modern-warfare-2 posts (Subscribe to this feed)
Activision catches both pirates and thieves in Modern Warfare 2 investigation
by JC Fletcher 
{ Nov 6th 2009 at 9:00PM } 
When IPCyberCrime found the person behind the sale, the investigator discovered that he was an employee at a retailer, who, with friends, had stolen the bundles to sell on Craigslist. The sellers were turned over to the store's loss prevention department.
That bust led to one of the prospective buyers, named Christian Del Amo, who was raising money on a forum to buy the bundle (allegedly) for the purpose of copying the game and selling the copies, along with other pirated games, on hard drives. IPCyberCrime turned that case over to the Miami-Dade Police Department, who arrested Del Amo.
Obviously, this demonstrates one reason (aside from the whole morality thing) why you shouldn't try to make a business of selling pirated games. Activision has enough money to hire a private investigator, and is not afraid to use it.
Modern Warfare 2 refused by digital distribution retailers; Steamworks to blame
by JC Fletcher { Nov 6th 2009 at 9:22AM } 
"At Direct2Drive," the statement on what would be the Modern Warfare 2 product page reads, "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." The site offers an Amazon link to purchase the game, and a $5 coupon for other Activision titles on Direct2Drive.
Impulse and GamersGate won't be offering the Modern Warfare 2 either. Impulse tells VE3D that "the most obvious issue is the forced inclusion of a competitor's store that blocks us from carrying the game."
[Via Gamasutra]
Modern Warfare 2 limited to 9 vs. 9 on PC
by Justin McElroy { Nov 5th 2009 at 7:40PM }
We feel for those of you on the PC side, but largely because you haven't yet had your spirits broken like your console brethren. We don't even notice having our dreams shattered any more (in fact, truth be told, we think we're starting to like it).
Watch: The Modern Warfare 2 launch trailer, as seen on TV
by Christopher Grant { Nov 4th 2009 at 10:30PM } 
For some reason, Activision is intent on blowing cash on Modern Warfare 2 advertisements, despite record pre-order numbers, and anticipated record-breaking sales. At this point, tossing out slick television commercials – like the one you see above, showing some more fightin' on American soil – just seems like kicking everyone's wallets while they're down. We've already got the game pre-ordered! We can't pre-order it anymore! Uncle!
Modern Warfare 2 Avatar gear coming to Live tomorrow
by Xav de Matos { Nov 4th 2009 at 8:01PM }
Revealed in a recent Tweet, Bowling stated that Infinity Ward will upload the content to Xbox Live tomorrow -- which includes the Ghost outfit pictured above. In an email to Joystiq, Bowling confirmed the content will be made available for purchase tomorrow. Until then, we'll sleep soundly knowing that the Avatar world will soon be safe from terrorist scum.
[Thanks, B. Marriner]
Hans Zimmer believes in the legitimacy of games, approached MW2 as a 'novice'
by Ben Gilbert { Nov 4th 2009 at 6:00PM }
Zimmer says his first experience working on a game has, unsurprisingly, been very different than working on a film. "I had never done this before, so it was nice to sort of go at it a little fresh." Due to the length of major video games (even the shorter ones), Zimmer was forced to create considerably more music than the average project. "I never added it up [because] then I would have panicked," he admits. Looks like that "ridiculous" budget was good for something!
DICE receives fan letter in thanks of Bad Company 2 dedicated servers
by Alexander Sliwinski { Nov 4th 2009 at 10:15AM }
of New Jersey was so happy with DICE's decision to support dedicated servers for Battlefield: Bad Company 2 that he sent the company a $60 check. Although it's pretty hard to look up the family of New Jersey to ask Eddie why he sent the money, we'll guess it had something to do with Infinity Ward's decision to not allow dedicated PC servers for Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2.As for what DICE plans to spend the money on, Battlefield Producer Gordon Van Dyke gave no indications. Some Battlefield 1943 maps would be nice. The intern could probably get it done for $60, right?
