Tag Archives: Activision

Pachter predicts Call of Duty: Black Ops subscription charges

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Call of Duty: Black Ops subscription charges

Online subscriptions for Call of Duty: Black Ops could be introduced in the near future, according to industry analyst Michael Pachter.  Speaking to Industry Gamers, he said:

“I think everyone will be offered the same multiplayer options for free that they have now.  In addition, I see premium items offered as virtual goods for a modest fee–let’s say $1.”

“There will be special weapons, armour, vehicles, etc. offered, and the quantity will keep growing, in the hopes that some meaningful percentage of gamers who play online multiplayer pony up $1 or $2 per month on virtual goods. “

“I think that the company will “tier” its offering by offering a $5 per month subscription to Black Ops that includes ALL virtual items for free, plus access to all map packs released as long as the player remains active.  There are probably going to be three $15 map packs, so that feature alone has a perceived $45 value, and I’m sure that there will be dozens of virtual items, so the $5 subscriber will perceive some value from subscribing.”

“In addition, the $5 subscriber may be offered exclusive tournaments, game play modes, ladders, achievements, and any other features that Activision can think up to induce them to pony up more money.”

Pachter then went on to say how he believes that in future, Activision will offer a $10 subscription for all Call of Duty games.

“Anyone paying $10 per month gets virtual items, ladders, tournaments, achievements, game play modes and map packs for CoD MW, CoD MW2, Black Ops and World at War, and as long as their subscription remains alive, they will get the next game and the one after that. There are a total of 7 map packs (I think) available now, and will be another 3 next year, so for $10 per month, a player will get all 10 map packs. Not a bad value.

“Next, I think Activision will offer a $15 monthly subscription that is an ‘all access pass’, allowing subscribers to play WoW, StarCraft II (look for monetization there), the new Bungie game (when it comes out), all COD games, and whatever they do with Guitar Hero (maybe free downloads of songs), on an unlimited basis.

“The trick is managing this without destroying sales of the game. They will tread very carefully, and will make sure that they let consumers know that they are NOT taking anything away, but are merely offering a LOT MORE VALUE for a little bit of money.”

Call of Duty: Black Ops made rather a lot of money when it launched last week, and Activision CEO Bobby Lotick has previously made no secret of his desire to make Call of Duty’s online multiplayer a subscription based service.

So Train2Game, do you believe that Activision could really introduce a subscription based service for Call of Duty: Black Ops? If so, would you be willing to pay for it? Or do you think Michael Pachter’s predictions are off the mark?

You can leave your thoughts about a subscription service for Call of Duty: Black Ops here on the Train2Game blog, or on the Train2Game forum.

World of Warcraft: Cataclysm gets huge launch event

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World of Warcraft Cataclysm Worgen

Blizzard has revealed details about the UK launch of World of Warcraft: Cataclysm when the much anticipated expansion is released next month.

GAME will host the official launch event for World of Warcraft Cataclysm which will take place at Sound, Leicester Square on the evening of December 6th.  Fans will not only be among the first to get there hands on Cataclysm when it’s made available at midnight, but they’ll also get a chance to meet Blizzard staff.

Naturally, with this being a World of Warcraft event, there’s the obligatory costume content, and Blizzard say there will be prizes for the winners. The current details about the World of Warcraft: Cataclysm launch event, including costume contest guidelines, can be found on the Blizzard website. Expect it to be updated nearer the time with more information.

In addition to the big launch event, Blizzard say that other retailers around the country will be opening their doors for midnight launches of World of Warcraft: Cataclysm.

“After two years of development, we’re excited to now be just two weeks away from releasing our best World of Warcraft expansion yet,” said, CEO and cofounder of Blizzard Entertainment Mike Morhaime

“Cataclysm will add a huge amount of new content to the game and change the face of Azeroth forever, and we can’t wait to celebrate this launch with players around the world.”

Changes that Cataclysm will bring to the World of Warcraft include dramatically altering the make up of Azeroth, providing new quests, allowing characters to level up to level 85, and play as two new races, Worgen and Goblins.

World of Warcraft currently has over 12 million subscribers, could Cataclysm encourage even more people to sign up to the worlds most successful MMO?

