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Kotaku
Kotaku (www.kotaku.com) has great Activision news, photos, videos and more
Wednesday, Nov 4
Can't Stop LOLing [Note]
Domo Games Micro-Review: No Thanks, Nintendo How Many Hours People Play EA And Activision's Wii Games No Doubt Sues Activision Over Band Hero Likeness Blizzard Starts Selling In-Game World Of Warcraft Pets Dragon Age: Origins - PlayStation 3 Versus PC
No Doubt Sues Activision Over Band Hero Likeness [Update] [Lawsuits]
Activision is catching legal heat from band No Doubt over the group's appearance in the recently released Band Hero. No Doubt is suing Activision, seeking damages for turning the act into "virtual karaoke players." Sound familiar?
How Many Hours People Play EA And Activision's Wii Games
Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock - 57 hours, 51 minutes Guitar Hero: World Tour - 35 hours, 18 minutes Guitar Hero: Aerosmith - 13 hours, 14 minutes Call of Duty 3 - 12 hours, 28 minutes Spider-Man 3 - 12 hours, 28 minutes Guitar Hero: Smash Hits - 12 hours, 15 minutes
Tuesday, Nov 3
Infinity Ward: Wii Can't Deliver Our Multi-Platform Experience [Wii]
Whether Activision has a studio like Treyarch do a Wii port of Modern Warfare 2 remains to be seen, but developer Infinity Ward doesn't seem interested in putting out Wii titles for future titles. Infinity Ward: Wii can't deliver on our goals [Develop]
World Of Warcraft "Lacks Approval" To Operate In China [Update] [WoW]
According to a report on Reuters, NetEase - the company operating the game in China for publishers Activision Blizzard - have been ordered to "stop operating" the title, cease charging existing user's accounts and block any new account registrations.
Monday, Nov 2
Party Chat Not Fully Supported in Modern Warfare 2 [Rumor]
The Xbox 360 version of Modern Warfare 2 won't allow gamers to be in Party Chat while playing some modes of the game, according to a screen uploaded by a NeoGaf poster. The Playstation 3 doesn't have a cross-game chat capability. We've contacted Activision to try and confirm this screenshot.
Friday, Oct 30
Fallout 3 Wins The Golden Joysticks [Awards]
Nintendo Game of the Year: Call of Duty: World at War The Rampage Soundtrack of the Year: Guitar Hero World Tour PlayStation Game of the Year: Killzone 2 Publisher of the Year: Activision Blizzard ShortList One to Watch: Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2
Thursday, Oct 29
Modern Warfare 2 Footage Sparks Outrage In Australia [Video Game Violence]
Back in Australia the debate rages on, with Nicholas Suzor, spokesman for the lobby group Electronic Frontiers Australia, using the situation to call for a R18+ rating for games released in the country, while rejecting the idea that a video game could foster terrorism.
Wednesday, Oct 28
Modern Warfare 2 Features Skippable Scene of Atrocities [Spoiler]
Details of the scene came to light after footage from the game was leaked on the Internet. Activision says that the footage comes from a game obtained illegally and "is not representative of the overall gameplay experience in Modern Warfare 2."
Tuesday, Oct 27
DJ Hero Review: You Spin Me Right Round [Review]
DJ Hero was developed by FreeStyleGames and published by Activision on October 27th on the Wii, PlayStation 2. PlayStation 3, and Xbox 360. Retails for $119.99 ($99.99 for the PS2). A copy of the Xbox 360 version of the game was given to us by the publisher for reviewing purposes. Performed all tr...
Monday, Oct 26
Animator Says He's Working on "GoldenEye 2010" for Wii [Rumor]
Unfortunately, there's nothing more to explain what this work was or the likelihood it'll see the light of day. I have emailed a press contact for Activision to ask if they would like to shed light on it. Doubtful, as most publishers refuse to comment on rumor or speculation.
Analyst Slashes DJ Hero Sales Projections [Analysis]
Will hype, demo booths, and the Hero brand be enough to make DJ Hero a smash hit? Perhaps not, if Cowen and Company's projections are accurate. The company recently conducted a survey of online retailers regarding Activision's DJ game, and the results weren't as impressive as Activision...
Opinion: A Million Facebook Users Like Guitar Hero [Activision]
If you had any doubts about the ever-growing importance of Facebook to the game industry, look no further than today's Activision announcement, heralding the impressive number of fans the Guitar Hero Facebook page has gathered. It's not about sales. It's not about review scores. It's abo...
