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by Published on November 12th, 2012 23:17- Categories:
- PS3 News,
- PC News,
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The Biggest game of 2012 has just been released. All over the UK theres thousands of shops opening just for the release.
Call of Duty: Black Ops II is released on the Xbox 360, Playstation 3 and PC, also soon to be released on the Nintendo WiiU. Also the Playstation Vita is getting its own Call of Duty: Black Ops Declassified.
by Published on November 9th, 2012 20:33- Categories:
- Xbox 360 News
That marks the 22nd consecutive month in the US as the top selling console
Microsoft
microsoft.com
Microsoft, in advance of the NPD data report, has noted that its Xbox 360 sold another 270,000 units in October, which is the same amount the company sold during September. The figure means that Xbox 360 has now outsold competing consoles in the US for 22 consecutive months.
Microsoft noted that Xbox 360 held 56 percent share of current-generation console sales in the US, which is the 20th consecutive month that Xbox 360 has held more than a 40 percent share of current-generation console sales.
The total retail spend on the Xbox 360 platform in October (hardware, software and accessories) came to $315 million, which once again means that consumers spent more on Xbox 360 products in October than they spent on the other two current-generation consoles combined, Microsoft boasted.
http://www.gamesindustry.biz/article...during-october
...by Published on November 9th, 2012 20:07- Categories:
- PS3 News,
- PC News,
- Xbox 360 News,
- Wii U News
All the research suggests that Call of Duty has peaked.
Last year’s Modern Warfare 3 sold significantly fewer units in the UK than 2010’s Black Ops and 2009’s Modern Warfare 2.
Anecdotally, MCV has been told that online traffic and magazine sales for Call of Duty editorial and covers have dropped year-on-year.
Yet it’s wrong to suggest Call of Duty is in a death spiral. Modern Warfare 3 is the fifth best-selling game in UK?history, and is close to overtaking Modern Warfare 2 to become the second highest grossing UK game since records began.
Activision’s shareholders may disagree, but when a game is selling this much, does it matter if it’s peaked?
ANSWERING THE CALL
Yet as the movie makers behind Saw will attest, releasing a blockbuster every year can lead to diminishing returns as consumers get bored of the formulae.
And with a drop in sales for Modern Warfare 3, there’s more pressure on Activision to try something a little different with Black Ops II. Developer Treyarch has sought to ‘surprise’ fans this year, with a futuristic setting and a new-look multiplayer, both of which took centre-stage in the game’s high-profile live-action TV ad.
“‘Surprise’ is one of the many messages around Black Ops II,” Activision’s UK boss Peter Hepworth told MCV
“Black Ops II delivers innovation at every level, and for many this will drive a re-assessment of a franchise.
“With 40m players it’s important to deliver an experience which feels fresh every year, while retaining the features which our core fans know and love. With such a massive community you have to ensure there is something for everyone.”
Each year Activision has sought to raise the bar in terms of spectacle. The firm has recruited Hollywood talent – and not just for the game. Even the live-action TV ad was directed by Guy Ritchie and starred A-lister Robert Downey Jr.
“Every year Call of Duty pushes media boundaries to ensure we deliver a high impact campaign,” continued Hepworth.
“This year is no different with presence at key events such as the Champions League Final and The Dark Knight Rises. At launch the campaign will be unavoidable, encompassing TV, press, radio, outdoor and digital.
“Call of Duty is now blurring the lines of entertainment with many parallels with Hollywood and cinema being drawn. This link is apparent in the level of talent which Treyarch has been able to recruit to create the most ambitious Call of Duty yet, such as scriptwriter David S. Goyer [who co-wrote the Batman trilogy], musical talents such as Trent Reznor [who won an Oscar for The Social Network score] and Jack Wall, as well as A-list actors Sam Worthington and Michael Rooker. The TV ad is the embodiment of this.”
LONG-TERM SUCCESS?
In terms of revenue, Black Ops II will almost certainly be the biggest entertainment launch of the year. Activision’s marketing muscle, plus its A-list supporting cast will ensure that.
The game’s biggest rival is the new James Bond movie Skyfall, which made £37.2m in Box Office receipts in its first week in the UK. Compare that to last year’s Call of Duty, which generated over £90m in its first week, and Black Ops II would need to suffer a 60 per cent drop in sales year-on-year to tumble behind Skyfall (it’s important to note that cinema tickets are considerably cheaper than video games, so Skyfall has a larger audience).
But the real challenge for Activision and Call of Duty is how it is performing in three months’ time. Modern Warfare 3’s sales curve dropped off sharply after launch, far more severely than in previous years.