The game is set to be released for the PC on December 7th

So Train2Game, are any of you World of Warcraft players? If so, will you be attending a midnight launch event? And if you want to wear one, have you got any ideas for a costume yet?

You can leave your thoughts about World of Warcraft: Cataclysm here on the Train2Game blog, or on the Train2Game forum.

Call of Duty: Black Ops smashes day one records

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Call of Duty: Black Ops

Call of Duty: Black Ops has shattered n the record for day one sales in the UK, and by a long, long way too.  MCV report that day one sales of Call of Duty: Black Ops in the UK were 14% higher than that of its predecessor, Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2.

While 14% more units of the game were sold, Call of Duty: Black Ops made Activision an extra 22% in sales. Overall, 1.4 million copies of Call of Duty: Black Ops were sold in the UK on November 9th, making £58 million in revenue.

This of course means that Call of Duty: Black Ops is bound to be number one in next weeks UK Chart!

The news of Call of Duty: Black Ops record breaking achievements in the UK comes after Activision hailed the release as the biggest entertainment launch in history. The publishing giant say that  5.6 million copies of Call of Duty: Black Ops have been sold in the USA and UK, compared to Modern Warfare 2’s 4.7 million copies.

Activision CEO Bobby Kotick is of course pleased with the success of Call of Duty: Black Ops

“There has never been another entertainment franchise that has set opening day records for two consecutive years and we are on track to outperform last year’s five-day global sales record of $550 million,”

“The game’s success underscores the pop culture appeal of the brand. Call of Duty: Black Ops is the finest game that Treyarch has ever made and raises the bar for online gameplay by delivering the deepest and most intense Call of Duty experience yet. The Call of Duty franchise has over 25 million players around the world that are engaged in billions of hours of online gameplay, and we are committed to supporting them with new content and features on a more frequent and regular basis.”

Call of Duty: Black Ops generally received very positive review scores, while retailers have been trying to out do each other in order to encourage strong sales.

So Train2Game, what are your thoughts on the success of Call of Duty: Black Ops? Is the game well deserving of its massive sales, or has the success of Call of Duty: Black Ops just been down to a massive hype campaign by Activision? Or perhaps it’s a combination of the two?

You can leave your thoughts on Call of Duty: Black Ops here on the Train2Game blog, or on the Train2Game forum.

Call of Duty: Black Ops review score round up

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Call of Duty: Black Ops

Well, it’s finally here. After all the hype, all the preview videos and all the predictions of record breaking sales, Call of Duty: Black Ops is now available.  The long awaited Call of Duty: Black Ops was officially launched at midnight with hundreds of GAME, HMV, GameStation and supermarket stores selling the game to eager Call of Duty: Black Ops enthusiasts as soon as November 9th arrived.

A big Call of Duty: Black Ops launch event held at Battersea power station saw celebrities, the press and gamers counting down the hours until the all important clock strike of midnight. The launch of Call of Duty: Black Ops means that the review embargo has been lifted, with the latest Call of Duty title currently getting very positive reviews. Currently, Call of Duty: Black Ops has a score of 90 on Metacritic.

So what do some of the major gaming news websites have to say about Call of Duty: Black Ops now the review embargo has been lifted? Well, GamesRadar have given Call of Duty: Black Ops a review score of 9/10. They say:

“With the hype and excitement surrounding Treyarch’s first Call of Duty where they aren’t bound by a World War II setting, it’s a shame that they went for more of the same MW2. This isn’t say it’s poor but personally I feel they’ve missed an opportunity to really stamp their authority with Black Ops. Still, as a complete package with a great story, strong FPS action and a killer multiplayer mode, Black Ops remains unmissable.”

IGN also appear to suggest that Treyarch have stuck to a very familiar formula with Call of Duty: Black Ops. They give Call of Duty: Black Ops an 8.5/10, and suggest the multiplayer mode is better than the single player campaign.