Thursday, Oct 22
Here Are Your Modern Warfare 2 Minimum Specs For PC [Activision]
OS: Microsoft Windows XP, Windows Vista and Windows 7 (Windows 95/98/ME/2000 are unsupported) Processor: Intel Pentium 4 3.2 GHz or AMD Athlon 64 3200+ processor or better supported Memory: 1 GB RAM DirectX: Microsoft DirectX(R) 9.0c
Tuesday, Oct 20
Bakugan Battle Brawlers Review: Almost There [Review]
Bakugan Battle Brawler was developed by NOW Production and published by Activision for the DS, PlayStation 2, PlayStation 3, Wii and Xbox 360 on Oct. 20. Retails for $49.99 USD. A copy of the game was given to us by the publisher for reviewing purposes. Played the campaign mode for six hours and m...
Monday, Oct 19
Modern Warfare 2 PC's IWNET An "Improvement" Over Dedicated Servers, Says IW [Infinity Ward]
Bowling writes that the IWNET matchmaking service is "the biggest investment Infinity Ward has ever made into the PC version of our games," explaining how various aspects of the new Modern Warfare 2 multiplayer feature set works.
Battle of the Music Games: The Beatles: Rock Band Vs. Guitar Hero 5 [Corporate Gloating]
The Beatles: Rock Band folks further rub their victory in Activision's corporate face by pointing out that Guitar Hero 5 shipped on an additional platform (the PlayStation 2) and even included a copy of Guitar Hero: Van Halen thrown in for free.
Talking Points Brought To You (Mostly) By Peter Moore [Ramblings]
Then he took a dig at Wii Fit's "bathroom scales" as compared to EA Sports Active's awesomeness that doesn't require an expensive peripheral. Later he went after Activision head Bobby Kotick about how if people stop buying Guitar Hero, he'll be sitting on half the world's plastic.
Saturday, Oct 17
Guitar Hero's 'Couples' Cameo Profitable for Activision, Film [Bidness]
Activision joined an all-star list of brands such as Bud Light, Captain Morgan's and Crunch Gym in paying for product placement, but no one got the treatment like Activision, in which a Guitar Hero showdown acts as a key plot device moving the story forward. Variety talked to Will Kassoy, t...
Friday, Oct 16
No-Fail DJ Hero Is Easier And Harder Than Expected [Impressions]
Failure is not possible in Activision's turntable riff on Guitar Hero, but I saw last night how tough — and strategic — playing the game can be. DJ Hero was available to play in a SoHo Manhattan gallery as part of an Activision and Microsoft-backed evening event for this multi-platform game.
Thursday, Oct 15
DJ Hero Does NASCAR [Nascar]
Playing videogames has always been a favorite activity of mine, and I can't wait to get my hands on DJ Hero," said Martin Truex, Jr. "We've had some great partners on our Chevy this year, including two of Activision's biggest hits, Guitar Hero Smash Hits and Guitar Hero 5. They were both aweso...
Tuesday, Oct 13
Kurt Cobain Parody Vid Taken Down on Activision's Request [Ruh Roh]
Yeah, my last account was permanently disabled due to (I think) Activision. Right before my account was shut down, the Kurt Cobain vid was removed due to copyright claim by Activision Games Inc. I will be continuing with this account so whatever f—k it all.
Friday, Oct 9
Nintendo Delivers Latest Pokemon Via Airmail [Screengrab]
Nintendo sent me a bouquet of flowers this morning with an empty case for Pokemon Mystery Dungeon: Explorers of Sky attached. First chipping away at stone, now popping balloons. I'm happy Activision hasn't started doing this. I don't even want to know how they would have delivered Cabela's...
Madagascar Kartz Combines Madagascar, Kartz [Game Announce]
Madagascar Kartz combines the whacky animals from Madagascar with over-the-top kart racing. So over the top that the Nintendo Wii version comes both with and without a plastic racing wheel. So extreme they have to spell karts with a z. That's pretty extreme.
Carnage Strikes Marvel Ultimate Alliance 2 [Activision]
As of right now, all we know is that Carnage is coming to the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 eventually. He sounds interesting, but Carnage remains one of my least favorite Spider-Man characters of all time, so unless they put him in a pack with someone more interesting, I probably won't be bitin...
Wednesday, Oct 7
Activision Lays Off Shaba's Ranks, Closes Studio [Rumor]
The publisher was alleged to have made similar-sized cuts at the recently purchased 7 Studios yesterday. In other words, if you work for a wholly owned Activision studio, it might be wise to update your resume. We've reached out to representatives for the publisher, but have not yet heard b...
