Tag Archives: Call of Duty

Pachter blasts Activision for not introducing Call of Duty online fees

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Train2Game Call of Duty

The man gamers, including Train2Game students, love to hate has spoken again. No, it isn’t Bobby Kotick but the guy is talking about Call of Duty.  Wedbush analyst Michael Pachter has blasted Activisions’ decision not to charge an online fee for their successful online shooter.

As reported on the Train2Game blog last month, Pachter recently predicted that Call of Duty: Black Ops players would have to eventually pay an online. Activision quickly moved to say they’d never, ever charge a fee for playing Call of Duty online.

Pachter is seemingly not happened with this decision, and in a move that may surprise many Train2Game blog readers, the analyst has openly criticised the gaming publishing giants for their position:

“We were disappointed to hear Activision’s new head of publishing flatly deny the company’s plans to charge for multiplayer,” said Pachter.

“We firmly believe that until the publishers address monetization of multiplayer, game sales will continue to be challenged by the publishers’ altruistic decision to provide significantly more entertainment value per hour than ever in history.”

“Considering that each of the publicly traded publishers exists to maximize shareholder value, we view their reticence to monetize multiplayer as a betrayal of shareholder trust, and can only hope that each implements plans to address the impact of increasing free multiplayer going forward.”

“Even if we are mistaken and charging for multiplayer doesn’t result in packaged goods growth, we think that investors will be satisfied if publisher revenues once again begin to grow due to contribution from multiplayer monetization.”

“In our view, monetization of multiplayer is one of the greatest opportunities for the publishers, and we think that it would be a serious strategic error to pass on this opportunity,

Michael Pachter may be unhappy with the decision of Activision not to charge for playing Call of Duty: Black ops online, but Train2Game students will certainly approve. Many posters on the thread on the Train2Game forum weren’t exactly keen on the idea.

Regular readers of the Train2Game blog will also know about the massive success of Call of Duty: Black Ops and may question why Activision would risk alienating players by charging! Call of Duty: Black Ops is still selling well and regained the top spot in the UK charts this week.

So Train2Game, what are your thoughts on Pachters’ comments? Why do you think he is so keen to lay into Activision?

As usual, you can leave your thoughts here on the Train2Game blog, or on the Train2Game forum.

(Source: Industry Gamers)

Activision boss: “we will never, ever charge for Call of Duty multiplayer”

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Call of Duty: Black Ops

Activision has once again moved to quell rumours that they’ll charge a fee for Call of Duty online multiplayer.

Industry analyst Michael Pachter recently stated that he believed that Activision was soon going to introduce a subscription charge for Call of Duty: Black Ops. However, Activision Publishing CEO Eric Hirshberg has told Industry Gamers they company will never charge for Call of Duty’s online multiplayer.

“Are we going to be charging for multiplayer? The answer is no. The experience you have out of the box, connecting with the online community to play Call of Duty is absolutely integral to the experience and we’ll never charge for that. It’s not going to be something we’ll attempt to monetize; it’s part of the package,”

Hirshberg then went onto directly discuss Pachter’s comments.

“Nothing we or anyone else tries is going to work if it doesn’t have tremendous value for people and add a tremendous value to the gaming experience. He’s [Pachter] probably looking at meta-trends in the world and in culture about online services and new ways things should be monetized from Netflix to cloud-based computing.”

“So there are certainly a lot of behavioural shifts towards long-standing online relationships… But at the end of the day, all I’m trying to get across is I can unequivocally say we will never, ever charge for the multiplayer.”

Activision has previously made strong hints that it’s looking to make more money from the online aspect of Call of Duty. Modern Warfare 2 saw the introduction of two online expansion packs  with extra maps– the Resurgence and Stimulus Packages – which both sold rather well at over £10 each. However, it could be argued that the publishers desire to make a profit, is starting to make them out of touch with gamers.

Call of Duty: Black Ops is currently sitting atop the UK Chart for the second week in a row.

