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CoD Modern Warfare 3 becomes the biggest entertainment launch ever… sort of

Posted on November 12, 2011 by John Scalzo

Activision has announced that Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 has become the biggest entertainment launch in history with total sales of over $400 million (that’s 6.5 million copies) throughout North America and the United Kingdom on Tuesday, November 8.

This total surpasses the previous record holder, Call of Duty: Black Ops, which tallied $360 million in sales last year. Before that, Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 held the record with a one-day sales total of $310 million.

“We believe the launch of Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 is the biggest entertainment launch of all time in any medium, and we achieved this record with sales from only two territories,” said Bobby Kotick, CEO of Activision Blizzard. “Other than Call of Duty, there has never been another entertainment franchise that has set opening day records three years in a row. Life-to-date sales for the Call of Duty franchise exceed worldwide theatrical box office for Star Wars and Lord of the Rings, two of the most successful entertainment franchises of all time.”

While the sales numbers of Modern Warfare 3 are impressive, who wants to tell Bobby that Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2 sold over 11 million tickets in a single day this past July? And then another five million were sold the next day with yet another five million sold on the day after that?

It doesn’t matter how often gamemakers shout “We’re bigger than Hollywood!” It always requires the same faulty math Activision employs here where 6.5 million copies of a game sold at a minimum of $60 per copy somehow creates a more popular product than a film that tallies 11 million tickets sold at $8 a pop.

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New Releases: Assassin’s Creed Revelations, Zelda Skyward Sword, Halo Anniversary, More

Posted on November 12, 2011 by John Scalzo

Ladies and gentlemen, the biggest week of new releases has finally arrived. More games are released in the third week of November than at any other time of the year and, once again, the publishers have come through with an amazing array of titles including:

And that’s just the tip of the iceberg. Check out the full list of the rest of this week’s new releases, which numbers close to 70 games, after the break. (more…)

Posted in 3DS, DS, News, PC, PS2, PS3, PSP, Wii, Xbox 360 | Tagged , , , , ,

Battlefield 3 blows away the competition in October NPD report

Posted on November 11, 2011 by John Scalzo

The NPD Group has released their report on the ten bestselling titles in October and, not surprisingly, Battlefield 3 takes the top spot. EA’s modern warfare sim likely won’t hold onto the crown for long as Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 was released to record-breaking sales earlier this week.

Battlefield 3 was followed by a slew of new releases including Batman: Arkham City, NBA 2K12, Rage, Just Dance 3, Dark Souls, and Forza Motorsport 4. That’s right, the brutal action RPG Dark Souls outsold Microsoft’s big racing franchise.

Holdovers for this month include Madden NFL 12, Gears of War 3, and that other football game, FIFA Soccer 12. The complete top ten for October can be found after the break. (more…)

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Game of Thrones action RPG in the works for 2012 release

Posted on November 10, 2011 by John Scalzo

Winter is coming. But fear not, for this Winter you’ll be able to experience an action RPG based on the “Game of Thrones” television series with a story created by George R.R. Martin himself. Developed by Cyanide Studios and published by Atlus, Game of Thrones will be released for the PC, PS3, and Xbox 360 in early 2012.

In addition to a story supervised by Martin, the Game of Thrones game will also feature the actors (and their likenesses) from the acclaimed HBO series. So what will players be getting themselves into with this latest adventure in Westeros? Here’s what Atlus had to say:

In this 30-plus hour action RPG, players will enter the gritty and medieval fantasy world of Westeros. As one of two original characters with disparate motivations, both former soldiers of Robert’s Rebellion, players will forge alliances and wage battles as they play a pivotal role in the ongoing war for power of the Seven Kingdoms. Their journey will span numerous quests, during which they will interact with many characters and make key decisions that impact the realm.

Standing before the majesty and bitter isolation of the Wall or walking through the streets and alleys of King’s Landing, players will not simply pass by locations and characters integral to the series; they will explore and interact with them, meeting and learning about the people and history that defines them and their importance. Key decisions and major events will have meaningful impact on Westeros, allowing the player to witness how the game world evolves over time based on their actions or inactions. Moreover, Game of Thrones introduces an innovative “active slowdown tactical combat engine” in which combat mirrors the series’ thoughtful approach to war and politics: fighting slows but never stops entirely, forcing the player to make quick, pressured choices before their enemy strikes again.