Tuesday, Oct 6
Scare Tactics [Note]
Wii Fit Plus Review: Now I'm A Believer Frankenreview: Dead Space Extraction Xbox 360 Dash Update For Twitter, Facebook, Last.fm Enters Beta Soon Activision Subtracts From 7 Studios, Hits Ex-Scratch Dev With Layoffs Live Test of Facebook on the Xbox 360
Activision Subtracts From 7 Studios, Hits Ex-Scratch Dev With Layoffs [Rumor]
In April, publisher Activision purchased 7 Studios, then the developer of DJ Hero competitor Scratch the Ultimate DJ. Today, Kotaku has been told by sources close to the studio, it laid off an estimated 30 people from 7 Studios. Activision reps provided the following statement to Kotaku.
Tony Hawk: Ride: The Soundtrack [Music]
It must be music list day at Activision. First they sent out their full set list for DJ Hero and then they drop the full soundtrack for Tony Hawk: RIDE. The game, due to hit shelves for the PS3, Wii and Xbox 360 on Nov. 17, includes 50 tracks and here they are:
All 93 of Dj Hero's Mash-ups [Music]
· Gorillaz - "Feel Good Inc." vs. Blondie - "Atomic" · Gwen Stefani - "Hollaback Girl" vs. Gorillaz - "Feel Good Inc." · Herbie Hancock - "Rockit" Beat Juggle · JAY-Z - "Izzo (H.O.V.A.)" vs. Eminem - "My Name Is" · Marvin Gaye - "I Heard It Through The Grapevine" vs. Gorillaz - "Feel Good Inc."
Monday, Oct 5
Is A Call Of Duty Movie Really Happening? [Speculation]
And it may be reflective of a larger trend at Activision, who also recently filed similar trademarks for Guitar Hero and Singularity. The latter we can understand, as it's story driven sci-fi fodder. But Guitar Hero? Certainly no one would think that was an idea worth doing.
Sunday, Oct 4
K8 [Kotaku Reader]
Sports Ads: Everything You Want in a Video Game - and LessMadden Launch Returns to Its Roots - for One Weekend Only?In a League of Your Own, Where Your Word is LawThe Art of Calling an Unseen Game/a>In the Preseason, 2K Sports Reports FirstSo I Went to a Fight, and a Video Game Broke Out ...Whe...
Thursday, Oct 1
New Band Hero Songs Confuse And Delight [Activision]
Band Hero for Nintendo DS Lite:
Wednesday, Sep 30
Not Even Modern Warfare Juice Can Kill This Jet Lag [Note]
Day two of being back in the United States of America, land that I love, has been a bit of a challenge. Staying awake and staying alert, even with the help of some Monster energy drink that takes like Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 isn't helping. I only hope that I can muster up some energy and rema...
Oil Giant Greener than Activision, Says Newsweek [Environment]
Newsweek's methodology draws on ratings in three different categories and, interestingly, Activision is the leader in its sector ("Consumer Products, Cars") by a scant margin over Electronic Arts, in the "Environmental Impact Score" category. Respectively, Activision and EA rate...
The Official Energy Drink Of Modern Warfare 2 [Marketing]
The codes can be found in specially marked Monster Energy 4-packs. 6-packs will also be available exclusively through Sam's Club, each of those granting access to the Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 Combat Training Experience, an exclusive online event being hosted by Infinity Ward this...
Already, It's Time For DJ Hero 2 [Rumor]
While Guitar Hero is a license to print money, DJ Hero is less of a sure bet. For all we know, it may stink up the joint! That's not bothering Activision, though, as they're already looking for more developers. Activision recruiting talent for DJ Hero sequels [GI.biz]
Tuesday, Sep 29
Why We Love To Hate Activision — And Might Be Wrong [Feature]
The games biz has a new favorite bad guy, and its name is Activision. Do the mega-publisher and its aggressive, polarizing CEO, Bobby Kotick, deserve the bad rap? Or do we just love to hate? Who is this man, anyway? Who Is Bobby Kotick?
DJ Hero Controller Is Only For DJ Hero [Activision]
The odd compatibility hiccup aside, when you buy a Rock Band guitar or a Guitar Hero drum kit, you expect it'll work on multiple games. Not so for the upcoming DJ Hero's peripheral.
