Call Of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 Message Board older than one year ago

Welcome to winter. It’s snowing in Fargo today and the northeast is about to get some of that white stuff too. But I hear Italy is lovely this time of year. Wouldn’t you rather be seaside in some adorable little European villa? Picture it: Sitting in a small bistro, overlooking the sea, sipping something delicious…why, it’s a little slice of paradise.

Then you hear the WHUPWHUPWHUP of rotors overhead, and your exquisite view is obscured by smoke from a nearby grenade. Sorry, pal, you’re not on vacation – you’re in the thick of the conflict, because you’re in Piazza, one of the two new Modern Warfare 3 multiplayer maps that are reaching Call of Duty Elite premium members today via the PlayStation Network. Now it’s a little slice of paramilitary paradise.

Piazza is actually going to be a big hit with fans of close-quarters combat; the tiny town features several sharp corners, tight corridors, and dangerous staircases that just beg to be explored with a Striker or P90 in hand.

Is the European coast not your style? Maybe the cold doesn’t bother you – maybe you prefer a brisk walk through New York, taking strength from the bracing temperatures while you enjoy the famous foliage of midtown Manhattan’s Central Park. But again, don’t just look at the skyscrapers – look out for the soldiers who have their MSRs trained on the map’s objectives. You’re in Liberation now, complete with winding paths, underground tunnels, and exposed Domination points. The large scale of the map makes it a playground for assault rifle experts and snipers, especially.

Piazza and Liberation are both available now for Elite premium members. If you’re one of them, all you need to do is select Store from the MW3 multiplayer menu and you’ll be invited to download the new maps for no additional cost – your Elite premium membership includes access to all the maps, modes, and surprises that are coming for the next nine months. If you’re not an Elite premium member, you’ll be able to get these two maps a little later on in the year, but an Elite subscription brings you everything as soon as it’s released on PS3. You can find more info on Call of Duty Elite here.

I need to practice a bit, but then I’ll be giving these two new maps a workout this Friday. Hope you see you online!

Did you know that 90% of all gaming videos on Yourfaceinatube are Modern Warfare related? And that 99.99% one of them has music that’s been recorded in a scrapyard crushing machine? I believe there’s an option labelled “scrrrrrawwwwwwewrarrr” during upload that adds it. In addition, every video must have at least two labels, pointing to various other videos that benefit you, the viewer, and for no other reason. There’s an exciting world of video-making that I’m just not a part of. If you’d like to get some of that action, but don’t own the game, Modern Warfare 3 is to free play now and all weekend on Steam. If you start downloading now, you can spend the evening Warfareing Modernly 3ish, like the chaps in the video below.(more…)

Future legal ramifications aside, the Infinity Ward fiasco seems long forgotten at Activision HQ, with Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 being yet another runaway success for the company.

That Skylanders turned out to be a huge hit with kids--20 million toys sold, by Activision's count--was a nice bonus, too.

More Skylanders and Call of Duty in 2012 was the reoccurring theme on today’s quick ‘n dirty fourth quarter investor call, which also featured some interesting numbers about the last few months.

Diablo III being pushed back a few months was the big “news” out of the call, and as with the last few calls I’ve been listening to, I decided to publish the notes I was taking as the call went on.

Here’s what stuck out:

• Activision generated $1 billion dollars in operating cash flow throughout 2011.
• World of Warcraft has 10.2 million subscribers.
• Star Wars: The Old Republic was not mentioned once during the call, neither was Battlefield 3.
• Skylanders is “one of the most innovative products we’ve ever created” and will have “success for many years.”
• Call of Duty Elite is “one of the fastest growing online services in history” with 1.5 paying members, ranking behind World of Warcraft and Xbox Live.
• There will be a new Call of Duty game later this year. No details on what it is.
• Activision will continue to invest “in our new universe from Bungie,” as that universe will be “one of publishing's next big games,” and will be “a genre-defining new IP” and a “key strategic growth pillar for the future.”
• Can you tell that Activision is excited about Bunige’s next game? Unfortunately, no details just yet.
• Activision declined to make any sales predictions about Wii U, but it was mentioned on a sales chart.
• The company expects high-definition consoles to continue selling well throughout 2012.
• In December 2011, there were 40 million users playing Call of Duty across the last five games.
• Call of Duty Elite 2.0 is coming with “several new features” to will work “hand-in-hand” with the next game.
• A press event for World of Warcraft: Mists of Pandaria will be held next month.
• Blizzard hopes to release multiple games this year but declined to specify what games.
• Activision has sold more than 20 million Skylanders toys since launch.