Can Black Ops II prove a longer-term success? It won’t be easy. Next year is a busy one for video games, with a congested Q1 release schedule, plus the highly anticipated arrival of Grand Theft Auto V in spring. It will be interesting to see what Activision has planned for Black Ops II in the New Year.
DOES IT MATTER?
Ultimately a bit of perspective is needed. Will Black Ops II beat Black Ops? Probably not.
We’re talking about a game that has sold almost 4m units in the UK, generating well over £150m. If next week’s shooter comes even close to that it will be deemed a triumph, particularly when you consider how the games retail market has struggled this year.
Next week UK stores are expecting to make around £80m in less than a week from one game alone. Even if it has peaked, even if it is in decline, Call of Duty is still the biggest entertainment launch of the year.
http://www.mcvuk.com/news/read/will-...matter/0106121 ...by Published on November 8th, 2012 23:07- Categories:
- Xbox 360 News
The recording and broadcasting of gameplay footage is getting easier all the time, as we pointed out in our look at two new capture devices from Hauppage and Roxio. Today it’s become even easier for those on PC, with the latest update to EA’s Origin platform allowing players to live stream gameplay footage to Twitch TV. Activision has since confirmed that those on consoles will be able to do the same to YouTube when Call Of Duty: Black Ops II releases next week....
http://www.edge-online.com/news/the-...eal-announced/by Published on November 7th, 2012 22:24- Categories:
- Xbox 360 News
Halloween may be over, but the most terrifying season of all has truly just begun – holiday shopping season. The horror. Black Friday deals are already popping up for a few retailers, but most notably for Best Buy.
Best Buy's doors open at midnight on Black Friday. Doorbuster sales start right then and there, and there is no end time listed on the site as to when those may end. Available as a doorbuster for $30 each is Disney Epic Mickey 2, Darksiders 2, Medal of Honor Warfighter, Battlefield 3 Premium Edition, The Amazing Spider-Man and Need for Speed Most Wanted.
Outside of the doorbusters, Best Buy has a Vita (wi-fi system) and Black Ops Declassified bundle for $200, Xbox 360 250GB bundle with Forza Motorsport 4and Skyrim for $200, and the Flame Red Nintendo 3DS with Super Mario Land 3D for $150. For $35 grab Assassin's Creed 3, Borderlands 2, Diablo 3, Madden NFL 13, Forza Horizon and FIFA 13; a smattering of Kinect games are $25 each, including Marvel Avengers: Battle for Earth and Just Dance 4. For $15 is Grand Theft Auto 4: The Complete Edition, Halo Reach and Mortal Kombat Vita, among others; for $8 is Dead Island Game of the Year, Assassin's Creed: Revelations for Xbox 360 and The Sims 3.
https://blackfriday.bestbuy.com/vide...#!/video+games ...by Published on November 7th, 2012 14:20- Categories:
- Xbox 360 News
Proposed tech would let consoles control how many people could watch each movie, or enforce age restrictions
Microsoft
microsoft.com
The same technology that lets the Xbox 360 recognize users who step into the Kinect camera's field of view could also let Microsoft control who can play games or watch downloaded movies on everything from TVs to cell phones. As reported by Eurogamer, Microsoft has filed a patent application for "Content Distribution Regulation by Viewing User."
Originally filed in April 2011, the application describes a system where cameras on a TV, cell phone, or other display identify how many people are watching content on screen, and check to make sure that the user's license for that content covers that many viewers. If it doesn't, the game or movie in question could be halted and the user prompted to purchase more licenses before resuming. The system could also use recognition technology to identify specific users and permit or change access based on their profiles.
As the patent states, "Content is distributed to consuming devices, such as televisions, set-top boxes and digital displays, with an associated license option on the number of individual consumers or viewers allowed to consume the content. The limitation may comprise a number of user views, a number of user views over time, a number of simultaneous user views, views tied to user identities, views limited to user age or any variation or combination thereof, all tied to the number of actual content consumers allowed to view the content."
http://www.gamesindustry.biz/article...-viewer-patent
...by Published on November 5th, 2012 21:51- Categories:
- Xbox 360 News
The Xbox 360 version of Call of Duty: Black Ops 2 has leaked onto the internet a week ahead of release.The game appeared on the usual websites for these things last night eight days before its 13th November release.Now, YouTube is packed with gameplay videos, most of the new expanded Zombies mode.SPOILER WARNING: One of these is below.Streams have also emerged. Responding, Treyarch design director David Vonderhaar took to Twitter to say: "If you are going to live-stream the game early, which I don't remotely recommend, you could at least be good at it. :P"Then, "I'm really glad people are excited for the game. Legit streams coming up later this week and early next. Watch this space."The news comes a week after reports claimed Black Ops 2 was sold early in Slovakia, although the Xbox 360 leak is thought to have originated from the US. Halo 4, out midnight tonight, leaked nearly a month before release.Activision declined to comment when contacted by Eurogamer this morning....
http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/20...ead-of-releaseby Published on November 5th, 2012 20:57- Categories:
- PS3 News,
- Xbox 360 News,
- Wii U News
Pre-orders for the upcoming Grand Theft Auto 5 have launched across the US and Britain, the company has announced.