Monday, Sep 28
Guitar Hero's October Set List [Downloadable Content]
Activision has laid out an October filled with filled with rock - a Rocktober, if you will - with tracks coming to Guitar Hero from Queens of the Stone Age, Wolfmother, Billy Squier, and more. Guitar Hero Downloadable Content - October 1 Pilgrim" California Queen" Cosmic Egg"
Sunday, Sep 27
Acti Blizzard Bossman Buys Part Of The Pittsburgh Steelers [Business]
No, it's not Robert Kotick. We're talking about Paul Sams, former COO of Blizzard, now COO of Activision Blizzard, and his "family", who are part of a consortium that just bought the defending Super Bowl champion Pittsburgh Steelers.
Wednesday, Sep 23
Microsoft Announce Natal Partners: Everyone Plus Kojima [Tgs09]
Microsoft just sent out a self-congratulatory press release about Project Natal, highlighting the publishers and developers currently toiling away on games for the upcoming motion control system. Activision Blizzard Bethesda Capcom Electronic Arts Konami MTV Games Sega THQ
Monday, Sep 21
Blur Release Blurred To 2010 [Delay Of Game]
We are committed to making Blur a great new racing franchise, and we are very encouraged by the game's design," stated Mike Griffith, President and CEO, Activision Publishing. "The additional time will allow the studio to fully optimize the vision they set out to create for Blur includin...
Bakugan: Contender to the Pokemon Throne? [Well Played]
Linn says the video game was created to appeal to fans of the card game and TV show. It was important, Linn adds, for the video game to also capture the physicality of Bakugan. And Bakugan: Battle Brawlers, due out on Oct. 20, will be just the first video game built around the franchise.
Thursday, Sep 17
Marvel Ultimate Alliance 2 Review: It Takes Two, Baby [Review]
Marvel Ultimate Alliance 2 was developed by Vicarious Visions and published by Activision for the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360. Other versions developed by n-Space (Wii, PS2, DS) and Savage Entertainment (PSP). Released on September 15th. Retails for $59.99 USD. Played Xbox 360 version. Play...
Kotick's "Skepticism," "Fear" And "Pessimism" Make Cameo At Modern Warfare 2 Event [Activision]
A sharp-eyed commenter on NeoGAF noticed an overlap between comments from Activision CEO Bobby Kotick that were widely quoted in the gaming press earlier this week and some custom classes set up by the Activision-owned developers at Infinity Ward at their Tuesday multiplayer event fo...
Jon Bon Jovi Turned Down Guitar Hero, Supports Courtney Love [Guitar Hero]
Courtney Love may be mad as a hatter, but she's found an unusual ally in her fight against Activision's use of a Kurt Cobain avatar in Guitar Hero 5: Jon Bon Jovi. Does it ever. He then reveals that he was approached by Activision to appear in Guitar hero 5 himself, but said nothankyou.
Wednesday, Sep 16
Gaming's Creepiest Couples [Awkward]
The scariest videogame of the year doesn't have the words "Silent" or "Hill" in it. It's this game from the classy people at Activision. This is the first time in the series' history that the game actually features an Unlockable Ghost. That ghost is Kurt Cobain, who can be used — yes, that's the...
Tuesday, Sep 15
Project Gotham, Audiosurf Coming To Zune HD [Pgr]
This is agonising. I mean, on the one hand, my favourite racing series of all time - Project Gotham - has a new game coming. But on the other...it's not for the Xbox 360. It's for the Zune. I love PGR, and was sad to see it go by the wayside when Bizarre Creations split for Activision. But a Zune game? Made b...
Activision: Sequels Offer "Road Map For Innovation" [Sequels]
Pity the video game sequel, perpetually scapegoated as an evil of the industry. To the rescue of its reputation this week came Activision Blizzard boss Bobby Kotick. The exec recently explained what sequels are good for, besides profit.
Bobby Kotick Wanted To Take All The Fun Out Of Making Video Games [Activision]
You'd be forgiven for thinking that the above headline is taking a liberty or two with a comment from Activision boss Bobby Kotick. Nope. Those words are straight out of the man's mouth. Activision games to bypass consoles [GameSpot]
Monday, Sep 14
Activision Looking To A Future Where Consoles Aren't Needed [Business]
Speaking at the Deutsche Bank Securities Technology Conference in San Francisco earlier today, Activision boss Bobby Kotick has told attendees to "expect many of our products to be playable independent of a console", with the company particularly impressed with the potential of str...
Beatles: Rock Band Required Six Months of Lawyerin' [The Beatles: Rock Band]
Six months may sound like a ton of work; in lawyer land, it's the blink of an eye. And if it's what is needed for all the i-dotting and t-crossing, well, it's food for thought considering there might be well more than six months of legal wrangling coming up between Courtney Love and Activision.