Atlus has launched the official website for Game of Thrones: The Game at GameOfThrones-TheGame.com. There’s not much there right now, but as they say, Winter is coming.

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Gotham City Impostors set for January 10 release

Posted on November 10, 2011 by John Scalzo

Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment has announced that Gotham City Impostors, their multiplayer Batman/Joker first person shooter that doesn’t feature Batman or The Joker, will be added to the PlayStation Network, Xbox Live Arcade, and PC download services on January 10, 2012.

Not only that, but the publisher has released a new screenshot (on your left, click it to enlarge) and confirmed that the Gotham City Impostors open beta will begin in December (sign up now at GothamCityImpostors.com).

You might say we’re all getting a wonderful toy this Christmas.

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Dragon Age: Redemption Episode 5 brings the mercenaries together

Posted on November 10, 2011 by John Scalzo

Episode 5 of Felicia Day’s “Dragon Age: Redemption” webseries is here and it finally brings all of the mercenaries together in an episode titled (what else?) Mercenaries. Watch as the four bring down the house in an early battle sequence and continue their adventure looking for the rogue Saarebas.

And in case you missed it, the fourth episode, “Nyree,” is available after the break. (more…)

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Activision announces Call of Duty 9, multiple Blizzard titles for 2012

Posted on November 9, 2011 by John Scalzo

As Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 launches to huge sales and nearly unanimous critical praise, Activision CEO Bobby Kotick is ready to announce the next entry in the series.

Speaking to investors today, Kotick said, “As we focus on 2012, we have a strong product pipeline which features a minimum of two highly-anticipated new titles from Blizzard Entertainment, including Diablo III, and a new Call of Duty game from Activision Publishing.”

As you can see, Kotick also confirmed that Blizzard will release several games in 2012, a rarity for them. And considering the developer’s full production plate, there are several possibilities for this second title including World of Warcraft: Mists of Pandaria, StarCraft II: Heart of the Swarm, and the free-to-play Blizzard DOTA.

I’m going to go out on a limb and “confirm” that Call of Duty 9 will be developed by Treyarch (it’s their turn as Modern Warfare 3 was an Infinity Ward game) and released in the first week of November 2012. Obviously, I’m a gambling man.

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Daily Scoop: November 8, 2011 – Gold Box Event!

Posted on November 8, 2011 by Nicole Kline

And so another Gold Box Event sneaks up on us! Video games are what’s for dinner over at Amazon. The big Deal of the Day is EA’s FIFA 12, which is just $39.99 today on PS3 and Xbox 360. Other Gold Box Deals today are:

  • 6:00 AM PST/9:00 AM EST: Objection! It’s Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney for the DS, just $15.99
  • 8:00 AM PST/11:00 AM EST: Get Suda-crazy with No More Heroes: Heroes’ Paradise for $27.99
  • 10:00 AM PST/1:00 PM EST: Get the Xbox game Sonic Free Riders for just $14.99
  • 1:00 PM PST/4:00 PM EST: Engage in combat across the globe, dodging skyscrapers, and turning their enemies into fiery supersonic debris – never before has combat been so fast and in-your-face! – this one’s gotta be Ace Combat Assault Horizon!
  • 3:00 PM PST/6:00 PM EST: Prepare to compete in the Olympic Winter Games with your friends and family like you never thought possible! Mario and Sonic at the Olympic Games, anyone?
  • 6:00 PM PST/9:00 PM EST: A collection of single player puzzle games designed to provide puzzle fans and fanatics over 500 hours of play time spread across over 1,000 addictive games – Puzzler World, perhaps?
  • 8:00 PM PST/11:00 PM EST: Kill Zombie’s on your PC! – Probably Left 4 Dead 2, though that misuse of the apostrophe makes me want to choke everyone!

No game-related t-shirts today, but I’m loving the nostalgia in today’s Qwertee: (more…)

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