Retail giants such as Amazon, Gamestop, HMV, Play.com and Zavvi have begun a co-ordinated pre-order campaign for what is widely regarded as one of the biggest games of the current generation.The new marketing move comes one week after Take Two revealed it has pencilled in a Spring 2013 GTA 5 release date for the title.
Rockstar's next crime opus will launch first on PS3 and Xbox 360. However, it is still unclear whether GTA 5 will be ported to the Wii U, and details on the PC edition have not been revealed.
The official Rockstar Games Newswire has provided links to the retail pre-order pages.
http://www.computerandvideogames.com...rder-campaign/ ...by Published on November 5th, 2012 20:23- Categories:
- Xbox 360 News
Xbox product marketing exec Matt Barlow boasts about 360's momentum and talks strategy going into this holiday against PS3 and Wii U
Microsoft
microsoft.com
Following our interview with PlayStation executive John Koller about the company's holiday positioning, GamesIndustry International got on the phone with Microsoft to see what the competition's game plan is. The Xbox 360 is entering its eighth holiday season now, and the platform and Microsoft's approach have both evolved quite a bit over the years.
As Xbox 360 nears the end of its life, Microsoft not only wants to retain the hardcore gamer with titles like Halo 4 and Forza Horizon, but the company is hoping to capture more and more of the broad base with cheaper bundles, better Kinect titles and the introduction of SmartGlass for a dual-screen experience across games and all sorts of entertainment.
Matt Barlow, general manager of product marketing at Microsoft's Interactive Entertainment Business, told us all about how he believes this holiday will shape up for Xbox. Hint: he's super confident.
Q: Xbox 360 has spent 7 years on the market. It has to be a challenge for the marketing team at this point in the lifecycle. How do you get new users during this holiday season and how do you have to approach it differently from when the 360 felt fresh?
Matt Barlow: When I look at that 7 years to the end of the lifecycle here, I'm excited that we're that one console that's been actually defying gravity. I do think we have a lot of help with Kinect coming into that. We built off that strong core base and then brought in that controller free gaming benefit with Kinect. So to your point - how can you position this thing later in the life cycle? - it's actually a neat place that we happen to be. We think we're the one console that's out there that speaks to everybody and delivers their entertainment and makes it more amazing.
And if you look at what we've got, if you're a core gamer, and you haven't stepped over to our box yet, there couldn't be a better time with the games we've got - we just shipped Fable and Forza Horizon and Halo is shipping in a week or so, and then we've got Gears of War coming up the first part of next year and then content for Call of Duty exclusively first on Xbox Live. We're seeing tons of people becoming dual console owners, especially at this stage in the lifecycle if they haven't already jumped into 360. With a starting price of $199, you might as well jump right into our box.
If you're a casual fan, we've got Dance Central 3, Kinect Sports Ultimate, and then Nike+ Kinect Fitness, which is going to be shipping. Great things available for people to play controller free if they are a fan of the Wii or if they're a little intimidated by the controller, we've got something for them. The entertainment offerings that we announced over the past couple of weeks, whether it's Xbox music, movies, or TV, the sports partnerships we've got with NBA, major league baseball, ESPN, on top of the games that we're bringing, is amazing. And then you look at what we're doing across all screens with Xbox SmartGlass, whether it's with Windows 8 PCs or phones, tablets, on top of the TV, being able to have that supplementary experience or flip content back and forth is an amazing thing for people who are looking to get more from that experience.
http://www.gamesindustry.biz/article...says-microsoft
...by Published on November 5th, 2012 18:15- Categories:
- Xbox 360 News
Just when you think the cable TV viewing experience couldn't get any worse, GeekWire reports on the Microsoft Xbox Incubation team's patent-pending Consumer Detector, which uses cameras and sensors like those in the Xbox 360 Kinect controller to monitor, count and in some cases identify the people in a room watching television, movies and other content. Should the number of viewers detected exceed the limits of a particular content license, the system would halt playback unless additional viewing rights were purchased.
http://yro.slashdot.org/story/12/11/...ing-tv-viewers
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