“Call Of Duty: Black Ops is a classic game of two halves. Perhaps even more so than last year’s Modern Warfare 2, the gulf in quality between the two game modes has rarely been as apparent or as exasperating. With Treyarch seemingly content to tread water in the single-player arena, it feels like its focus has been well and truly on ensuring that its multiplayer offering is right up there with the very best. To that end it has succeeded, and thanks to its superb run of Wager Matches, Treyarch has literally raised the stakes. Whether extensive customisation options and inspirational multiplayer makes up for the ragged single player portion is sure to be a subject of controversy in the weeks and months ahead. Maybe next time we’ll get the full package…”

Eurogamer also follow a similar pattern in their Call of Duty: Black Ops review, praising the multiplayer mode but suggesting the Call of Duty: Black Ops single player campaign could have been so much more in their 8/10 review.

“Call of Duty has long since settled into an enormously successful rhythm, and the good news for Activision is that Black Ops does little to disrupt it. The campaign is relentlessly aggressive and spectacular – a Jerry Bruckheimer tribute act stuck in permanent encore – while the multiplayer modes are a mixture of smart tweaks to working formulas, as focused on protecting that guaranteed bottom line as the campaign’s yellow objective cursor is on making sure you never falter. The results are never less than entertaining whatever you choose to do, then, but not exactly brave and bold either. Say what you like about No Russian – at least it was something different.”

In their Call of Duty: Black Ops review, CVG suggest the opposite to reviews above and say that the single player campaign is the best yet, but the multiplayer modes feel too familiar.

“A thrilling and brutal single-player campaign that’s one of the series’ best. But will you be blown away by multiplayer the fourth time around?”

They give Call of Duty: Black Ops a review score of 9.3/10

VG247 are providing a full list of regularly updated Call of Duty: Black Ops review scores, so if you want to see more judgement on the latest Call of Duty title, check it out.

If the review scores have tempted you into buying Call of Duty: Black Ops, be sure to read this post in the Train2Game blog that reveals where you can get it for the cheapest price.

So Train2Game, what do you think about the Call of Duty: Black Ops review scores? Are they higher or lower than you were expecting? If you’ve actually got your hands on Call of Duty: Black Ops, what do you think of the game so far?

You can leave your thoughts on Call of Duty: Black Ops and its review scores here on the Train2Game blog, or on the Train2Game forum.

Call of Duty: Black Ops – where can you buy it for the cheapest price?

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Call of Duty: Black Ops

Call of Duty: Black Ops is released tomorrow, and while some of you may have pre-ordered it, or might be queuing up in cold for a midnight launch, many will have been waiting for the retail price wars. So here it is, a round up of the best Call of Duty: Black Ops deals here in the UK.

HMV were the first to announce their special deal on Call of Duty: Black Ops. You can purchase Call of Duty: Black Ops from HMV for just £7.99, if you trade in a copy of Medal of Honor.

Naturally, the supermarket giants are trying to get on the Call of Duty: Black Ops hype bandwagon with their own special deals for Activision’s mega title. Rumours that Sainsbury’s and Morrisons are offering Call of Duty: Black Ops for just £25 having quite come true, but both supermarkets are offering their own deals.

Sainsbury’s are offering Call of Duty: Black Ops for £27.97 when £30 or more is spent in store, or for £39.97 if bought on its own. Meanwhile, Morrisons are selling Call of Duty: Black Ops for £29.99 when bought with any other chart title, or £39.99 if bought individually.

Tesco are hoping that the lure of PSN or Xbox Live credit will be enough to encourage you to buy Call of Duty: Black Ops from them. If you purchase a 2100 Xbox Live Points Card, 3 months of Xbox Live Gold membership, or a £20 PSN Card, you’ll be able to pick up Call of Duty: Black Ops for £25. Tesco are also offering the game for £39.90 when not bought in conjunction with the offer.

Meanwhile, Asda are being aggressive in offering Call of Duty: Black Ops for just £4.97 if you trade in a copy of Fable III, Fallout: New Vegas or Star Wars: The Force Unleashed 2. Blockbuster are also offering a trade in deal, with Call of Duty: Black Ops on sale for just 99p if two of the following games are traded in – Medal of Honour, Fable 3, Fallout New Vegas, MMA, F1 2010 or Star Wars The Force Unleashed.

Naturally, the specialist games retailers are also offering deals on Call of Duty: Black Ops. Both Game and GameStation are selling Call of Duty: Black Ops for £24.99 when bought with any other chart title. Alternatively, you can get the same price by trading in Halo: Reach, Dead Rising 2, F1 2010 or FIFA 11 when picking up Call of Duty: Black Ops from GAME or GameStation.

