Call of Duty games are “going to get richer, deeper, more engaging”

Activision CEO Bobby Kotick has told attendees at the Deutsche Bank 2010 Technology Conference that if you want to know how Call of Duty games will look visually in five years, look no further than Black Ops.Speaking at the conference, Kotick was asked about the future of Call of Duty, specifically what to expect from it within the next five years visually when compared with today.“I think when you see Black Ops this holiday, that’s going to give you a great sense of how different the games will visually look ,” he said. “But if you look at that game, it’s only going to get richer, the characters are only going to get deeper, the stories are only going to get more engaging.Then, when you think about some of the things we have incorporated, we’ve talked a little bit about Wager Match and what we’re doing in multiplayer, but to play against people you have an identity with and using that headset to be able to communicate with a person you’re using a lot of these physical devices that have a higher level of engagement. Having more additive content on a more regular, frequent basis, these games are going to start to look like film.”

Adding these new options, like Wager Match to keep things fresh, and offering frequent DLC updates will be nice, but Kotick also talked a bit about technology allowing in-game characters to show more emotion like actual human actors.“The characters you see on the screen are going to be much more realistic than they are today, ” he said. “They’re going to be more compelling, they’re going to be more believable, there’s going to be so many more things you can do from a gameplay perspective than what we can do today.“When you see innovations like Kinect or Move, where you now have the ability to use voice to actually control what you see on the screen, and for motion to control what you see on the screen, those are going to be big changes in the interface that will probably broaden the appeal of videogames.“But we’re seeing for the first time, opportunities to reach consumers who never played videogames before.”Call of Duty: Black Ops is out November 9 for PC, PS3, Wii, and Xbox 360.Posted in: Action, Activision Blizzard, Development, Hot, PC, PS3, Shooter, Wii, Xbox 360
http://www.vg247.com/2010/09/15/kotick-black-ops-is-how-cod-games-will-look-in-5-years/

SEGA commences Dreamcast 'Reprint' service, lots of titles for PS3 & 360 planned

SEGA Japan has commenced its new 'Dreamcast Reprint' service in which it brings back its classic games to life on the PS3 and Xbox 360. We already knew a couple were coming such as Crazy Taxi, although the opening of a dedicated portal suggests that a whole lore more are on the horizon!

http://www.maxconsole.net/content.php?42234-SEGA-commences-Dreamcast-Reprint-service-lots-of-titles-for-PS3-amp-360-planned

EA reveal Medal of Honor changes from beta

A tonne of people signed up for war back in July to take part in the Medal of Honor beta. From all the hours of shooting, stabbing, and fragging, DICE have taken data and started tweaking the game to make sure it’s a completely refined experience for when it releases in October. They compiled a long list of changes they’ve made to the multiplayer, such as improving the hit boxes around your character to make sure players are tip-top with their accuracy. You’ll also be able to toggle crouch and pick up other weapons. Past that there’s a series of weapon tweaks that make guns more powerful and reload times shorter/longer. We all know that DICE are experienced enough for the job, so we have full confidence that these changes are for the better. Full list of changes below.