Amazon ranks Call of Duty-est towns in America, large dining utensils in the lead
by Griffin McElroy { Nov 4th 2009 at 2:00AM }
Amazon will continue to rank American cities based on per capita Modern Warfare 2 pre-orders until the game is released, and has agreed to ship a $5,000 gift card to a charity of its choosing which serves the winning town. We hope Grand Forks manages to hold its top position in the rankings, if only because it desperately needs something to put on its city limits signs. You know, something more inspiring than "Welcome to Grand Forks: We've Got a Pretty Good College, Here, We Guess."
Initial Modern Warfare 2 budget was 'ridiculous'
by David Hinkle { Nov 3rd 2009 at 7:30PM }
"Much like we don't let ourselves get distracted by hype, if you have excess you feel like you should use excess," Bowling said. Even though Activision "estimated out a ridiculous budget" early on, Infinity Ward "didn't let the budget affect [its] mentality." Since Infinity Ward apparently didn't take the money (or, at least, all of it), we do have a pretty good idea of what Activision spent it on: night-vision goggles for everyone!
Modern Warfare 2 is GameStop's most pre-ordered game ever
by Justin McElroy { Nov 3rd 2009 at 11:20AM }
So feel free to grouse all you want, but unless Activision replaces the FPS gameplay with first-person putting puppies into a wood chipper and renames it Osama bin Laden Pushes Jesus Christ Down a Flight of Stairs Made of Baby Skulls, we're not sure there's any amount of controversy that's going to slow Modern Warfare 2 down.
Rumor: Modern Warfare 2 multiplayer disables Xbox Live party chat
by Xav de Matos { Nov 2nd 2009 at 8:00PM }
Speaking with Joystiq, Infinity Ward community manager Robert Bowling said the company "can't comment on leaks," and was unable to confirm if the feature will, in fact, be disabled. "Players should reserve judgment until they get a chance to experience it for themselves on November 10 instead of viewing it out of context," Bowling added. Have an opinion on the matter? Sound off in the comments.
[Image Source: BL4CK HAWK 8]
Custom Modern Warfare 2 Xbox is riddled with bullets
by Richard Mitchell { Nov 2nd 2009 at 12:45PM }
We think it would look great with the Prestige Edition of Modern Warfare 2 and, let's face it, if you can afford one of those, then snatching up this Xbox should be chump change. Hit the source link for more pictures.
Infinity Ward pulls 'Fight Against Grenade Spam' ad in light of backlash
by Griffin McElroy { Nov 1st 2009 at 5:30PM }
This wasn't due to the light swearing featured in the video, but rather, because of the name of the PSA's sponsor: Fight Against Grenade Spam, which, when acronym-ized, spells out an offensive slur. Following the inevitable backlash which occurred when the gaming community realized the slur's inclusion, Infinity Ward community manager Robert Bowling responded by Tweeting, "I think the core gag is great, the end is a bit too far from the intent of the joke & can appreciate the concerns. Pulled." True to his word, the video was soon yanked from the developer's YouTube channel.
The complaints from those who viewed the offending ad were two-fold: First, they didn't like that the slur (even in its spelled-out state) was used at all. However, the bigger complaint seemed to be that Infinity Ward was catering to the sensibilities of the foul, hateful underbelly of the online gaming community. What did you think of the video, dear readers? Let us know in the comments section, but please -- keep it civil.
Joystiq is undecided about Wal-Mart's Modern Warfare 2 ad
by Richard Mitchell { Oct 30th 2009 at 5:00PM }
The company ran similar ads for Madden 09 and Madden 10, which certainly don't need in depth advertising to get people excited. Has Call of Duty reached Madden levels of recognition? Is the name the only marketing it needs at this point? Apparently, Wal-Mart thinks so. See the ad after the break.
[Via Destructoid]
Australian lobby group calls for re-rating of Modern Warfare 2
by David Hinkle { Oct 29th 2009 at 9:30PM }
Lobby group Australian Council on Children and the Media is calling for the second look at the game, The Sydney Morning Herald reports. MW2 currently has a rating of MA 15+ -- the highest available -- though ACCM president Jane Roberts argues that the current rating would still make it accessible to kids under the age of 15. Update: If the game was to be reconsidered and denied a rating (anything considered higher than MA 15+), it would be effectively banned.
"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," she said. As for the re-rating, odds aren't looking good for Roberts. An Australian Classification Board spokesperson said that the Board could not review its own decisions.
[Via Kotaku]