Finally, if you live near one of the handful of Best Buy stores in the UK, you can purchase Call of Duty: Black Ops for £29.99 with no strings attached.

So Train2Game, if you’re buying Call of Duty: Black Ops this week, where will you be picking it up from? Do you prefer the supermarket discounts, or would you prefer to trade in recent games that you’ve already finished? Will anyone be swapping their copy of Medal of Honor for Call of Duty: Black Ops at HMV?

And who is actually going to brave the very likely wind and rain in order to attend a midnight launch tonight?

You can leave your thoughts about Call of Duty: Black Ops here on the Train2Game blog, or over on the Train2Game forum.

(Source: MCV Online)

Sainsbury’s and Morrisons to sell Call of Duty: Black Ops for £25?

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Call of Duty: Black Ops

There are increasing rumours that Sainsbury’s and Morrisons will sell Call of Duty: Black Ops for just £25.

There’s no official confirmation yet, but sources suggest that the supermarket giants are looking to sell Call of Duty: Black Ops for less than half its RRP. It’s possible the rumours of Call of Duty: Black Ops for just £25 are true, given that last year Sainsbury’s sold Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 at launch for around the same price.

Update: Sainsbury’s and Morrisons aren’t selling Call of Duty: Black Ops for £25, but are offering it at £27.97 and £30 respectively with certain conditions attached. You can check them out here.

It’s also been revealed that specialist retailer GAME Call of Duty: Black Ops on day one for just £24.99. According to MCV, Call of Duty: Black Ops will be available for this price if bought in conjunction with any other PlayStation 3 or Xbox 360 chart title. GAME will also sell Call of Duty: Black Ops for £24.99 if you trade in a copy of Halo: Reach, Dead Rising 2, FIFA 11 or F1 2010.

Gamestation are also offering their own trade-in details for Call of Duty: Black Ops. You’ll get an extra £5 of store credit to anyone who trades in two titles for Call of Duty: Black Ops. In theory, that means if you trade in two recent big games, you could get Call of Duty: Black Ops for free and receive store credit. Gamestation are also offering Call of Duty: Black Ops for £20, but only if bought with an Xbox 360 4GB console.

Alternatively, you can pick up Call of Duty: Black Ops for just £7.99 from HMV, if you trade in a copy of Medal of Honor.

Call of Duty: Black Ops is launched Worldwide on November 9th for Xbox 360, for PlayStation3 and PC. Not sure what all the fuss is about? You can see the Call of Duty: Black Ops launch trailer here

So Train2Game, if you’re buying Call of Duty: Black Ops, do you know where you’ll get it from yet? If you’ve pre-ordered Call of Duty: Black Ops, are you annoyed with the discounting that’s going on?

You can leave your thoughts about Call of Duty: Black Ops here on the Train2Game blog, or on the Train2Game forum.

Get Call of Duty: Black Ops for £7.99

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Call of Duty: Black Ops

HMV has made the first move in what could be a very competitive Call of Duty: Black Ops price war.

MCV report that the high street retailer is offering Call of Duty: Black Ops on Xbox 360 or PlayStation 3 for just £7.99, if you trade in a copy of Medal of Honor. It’s a cheeky move that may anger EA who want to challenge the dominance of Activision’s Call of Duty series.

The Call of Duty: Black Ops deal will run at HMV from release date on November 9th until Monday 15th and saves buyers a whopping £47 off Activision’s RRP of £54.99.

The decision of HMV to price Call of Duty: Black Ops at £7.99 in exchange for a copy of Medal of Honor is unlikely to be the only discounting we see this week. The supermarkets – ever more enthusiastic about getting into the games retail industry – will no doubt have their own offers planned. Last year, Sainsbury’s offered Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 for just £26 upon release.

This year, supermarkets have often tried to out do each other in order to persuade gamers to buy the latest titles from them, with each big name offering their own incentive. ASDA launched FIFA 11 for just 97p if you traded in Halo: Reach, F1 2010 or Dead Rising 2, while Sainsburys offered it for £24.97 if you spent more than £30 on anything else in store.