Improved and fixed hit detection code
- Improved soldier hit box
- Decreased interpolation time
Various Fixes
- Toggle crouch is functional
- Added weapon pickup feature
- Spawn points tweaked
- Spawn system features added to fix exploits
- Level collisions fixed
- Level exploits fixed
- Level and environment specific shaders for characters and weapons
- Improved lightning and effects on all levels
- Tweaked combat areas to prevent base raping
- Unlock tree expanded with F2000, G3A4 and P90 PDW forh both teams
- Tactical Support Actions score tweaked
- Increased zoom in speed for sniper rifles
- Fixed the delay after firing a bolt action sniper rifle
- Improved ragdolls
- Character visibility tweaked
- 3P muzzle flashes size decreased on all weapons
- Getting hit effects tweaked
- Crashes fixed when using Scoreboard, support actions and connectivity issues
- M3A3 tank engine improved
- M3A3 armor increased
- M3A3 damage increased
- C4 disappear faster after the played died
- C4 can be exploded by hand grenades or rockets but not by bullets
- UAV mesh visible for both teams
- UAV health tweaked
Improved control input mapping
- Major text overhauls
- Major graphical overhauls in the menu and HUD
- Tweaked point system HUD effects
- Tweaked support action HUD effects
- In-game HUD polished
- Kill messages fixed
- Options and screen align fixed
- Added the option to “quit” before spawning
- Total team score fix
- Revamped loading screens
- Clip is now named Magazine
- HP ammo becomes Open-tip ammunition
- Knifes hit detection fixed
- Mouse input suppressing removed
- Mouse aiming is consistent over the board with all weapons
- Knife animations tweaked
- Updated sounds
- Overall improved animations
- Rifleman kit balance
- Weapon damage increased over the board
- M16 and M4 difference increased as long versus close combat rifles
Assault rifles
- M16 damage increased
- 25% recoil increased
- Open-tip ammo damage increased
- 40% recoil increased when using Open-tip ammo
- AK47 damage increased
- 25% recoil increased
- Open-tip ammo damage increased
- 40% recoil increased when using Open-tip ammo
Light Machine Guns
- M249 damage increased
- Camera spring effect added
- Recoil increased
- Faster recoil decrease after firing
- Open-tip ammo damage increased
- Open-tip recoil increased
- PKM damage increased
- Camera spring effect added
- Recoil increased
- Faster recoil decrease after firing
- Open-tip ammo damage increased
- Open-tip recoil increased
Carbines
- M4 damage increased
- Accuracy increased
- Firing rate increased
- 24% more recoil
- Open-tip ammo increased
- Open-tip recoil increased by 20%
- AKS74u damage increased
- Accuracy increased
- Firing rate increased
- 24% more recoil
- Open-tip ammo increased
- Open-tip recoil increased by 20%
Combat rifles
- M21/SVD accuracy increased
- M21 and SVD scopes off-center bug fixed
- Camera spring effect added
- Open-tip recoil increased by 10%
Sniper rifles
- M24/SV-98 damage increased
- Breath control tweaked
- Breath control now works with any class if you pick up a bolt-action sniper rifle
- Zoomed in mouse-speed increased
- Open-tip ammo increased
Shotguns
- Remington / TOZ-194 shell damage increased
- Shotgun shell “no spread” bug fixed
- Shotgun Slugs damage more close up and less at long distance
Pistols
- M9 / Tariq pistols damage increased
- Accuracy increased
- Firing rate increased
Grenades
- Hand grenade cooking time increased
- Increased splash damage radius
- Smoke grenade cooking time increased
- Radius decreased and damage increased
Support actions
- Defensive support actions are activated directly when triggered
- Improved Support Action HUD
- Improved missile vs. ground detection
- Fixed bugs where holes in windows blocked Support Actions
- Missile speed increased
- Tweaked down screen effect when using Defensive support action armor
- Strafe run bullets stops firing where the marker is set
New points table making Support actions harder to get
- Mortar Strike 50p
- Rocket strike 100p
- Missile 175p
- Artillery 250p
- Strafe run 350p
- Bomb run 450p
- Cruise missile 600p

http://www.thatvideogameblog.com/2010/09/15/ea-reveal-medal-of-honor-changes-from-beta/#more-87860

Microsoft: Reach made $200 million on day-one

Wait, people actually bought Reach? Holy cow. Quick, someone, slow down the world! We can’t keep up with all the unpredictability!During its TGS presser, Microsoft announced that Halo: Reach climbed all the way to $200 million in sales after only one day.Apparently, that’s more than any game, movie, or piece of entertainment this year. Hear that, Black Ops? That’s called a challenge.

