Perhaps one of the most eagerly anticipated games for the Playstation 3 and XBox this year - Call of Duty, Modern Warfare 2 has certainly got gamers the world over in a bit of a spin. According to the BBC Technology site, the game which is published by Activision has been tipped to become a record breaking success. Activision are cautiously estimating that the total sales of the game will reach 3m across the UK whilst some analysts believe it could sell 10m copies globally in the run up to Christmas. Hundreds of gamers gathered outside retail stores, ahead of its release at GMT 00:00 on the release day.

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No Doubt sues Activision over use in Band Hero

Matthew Hopson — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 11:04:21 +0000

Rock group "No Doubt" have filed a law-suit over the band's appearance in Band Hero, Activision's latest spin-off of the Guitar Hero video game franchise. The group contend that the game has transformed them into "a virtual karaoke circus act," singing the songs of other bands. In the suit filed on Wednesday in Los Angeles Country Superior Court, No Doubt allege that Activision broke the contractually agreed use of the in-game likenesses of band members Gwen Stefani, Tony Kanal, Tom Dumont and Adrian Young. Band manager, Jim Guerinot said, "The band are bitterly disappointed that their name and likeness was taken and used without their permission. They agreed to play three No Doubt songs as a band. . .

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MW2 dedicated server petition suspect, server capped at 9v9

Joshua Seed — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 04:21:29 +0000

Speaking in an online chat with the Best Buy community, Infinity Ward's Mackey McCandlish and Ryan Lastimosa discussed the petition for dedicated servers in Modern Warfare 2 and also let slip that servers across all platforms will max out at eighteen players. When asked if there will be dedicated servers added later, the developers had this to say: "We feel the PC game is great in it's current form. We put a lot of work into IWnet in an effort to make the PC experience better for our users. We believe MW2 is better than CoD4:MW. The reason iw.net exists is to improve the gameplay for our users.

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Walmart: Xbox Arcade and $100 gift card for $199 on Nov. 7

Sam Symons — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 21:15:07 +0000

Rumors have been going around recently regarding a supposedly upcoming Walmart deal, in which an Xbox 360 Arcade will be up for offer, along with a $100 gift voucher, for $199. All of a sudden this morning, the retailer has confirmed the deal, scheduled to hit on Saturday, November 7. According to Kotaku, the deal will last for just one day, and is part of what will be regularly weekly deals leading up to the retail bonanza that is Black Friday. As noted by Walmart, the sale will begin at 8:00 AM, and will (as mentioned) last for just one day.

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