So Train2Game, after there was so much outrage on the Facebook page yesterday are you reassured by the comments from Activision Publishing CEO Eric Hirshberg? And if Activision really want to make more money from the Call of Duty series, how do you think they should go about doing it?

As usual, you can leave your comments 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)

Call of Duty: Black Ops launch trailer revealed, zombie mode details leaked

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Activision has released the official Call of Duty: Black Ops launch trailer ahead of its worldwide launch next week. Naturally, the Call of Duty: Black Ops trailer looks amazing and is all backed by the amazing Gimme Shelter by The Rolling Stones.

The Call of Duty: Black Ops launch trailer claims Treyarch’s latest will be ‘The Biggest Game of 2010’ and if the video below is anything to go by, this certainly may be the case. Naturally, the minute long Call of Duty: Black Ops launch trailer features lots of shooting and explosions. We also see a Nuke being launched and that a certain John F. Kennedy will feature in Call of Duty: Black Ops campaign.

You can watch the Call of Duty: Black Ops launch trailer below.

Call of Duty: Black Ops is released worldwide on November 9th for Xbox 360, PlayStation 3 and PC. Naturally, Call of Duty: Black Ops will also feature extensive multiplayer modes.

The Call of Duty: Black Ops launch trailer isn’t only Call of Duty video that’s surfaced over the last few days.  The leaked video shows the cast of the Call of Duty: Black Ops zombie mode, but be warned, Do not read on past this point if you don’t want to see possible story ending spoilers.

Call of Duty Black Ops

A leaked video of the Call of Duty: Black Ops zombie mode shows that this time around players will be filling the shoes of John F. Kennedy, Richard Nixon, US secretary of defense Robert McNamara, and Cuban leader Fidel Castro  as they fight to keep zombies out of the Pentagon.  The trailer introducing the zombie mode is quite possibly from the very end of Call of Duty: Black Ops. You have been warned, but  you can see the Call of Duty: Black Ops zombie mode video via Kotaku here.

So Train2Game, what are your thoughts on the Call of Duty: Black Ops launch trailer? And what are your thoughts on the new Call of Duty: Black Ops zombie mode? Which character would you want to be?

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

Call of Duty: Black Ops Gun Game details

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Call of Duty: Black Ops

More Call of Duty: Black Ops footage has emerged online. This time it shows footage of a new multiplayer mode for Call of Duty: Back Ops, the Gun Game.

The Call of Duty: Black Ops Gun Game appears to work in a very similar fashion to that of the popular Counter-Strike mod of the same name. In the Call of Duty: Black Ops Gun Game mode, each player starts off with just a pistol, with each kill forcing the use of a new weapon. The player wins the Call of Duty: Black Ops gun game mode by being the first to get a kill with every single weapon.

The video shows every single weapon that can be used in Call of Duty: Black Ops’ Gun Game, with players using pistols, shotguns, rifles, sniper rifles, rocket launchers then finally a knife. Call of Duty: Black Ops Gun Game players can also use their knife at any time, with a knife kill resulting in ‘humiliation’ and their opponent being demoted one gun level.

In addition, Treyarch Community Manager Josh Olin confirmed that Quickscoping will be ‘gimped’ and therefore much less effective in Call of Duty: Black Ops multiplayer matches.

Of course, Gun Game isn’t the only multiplayer mode available in Call of Duty: Black Ops. Along with the traditional deathmatch modes, Treyarch has introduced the Wager Match for Call of Duty: Black Ops. The game will also see the return of a multiplayer zombie mode. You can find out what else to expect from Call of Duty: Black Ops multiplayer by watching this Inside Xbox video from Treyarch HQ.

Call of Duty: Black Ops is set for worldwide release on Xbox 360, PlayStation 3 and PC on November 9th.

So Train2Game, what are your thoughts on the new Call of Duty: Black Ops Gun Game mode? Are you eager to give it a go? And what do you think about the changes to quickscoping?