Modest discounts were also on show for the launch of PlayStation Move.

These trends suggest that while there may not be any massive price slashing for Call of Duty: Black Ops, each retailer will have something up their sleeve to try and encourage you to part with your money.

Call of Duty: Black Ops is released on November 9th for Xbox 360, PlayStation 3 and PC on November 9th.  You can see the Call of Duty: Black Ops launch trailer here. Yesterday, the BBFC gave Call of Duty: Black Ops an 18 certificate.

So Train2Game, what are your thoughts on HMV’s offer of Call of Duty: Black Ops for £7.99 if you trade in Medal of Honor? Are you tempted, or will you wait and see what Call of Duty: Black Ops offers are made by other retailers?

And if you’ve already pre-ordered Call of Duty: Black Ops,  would you be annoyed by retailers trying to undercut each others prices?

You can leave your thoughts on Call of Duty: Black Ops and its price here on the Train2Game blog, or on the Train2Game forum.

Medal of Honor “didn’t meet quality expectations” say EA

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An EA executive has revealed that Medal of Honor “didn’t meet quality expectations” of the publishing giant.  However, EA exec Patrick Soderlund also says that the Danger Close and DICE developed Medal of Honor is a better game than the reviews are suggesting.

When quizzed on the sales success of Medal of Honor during an interview with Eurogamer, Soderlund replied:

“I’m not going to comment on the sales because EA has an earnings report going out and we will unveil sales in that meeting,”

“What I can say is the game didn’t meet our quality expectations. In order to be successful in that space, we’re going to have to have a game that is really, really strong.

“Medal of Honor is to some extent judged harsher than it should be. The game is better than today’s reviews are indicating.”

Medal of Honor currently has an average review score of 75 on Metacritic, which isn’t a bad score at all. When asked by Eurogamer what score Medal of Honor should have got, Soderlund said:

“I’m not going to say a specific number. I’m proud of what the game is and proud of what the team did. I just think the market is obviously telling us they think the game is X. We need to convince the market we can make something they appreciate more, particularly to be able to compete.

We’re looking at that clearly. We’re taking that seriously. I’m not at all saying Medal of Honor is a failure. It is a successful reboot of that franchise. We’re going to be strong in the future.”

The newest Medal of Honor title has been quite successful, selling over 1.5 million copies worldwide, and spending a week at the top of the UK Chart. Medal of Honor currently sits sixth in the latest sales table. You can check out the launch trailer for Medal of Honor here.

Previously, EA has said that Medal of Honor could beat Activision’s Call of Duty as the number one shooter franchise, but with the hype surrounding Call of Duty: Black Ops upcoming release, it seems unlikely that EA will beat Activision this year.

So Train2Game, what are your thoughts on Patrick Soderlund’s comments about Medal of Honor? Should EA have released Medal of Honor if they weren’t convinced by the quality on release? And what do you think about the comments about reviews, are they what put you off buying Medal of Honor?

You can leave your thoughts about Medal of Honor and review scores here on the Train2Game blog, or on the Train2Game forum.

Call of Duty: Black Ops gets 18 rating

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Call of Duty Black Ops

The British Board of Film Classification has given Call of Duty: Black Ops an 18 certificate, citing in game violence as the main reason for this. The BBFC report also reveals that Call of Duty: Black Ops contains a lot of swearing, and it reveals some minor spoilers about Treyarch’s upcoming title.

In summary, the BBFC report that Call of Duty: Black Ops “is a military first-person shooter in which the player takes the role of a member of an elite C.I.A. covert action team operating during the Cold War and attempting to stop the threat of a Soviet chemical weapons project. The game was classified ‘18’ for strong bloody violence and strong language.”

The BBFC statement on Call of Duty: Black Ops in full says:

“The violence takes the form of the player’s involvement in gun battles with various enemies in which an array of contemporary weapons such as automatic rifles, pistols, grenades and other types of explosive ammunition are available, along with larger weapons such as missile launchers which are carried on ships, helicopters and road vehicles.”