Activision Boss: Next Blizzard MMO To Have "More Broad Appeal" [Bobby Kotick]
The Activision Blizzard CEO's comments, as reported by GameSpot, will probably dash any hopes of a StarCraft or Diablo brand MMO. And that comment backs up what Blizzard COO Paul Sams recently said, that the unannounced online game will be "significantly different" from the World of War...
Monday, Sep 7
Guitar Hero 5 Review: Do The Evolution [Review]
Guitar Hero 5 was developed by Neversoft and published by Activision for the Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, PlayStation and Wii on September 1. Retails for $59.99 USD ($39.99 USD on PS2). Played all soundtrack selections, tested all modes online and offline with a maximum of three guitars, one dru...
Wednesday, Jun 24
id: Why We Sold To ZeniMax [Id]
In an interview with Kotaku, id's John Carmack and Todd Hollenshead explained how changing circumstances with Activision and other studios spurred id's sale to Bethesda parent ZeniMax. Doom 4 will be published by ZeniMax/Bethesda. The Wolfenstein and Rage games being made under Activ...
Thursday, May 7
DJ Hero, Guitar Hero 5, Band Hero Hit This Fall [Activision]
Sure we we're pretty much positive that DJ Hero, Guitar Hero 5 and Band Hero were coming, but now Activision has made it official, official, and they're coming this fall. Activision says the games will "redefine the company's popular music gaming platform" and "transform the way consume...
Saturday, Apr 18
Kotaku Originals: Number Crunch [Original]
Features Adult Gaming on the DS: The Chinatown Conundrum Virtual Reality: The Year Twenty-O-Nine In Video Game History Can Games Handle History? E74 Microsoft Explains the E74 Code, Sorta Microsoft Extends Warranty For "E74" Failures
Saturday, Nov 8
Kotaku Originals: Out of Nothing at All [Originals]
Which Drums Are Louder: Rock Band 2 or Guitar Hero World Tour Activision Eyes Subscription Fees For Guitar Hero World Tour User-Created Songs MotorStorm: Pacific Rift Review: A Festival of Mayhem The Ballad of "Robert Jones": Arcade Tickets Were His Currency
Saturday, Oct 25
Kotaku Originals: Shorn Free [Original]
Hope everyone's had a good chance to fan themselves and hose off following Thursday's introduction to Grace Kim, the former Activision PR rep turned Guitar Hero Rock Band vixen in this month's Playboy. Remember a while back, the survey that asked if anybody's played video games in the nud...
Friday, Sep 12
Opinion: The Complete Guitar Hero World Tour Set List [Guitar Hero World Tour]
Guitar Hero World Tour is being developed by Neversoft Entertainment for the Xbox 360® video game and entertainment system from Microsoft and PLAYSTATION®3 computer entertainment system. The Wii™ version is being developed by Vicarious Visions. The PlayStation®2 computer entertai...
Saturday, Aug 2
Opinion: Kotaku Originals: Early Builds R Us [Kotaku Originals]
Blizzard: Execution Over Innovation What Activision Can And Can't Change About Blizzard Nintendo DS Software Sales Up, Nintendo Wii Software Sales Up (Up, Up, Up!) Activision Blizzard May Dump Massive, Swordfish Studios Ghostbusters: The Video Game Hands-On
Wednesday, Nov 28
Podcast: Activision Chief Drops His Pants at Airport [Hot Tears Of Shame]
Activision honcho Robert Kotick is not a nerd. He has a totally cool nickname, "Bobby." And cool guys have a nickname like that. His company puts out cool games like Call of Duty 4 and Guitar Hero. Bobby recently told a room full of press:
Monday, Oct 8
Opinion: Mortal Combat: Nintendo Wins Top Publishing Award, EA Doesn't
Poor EA! First they're ousted from their familiar #1 spot on the sales charts by Activision, now classy industry mag Game Developer has kicked them off the top spot in their publisher rankings. Who's taking their place? Nintendo! Why? Because their rep is stronger, they're making more mo...
Microsoft Gives Away Two Games With 360s [New 360 Bundle]
Hot on the heels of a price reduction for all Xbox 360 consoles, Microsoft is now giving holiday buyers even more value by including two great games with every Xbox 360 console and Xbox 360 Elite, a retail savings of $90 for consumers. The acclaimed "Forza Motorsport 2" (Microsoft Game Stud...