http://www.vg247.com/2010/09/16/microsoft-reach-made-200-million-on-day-one/

Treyarch: Great Multiplayer is better than online passes for battling used games

Treyarch has revealed another 'strategy' for battling the used games market. Instead of issuing 'online passes', the company believes that making sure the online aspect of a game is top notch is a more effective counter. The logic behind this is that if the multiplayer keeps gamers hooked, then they will never let go of the title and always be playing online every so often.






http://www.maxconsole.net/content.php?42165-CoD-developer-Great-Multiplayer-is-better-than-online-passes-for-battling-used-games-market

Medal of Honor must sell 'at least three million copies' for sequel consideration

EA's upcoming Medal of Honor is a risky proposition for the company. Unlike Activision's Modern Warfare series, Danger Close's game is based upon a real-life conflict. With battles ongoing in the Middle East, MOH has rightfully attracted its fair share of controversy -- some are eager to say that the game is simply going too far. The military advisors EA has hired have the difficult job of "selling authenticity and realism" while making sure "it didn't go too far." Originally titled Medal of Honor: Anaconda, the game's pitch was essentially "Black Hawk Down for Afghanistan." It would be based on a failed operation called Anaconda, where a Navy SEAL was dragged to his death by Al Qaeda fighters. One consultant told the New York TImes that the original concept "hit a little too close to home" and would "put a sour taste in our brothers' mouths."






Medal of Honor has evolved over its development, with a new found focus on "telling the soldier's story." One designer told the NYT that, differing from Infinity Ward's approach to the genre, "we want the player to feel, not like they're in a movie, but like they're in Afghanistan." Funding such an ambitious goal is certainly not cheap, with executive producer Greg Goodrich telling the newspaper that "if the game doesn't sell at least three million copies, I'm not going to be able to do another one." Certainly, the stakes are high for EA, attempting to capitalize on the success of its competitor's flagship franchise. But will Medal of Honor's approach resonate with gamers? We'll find out in one month's time.

http://www.joystiq.com/2010/09/09/medal-of-honor-must-sell-at-least-three-million-copies-for-seq/#comments

Microsoft announces 250GB Kinect bundle

Microsoft has yanked the 250GB Xbox 360/Kinect bundle out of rumorville; the $399 Special Edition SKU is now official and will be available as Kinect launches in North America on November 4th, the platform holder’s announced today. A European release hasn’t been confirmed just yet. Like with the previously announced stand-alone $149 Kinect and $299 4GB console bundle, the package also includes a copy of jumpy-wavy Kinect Adventures, which will be among the 15 or so games expected to be available as the motion tech launches; all of which could be revealed by the end of next week.






http://www.thatvideogameblog.com/2010/09/08/microsoft-announces-250gb-kinect-bundle

Black Ops 'most difficult' CoD to balance

Black Ops is proving "much more difficult" to balance than any other Call of Duty game, Treyarch has said. Thanks to the introduction of CoD Points and rare but devastating super weapons, the developer is finding it even more difficult to keep everything in check. "It has been a much more difficult game to balance but the team really stepped up to the plate," community man, Josh Olin told CVG in a just-published Black Ops interview. "This has been the most difficult to balance and there are a lot of things that contribute to that such as the earn rate and spend rate of CoD points, plus XP is always a tough thing to balance out. "With all these things we're adding to purchase you have to balance not only the weapons and perks against each other but also when you consider how much they're going to cost," he explained.






Though challenging, Olin said that the recent restructure of the Treyarch studio - it now focuses solely on Call of Duty - makes everything possible. "Almost two years ago now they refocused all their efforts on retooling the studio and on the development process. One of those was having every developer focusing on Call of Duty when we were working on World at War. "Now it has allowed us to have a dedicated single-player and multi-player team since day one. They haven't been distracted by other things so it has allowed out MP team to use their resources to make more than we've ever made before, but also really polish and balance it to the degree that we felt was necessary," he said. http://www.computerandvideogames.com/article.php?id=263387