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

Treyarch reveal new Call of Duty: Black Ops multiplayer features

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Call of Duty: Black Ops

We have an insight into new Call of Duty: Black Ops multiplayer features thanks to a new video from Inside Xbox.

The video not only shows plenty of Call of Duty: Black Ops multiplayer footage, but also features a behind the scenes look at some of the decisions Treyarch have made to make Call of Duty: Black Ops the “most refined, competitively balanced Call of Duty game to date.”

Studio Head of Treyarch, Mark Lamia, says one of the great things about the large Call of Duty community is that it’s easy to listen to what they want. The Inside Xbox video definitely seems to suggest that fan feedback has been taken into consideration when producing Call of Duty: Black Ops multiplayer.

Killstreaks have changed for Call of Duty: Black Ops after feedback from the Call of Duty community. Firstly, in Call of Duty: Black Ops multiplayer, kills from Killstreak unlocks won’t be added to players’ current killstreak in order to stop the ‘rich getting richer.’ Secondly, Call of Duty: Black Ops multiplayer Killstreak bonuses are going to be more interactive. For example, the Inside Xbox Call of Duty: Black Ops multiplayer video shows that players will be taking manual control of killstreak bonuses like attack choppers and air strikes in order to even out the playing field.

Naturally, Call of Duty: Black Ops multiplayer has a lot of new perks, and not only will these complement the players’ particular style, but their main perk will determine what their character model looks like. For example, any Call of Duty: Black Ops multiplayer player using the Flak Jacket perk, will have a player model with a Flak Jacket, thus showing others that they’re strong against grenades.

Treyarch Community Manager, Josh Olnin describes how a lot of the new Call of Duty: Black Ops multiplayer features made it in from the fan community. Some of these community suggested changes for Call of Duty: Black Ops include the shotgun re-becoming a primary weapon, grid co-ordinates on multiplayer maps, and the ability to dive to prone when needed. Treyarch say that all these subtle fan suggested changes will improve the Call of Duty: Black Ops multiplayer experience.

You can watch the Inside Xbox Call of Duty: Black Ops multiplayer features video for yourself below.


Want more Call of Duty: Black Ops multiplayer action? You can see the Call of Duty: Black Ops ‘Wager Match’ trailer here. Of course, Call of Duty: Black Ops has a single player campaign too, and you can watch the trailer for that here.

Call of Duty: Black Ops is released on November 9th for Xbox 360, PlayStation 3 and PC. GAME has revealed that hundreds of stores throughout the UK will be opening at midnight for the launch of Call of Duty: Black Ops. Full details about which stores will be opening late into the night on November 8th for Call of Duty: Black Ops fans can be found on the GAME website.

So Train2Game, what are your thoughts on the new features Treyarch have included in Call of Duty: Black Ops multiplayer? How important to do you think community feedback about a game is? And who will be braving a cold November night to attend a Call of Duty: Black Ops midnight launch?

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 may be “biggest game ever”

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Call of Duty: Black Ops

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 may be the best selling game ever, but retailer HMV has told Eurogamer that Call of Duty: Black Ops could very well be the “biggest game ever.”

“We’re seeing some exceptional interest for this title across its different formats,” HMV’s senior buyer James Brooks told Eurogamer.

“Particularly our co-exclusive on the Prestige Edition on HMV.com, where stock is nearly sold-through now and very little is left.

“Based on all this initial demand and the huge excitement that’s clearly being generated, I’d say this title has every chance of being the biggest game release ever, and it’s certainly shaping up to become the largest pre-order that we’ve seen in-store and online on HMV.com.”

The pre-order charts of various online retailers suggest that Brooks could very well be right about Call of Duty: Black Ops becoming the biggest game ever. The Play.com pre-order chart features Call of Duty: Black Ops for Xbox 360 in top spot, with Call of Duty: Black Ops for PlayStation 3 behind it in second.

