activision

Time bills itself as "the world's most influential magazine," with a publishing history stretching back 88 years. Now the news weekly is lending that influence--in the form of its iconic logo and red cover border--to Activision to help promote Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3.

According to a New York Times report, Activision and Time have paired to bring gamers a fake magazine cover that will be used as promotional material and as a preorder incentive for Modern Warfare 3 at GameStop locations nationwide. According to the Times, this is the first time Time has allowed its image to be used for a commercial product.

As for the faux magazine cover, it was created by Activision and features an image of a battered Wall Street, complete with a fake headline that reads "World Stands on the Brink," and a sub-head that states "Tensions Rise Across Europe." These headlines fall in line with what is expected of the game, as the title will feature battles across the globe in places like the United States, Germany, France, and England.

Read more of "Modern Warfare 3 makes cover of Time" on GameSpot. … Read more

On Monday, Activision officially unveiled Call of Duty: Elite, a supplementary online service to Call of Duty games. Now, London-based newspaper the Guardian reports that Elite will feature a transmedia aspect--a video series based on the first-person shooter series.

"We have engaged some top Hollywood talent to create linear video content that will be exclusive to Elite members," Activision Publishing CEO Eric Hirshberg told the Guardian. "That content is inspired by Call of Duty."

Read more of "Call of Duty: Elite to feature video series" at GameSpot. … Read more

SAN FRANCISCO--Call of Duty, meet the social network.

Today, Activision announced Call of Duty: Elite, a dedicated social experience for players of the long-running and extremely popular video game franchise.

The service will be initially available this summer to limited numbers of Call of Duty: Black Ops players in beta, and on November 8, all Call of Duty fans will be able to access it when it launches formally alongside the next iteration of the game, Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3. Earlier this month, Activision held an invite-only presentation on the Elite service.

The service will be accessible across a number of digital platforms, including all the major video game consoles, Web browsers, and some mobile systems. … Read more

As we reported earlier this month, Activision has confirmed in the form of a reveal trailer that Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 will ship November 8, 2011.

While it doesn't show actual gameplay footage, there is plenty of eye candy to drool over. Modern Warfare 3 will be set in various locales including New York City, London, Paris, and more. In addition to the action-packed single-player campaign, Modern Warfare 3 will also bring an update to what's considered the best online multiplayer experience on consoles.

Infinity Ward, the team behind the previous two Modern Warfare games, is … Read more

The next battlefield in the gaming market is undoubtedly digital.

Speaking to investors during an earnings call yesterday, Activision Blizzard CEO Robert Kotick said that during the first quarter of 2011, 50 percent of his company's $1.4 billion in revenue was derived from digital sources, lending even more credence to the idea that the gaming market is quickly moving away from the traditional "packaged goods" model.

"We continue to shift our business towards digital delivery of content and establishing direct ongoing relationships with our audiences," Kotick said, according to a transcript obtained from SeekingAlpha. "While this quarter, 50 percent of our revenues were digital, we are still scratching the surface when it comes to the role that digital delivery will play in our products and franchises."

Kotick's comments on digital delivery follow a similar statement made last week by his archrival, Electronic Arts CEO John Riccitiello. Speaking during his own call with investors, Riccitiello said his company is shifting away from the traditional packaged-goods model and toward becoming a full-fledged digital-delivery firm.… Read more

That Activision Blizzard had a hit on its hands with the release of Call of Duty: Black Ops last November is no surprise, considering the game made more than $1 billion in less than two months. However, the publisher today clarified just how big of a hit Black Ops is, announcing during Activision Blizzard's first-quarter earnings report that it is the highest-earning game of all time on the Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, and PC in the U.S. and Europe.

Unfortunately, Activision Blizzard did not release updated sales figures for the Cold War-era shooter. However, the publisher did say that the Treyarch-developed title was the No. 1 overall seller in the U.S. and Europe during the January to March quarter. That performance apparently bests that of Nintendo's Pokemon Black and White, Capcom's Marvel vs. Capcom 3, and EA's Dead Space 2.

Read more of "Call of Duty: Black Ops best-seller on 360, PS3, PC" at GameSpot. … Read more

Guitar Hero fans, rejoice: the franchise apparently hasn't played its final note.

In a GamesIndustry.biz interview published today, Dan Winters, Activision vice president of developer relations, said that the Guitar Hero franchise is simply "on hiatus."

"Actually, just to clarify, we're just putting Guitar Hero on hiatus, we're not ending it," Winters told the gaming publication. "We're releasing products out of the vault--we'll continue to sustain the channel, the brand won't go away. We're just not making a new one for next year, that's all."

Winters' comments are quite the surprise. Back in February, Activision said in an quarterly earnings statement that it had buried the franchise due to poor sales among music games.… Read more

Links from Friday's episode of Loaded...and, no, there are no April Fools' jokes in today's show!

Google denies working on a mobile app that searches faces and uncovers personal info

AT&T offers a new Mobile Protection Pack to locate and insure mobile phones

Samsung and Visa will offer mobile phone payment systems using NFC tech at the 2012 Olympic Games

Amazon.com may be working on a mobile phone payments system as well

Activision announces the next Spider-Man game

Not a month after pulling the plug on future installments in the Guitar Hero and DJ Hero franchises, it appears that Activision may not be entirely done with the rhythm game genre.

Kotaku reports today that Activision has begun work on a new property called Dance Hero. According to the Web site's source, the game will capitalize on the burgeoning motion-controlled dance genre, which has seen recent hits such as Harmonix's Dance Central, Ubisoft's Just Dance, and Majesco's Zumba Fitness.

Activision has not responded to a request for comment.

Read more of "Activision calling up Dance Hero?&… Read more