“The player can also access bladed weapons for stealth attacks and hand-to-hand combat. The battles are intense and conducted from a first-person perspective with impacts registering as blood spurts which vary in strength depending on the weapon and the range at which it is used. More powerful weapons can also cause dismemberment with resultant gory detail and enemies can be set on fire.

“Although dead bodies can sometimes be used as shields against enemy attacks there is no opportunity to inflict post-mortem damage on downed victims. Whilst most of the intense fighting action, in which the player encounters hordes of enemies, does not linger on injuries or carry a personalised edge, some stealth attacks in which a knife is used to slit an enemy’s throat contain more of a focus on the damage inflicted and some of the non-interactive cutscenes contain stronger bloodshed, for example, in the assassination of a political leader where the action plays out in slow-motion.

“It was these stronger, more focussed moments of bloody violence accumulating through the course of the gameplay that went beyond what may be permitted by the BBFC’s Guidelines at ’15’, which state that ‘Violence may be strong but should not dwell on the infliction of pain or injury’, and which determined the ’18’ category.”

Given that previous Call of Duty titles have received 18 ratings in the past, it probably isn’t all that suprising that Black Ops has also been given the highest certificate. Still it’s interesting to see how the BBFC go about rating games.

The Call of Duty: Black Ops rating announcement comes shortly after Activision released the official Call of Duty: Black Ops launch trailer which you can view here. It does seem to imply that there will be violence…as does the Single Player Campaign Trailer.

You can also see more Call of Duty: Black Ops footage in this Multiplayer Feature from Inside Xbox, while details of the new Call of Duty: Black Ops Gun Game have also surfaced. Call of Duty: Black Ops will also have full 3D support.

Call of Duty: Black Ops is released in one week on November 9th, and many retailers will be opening for midnight launches. Call of Duty: Black Ops will be available on Xbox 360, PlayStation 3 and PC.

So Train2Game, what do you think about Call of Duty: Black Ops 18 rating? Does it sound like it is justified? And when you develop games in future, how much will you be thinking about their rating?

You can leave your thoughts on Call of Duty: Black Ops and game ratings here on the Train2Game blog, or on the Train2Game forum.

Two James Bond trailers – GoldenEye 007 & Blood Stone 007

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Blood Stone 007

GoldenEye 007 comes out on the Nintendo Wii this week, so naturally a launch trailer for the N64 remake has been released.  The GoldenEye 007 for Nintendo Wii trailer appears to show what all fans of the 1997 original want to see – classic James Bond GoldenEye 007 action!

Of course, the 2010 remake of the 1997 GoldenEye 007 doesn’t only look prettier, but the game has also been tweaked to bring the story and settings up to date. GoldenEye 007 features Daniel Craig instead of Pierce Brosan while the gadgets have also been updated from the 1990s. Now instead of using a watch to scan documents in  GoldenEye 007, Bond will use a mobile phone.

The GoldenEye 007 for Nintendo Wii features fist fighting, shooting, Bond girls, and of course footage of that all important multiplayer. Enjoy! You can also see a previous trailer for GoldenEye 007 here.

GoldenEye 007 is released for Nintendo Wii this Friday.

There are actually two James Bond games released this week, with the Bizarre Creations developed Blood Stone 007 also set for release this week – but not on the Nintendo Wii. The team has released a developer diary in which they say Blood Stone 007 will be classic Bond and truly authentic to the movies.

The Bizarre developers say they’ve tried to include all of the things that make the James Bond movies – driving, shooting, fighting, witty one liners – and apply them all into Blood Stone 007. We also get told about some of the classic Bond locations we can expect to visit in Blood Stone 007. You can see the Blood Stone 007 ‘Classic Bond’ developer diary below.

Yes, that is Joss Stone playing the Blood Stone 007 Bond Girl. Daniel Craig also features as Bond as in GoldenEye 007. Blood Stone 007 is released on PlayStation 3, Xbox 360 and PC on Friday and like GoldenEye 007, it’s published by Activision.

So Train2Game, do you want to get your hands on either GoldenEye 007 or Blood Stone 007? Would you be drawn to the GoldenEye 007 remake over an entirely new Bond Game? And do you think they’ll be successful?

You can leave your thoughts about Golden Eye 007 and Blood Stone 007 here on the Train2Game blog or on the Train2Game forum.