The Game pre-order chart follows the same pattern with Call of Duty: Black Ops for Xbox 360 the retailers most pre-ordered title, with the PlayStation 3 version of Call of Duty: Black Ops again in second. Amazon list Call of Duty: Black Ops on the Xbox 360 as its second biggest seller behind FIFA 11 (EA’s football game has been quite successful itself)

However there is one retailer where Call of Duty: Black Ops isn’t the dominant pre-order title. The ShopTo.net pre-order chart shows the recently delayed (again) Gran Turismo 5 occupying pole position.  Call of Duty: Black Ops for the Xbox 360 is second most pre-ordered title on ShopTo while Call of Duty: Black Ops for the PlayStation 3 is third.

ShopTo Marketing Manager Phil Driver therefore doesn’t think Call of Duty: Black Ops will be as successful as others have claimed.  Driver told Eurogamer:

“COD will be in our all-time top 10 sellers”, but added Activision’s game “won’t be top”.

“We are expecting Gran Turismo 5 to be our greatest ever seller,”

Activision has continued to build the hype around Call of Duty: Black Ops this week, by releasing a new trailer with glimpses of the Call of Duty: Black Ops single player campaign. Call of Duty: Black Ops will also come with a zombie mode, and full 3D support. Naturally, Call of Duty: Black Ops also comes with an online multiplayer mode which will provide Call of Duty fans with hours and hours of entertainment.

Call of Duty: Black Ops is set for release on Xbox 360, PlayStation 3 and PC on November 9th.

So Train2Game, do you think HMV are right? Will Call of Duty: Black Ops be the biggest game ever? Or will the once again delayed Gran Turismo 5 cause sales of Call of Duty: Black Ops to be less successful than Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2?

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

Call of Duty: Black Ops single player campaign trailer

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Call of Duty Black Ops

Activision have released a new Call of Duty: Black Ops trailer. This latest video shows what we can expect from the Call of Duty: Black Ops single player campaign. Releasing a new Call of Duty: Black Ops video just as Medal of Honor is released? Activision that’s very cheeky…

The Call of Duty: Black Ops campaign trailer gives us a taste of what will be packed into the single player part of Treyarch’s game. So what will feature in Call of Duty: Black Ops?

Well, perhaps the most interesting little reveal is that at some point of the Call of Duty: Black Ops campaign, you’ll be riding a motorbike, while shooting at people of course. The Call of Duty: Black Ops trailer also suggests that you’ll play as Captain Alex Mason, who someone is “trying to erase from history”

It also looks like that at some point during Call of Duty: Black Ops, Mr Mason will have to play a game of Russian roulette. Will he survive? With Black Ops being a Call of Duty game, you can’t safely predict one way or the other!

CIA types, underwater scenarios, rockets, and of course, lots of explosions also feature in the Call of Duty: Black Ops video. You can see the full Call of Duty: Black Ops campaign trailer from Treyarch below.


The Call of Duty: Black Ops single player campaign is set to feature an all star cast including the likes of Gary Oldman and Ed Harris. Earlier this month, Activision also revealed that Call of Duty: Black Ops will feature full 3D support. Call of Duty: Black Ops will also see the return of the popular Zombie Mode, first featured in Call of Duty: World at War.

Naturally, there’s also a massive interest in the Call of Duty: Black Ops multiplayer mode, which you can find out more about here. The game will be available in standard, hardened and prestige editions. If you wish to pre-order the hardened or prestige editions’ of Call of Duty: Black Ops, they’ll set you back £64.99 and £129.99 respectively!

Call of Duty: Black Ops is scheduled for worldwide release on November 9th on Xbox 360, on PlayStation 3 and on PC.

So Train2Game, what are your thoughts on the Call of Duty: Black Ops? Does the trailer excite you, and if so what is your favourite bit? Or are you not looking forward to Call of Duty: Black Ops? And if so, why not?

