Call of Duty : 'Black Ops 2'

A new teaser trailer for "Call of Duty: Black Ops 2" reveals important details about the setting and gameplay options for the latest title in the blockbuster "Call of Duty" series.

The clip was posted online Tuesday night and has already attracted 1.4 million views on YouTube. It features a near-future scenario in which the U.S. military has developed technology that puts unmanned vehicles and robots on the front lines of battle. An enemy gains access to that technology and turns it against cities all over the world.

Developed by Treyarch and published by Activision, "Call of Duty: Black Ops 2" will be released November 18. Its predecessor, 2010's "Call of Duty: Black Ops," is the best-selling video game ever in the United States, according to some estimates.

Mark Lamia, Treyarch studio head, said his developers did a lot of research to set the game in a plausible future. He said for its single-player campaign, the game will feature multiple plotlines and nonlinear gameplay in which a player's actions affect how the story unfolds.

Gameplay in the video shows a bombed-out Los Angeles, urban combat through city streets and ... horseback chases through the desert. It appears to mix futuristic, sci-fi themes with present-day elements.

Lamia also confirmed that zombies are returning to the game. "Our biggest, most ambitious zombies ever," he said.

He would not reveal anything about the game's multiplayer action. Lamia said more information on that will be released later.

The futuristic tone of the game seemed to polarize fans on the Internet. Some joked about whether Treyarch was making Anonymous, the real-life hacker group dedicated to promoting free flow of information, the game's main villain.

Twitter user @killyourfm said, "You know what? I'm BURNT OUT on shooters, especially Call of Duty. But that trailer got me very interested. Futuristic toys. Horses. Cool."

However, "Call of Duty Elite" forum user Oneqwkford laments, "This looks stupid! If I wanted to play a Si-fi game I would play Gears of War or Halo! I always get Very excited for a new CoD game but this one looks very Disappointing. I will not be buying this one!"

Many other gamers said they were waiting for more details on "Black Ops 2's" multiplayer action before making a decision about purchasing the game.

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Modern Warfare 3 smashes entertainment launch records

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 has set a new record for the biggest ever entertainment launch. The game's publisher, Activision Blizzard, has claimed that in the US and UK alone, the military shooter sold over 6.5m units within 24 hours of its launch on Tuesday, raising $400m in sales revenues.

The figures are based on data from Charttrack as well as customer sell-through information.
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It is a third consecutive sales record for the Call of Duty series. 2009's Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 sold 4.7m copies in 24 hours earning $310m in revenue, while last year's Call of Duty: Black Op hit 5.6m copies in its first day.

"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 Activision Blizzard chief executive Bobby Kotick.

"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."

By contrast, the highest grossing movie of the year so far, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2, made $80m in one day on the global box office – a record figure for the film industry.

Activision claims that 13,000 stores worldwide opened at midnight on Monday to allow queues of gamers to buy the title. Reportedly, Modern Warfare 3 has also set a record for the largest numbers of concurrent players on Xbox Live, the console's multiplayer gaming service.

"Call of Duty is more than a game. It's become a major part of the pop cultural landscape," claimed Activision Publishing chief executive Eric Hirshberg. "It is a game that core enthusiasts love, but that also consistently draws new people into the medium."
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PS3 and PSP slump, Wii hammered too

Sony latest earnings show that it continues to be hammered by the worldwide recession and strong yen, suffering a net loss of $390.5 million in the quarter that ended June 30.
The bright spot was Sony's motion picture division, which saw a 6.5 percent boost that was largely attributable to the relatively strong showing of "Angels & Demons" at the box office. But almost everything else, including TV, video game, and computer sales, was down in a big way.
In an article, The New York Times highlighted the 37.4 percent year-over-year slump in gaming and computer sales (Vaio PC). The article noted that PlayStation 3 game consoles were "particularly sluggish" and that software sales had dropped.
According to the report, Sony said it sold about 1.1 million PlayStation 3s and 1.3 million PlayStation Portables in the latest quarter, compared with 1.6 million PS3s and 3.7 million PSPs in the same period a year ago.

The wane in PSP sales is particularly brutal, although part of that slowdown may have been due to rumors earlier in the quarter that Sony would release a new PSP later in the year. (And sure, enough, the PSP Go was unveiled in June at E3.) Also, the constant spate of rumors involving the potential arrival of a new PS3 Slim certainly hasn't helped sales of the current game console.
On a more positive note, we recently attended a PlayStation preview in New York that highlighted the PSP Go and the exclusive titles available for both the PSP and PS3 platforms during the upcoming holiday-shopping season. Overall, it looked pretty good.
Sony can also be consoled by the fact that sales are also way down for the Wii, as Nintendo reported a 66 percent fall in quarterly operating profit on "slowing demand for its Wii console and a stronger yen."
Nintendo sold 2.23 million Wii consoles in the quarter, compared with 5.17 million the same quarter a year earlier.
However, Nintendo still posted a profit of $445 million and is forecasting that it will sell 26 million Wii consoles before year's end--along with 30 million DS handheld game players, which, by the way, is seeing increased competition from another handheld device. Nintendo didn't mention the PSP as the rival in its earning call, but rather Apple's iPhone.
Comments? Is the PlayStation franchise in serious trouble or will it pull out of its funk this holiday season? Does Nintendo need to cut the price of Wii?

Source:CNET

Tags: PS3, PSP, Wii

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