If you’re not a fan of Activision or Call of Duty: Black Ops, you may want to read this…

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

Call of Duty: Black Ops gets 3D support

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Call of Duty: Black OpsCall of Duty: Black Ops will have full 3D support say publisher Activision. That means so long as you have a 3D-ready HD TV or a PC with active shutter 3D glasses, you’ll be able to play Call of Duty: Black Ops in 3D.

Activision claims that 3D will deliver ‘true depth of field and an unprecedented level of immersion that is perfectly suited for the Call of Duty Black Ops experience.

“Development of stereoscopic 3D began as an R&D project, but once we saw what the technology brought to the Call of Duty experience, what a great fit and how immersive it was, we knew that we had to develop it for Black Ops. Aiming down the sights of your weapons, flying in helicopters, rappelling down mountains, and moving through highly detailed environments are just some of the awesome experiences you will have in 3D with Black Ops. “said Mark Lamia, Studio Head of Treyarch, the developers of Call of Duty: Black Ops.

He added: “we made sure the experience is seamless for gamers to use with a simple menu option to enable stereoscopic 3D or disable it at any time whether playing in the [Call of Duty: Black Ops] single player campaign, multiplayer or Zombies.”

This is the latest in a line of Call of Duty: Black Ops announcements.  Only last week did Activision confirm that Call of Duty: Black Ops will see the return of the popular multiplayer zombie mode, originally introduced in Call of Duty: World at War.

Call of Duty: Black Ops will feature an all star cast and is set for release on PlayStation 3, Xbox 360 and PC on November 9th. For a taster of what you can expect from Call of Duty: Black Ops, you can watch a multiplayer trailer here.

So Train2Game, what do you think about this latest Call of Duty: Black Ops announcement? Will playing Call of Duty: Black Ops do much to enhance the game? Or do you think it’s too early for Activision and Treyarch to be pushing 3D into Call of Duty: Black Ops?

As usual, you can leave your thoughts here on the Train2Game blog, or on the Train2Game forum.

Call of Duty: Black Ops’ zombie mode confirmed

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Call of Duty Black Ops Zombies

Activision has confirmed that Call of Duty: Black Ops’ will see the return of the popular zombie mode.  The news that a zombie mode will be part of Call of Duty: Black Ops’ takes the wraps off one of the worst kept secrets in the gaming industry.

The Call of Duty multiplayer zombie mode first appeared in Treyarch’s 2008 title, Call of Duty: World at War. The zombie mode has proven so popular, that the developer will also be including it in upcoming release, Call of Duty: Black Ops’. The mode will once again allow up to four players to team up and fight the zombie apocalypse.

Zombies have been such a hit with our community that we were committed to bringing brand new zombie experiences to Call of Duty: Black Ops,” says Treyarch Studio Head, Mark Lamia.

“We’ve taken extra special care to retain the essential ingredients of our Zombie game, and have also crafted a nice surprise for the fans.”

The inclusion of zombies in Call of Duty Black: Black Ops’ follows the announcement that four updated co-op maps from Call of Duty: World at War will be made available as part of the Call of Duty: Black Ops Prestige and Hardened Editions.

Call of Duty: Black Ops’ is released worldwide on Xbox 360, PlayStation 3 and PC on November 9th.

You can read a more in depth look at the upcoming Call of Duty: Black Ops’ in this earlier post in the Train2Game blog. Unfortunately, Call of Duty: Black Ops’ won’t be on show at the Eurogamer expo this weekend.

Train2Game will be at Eurogamer, and we’ll be giving away the new PlayStation Move controller with a PlayStation 3 320GB slim.

To enter the prize draw, pick up an entry form at Stand 12 in the Career fair. We look forward to seeing you there.

So Train2Game, what are your thoughts on the inclusion of a multiplayer zombie mode in Call of Duty: Black Ops’? Did you enjoy the Nazi Zombie mode in Call of Duty: World at War? Would it persuade you to buy Call of Duty: Black Ops? Or is it just a gimmick?

You can leave your thoughts on Call of Duty: Black Ops’ or its zombie mode, here or on the Train2Game forum.