The announcement from Infinty Ward that Modern Warfare 2 would be dropping its Call of Duty pre-title was met with mixed reactions from consumers and fans. While it simplified some confusion about what Call of Duty installment we were actually on, 6 I think, but it also led to some brand awareness troubles in identifying it with its predessor, Call of Duty: Modern Warfare. Now it appears the name switch, according to a Gameasutra Article, has led many consumers to lose brand awareness, and has raised serious concerns over Infinity Ward's decision to lose the Call of Duty title.
"Consumer awareness levels for the highly-anticipated military mega-sequel dropped 20 percentage points since Activision revealed the official name of the game would ditch the Call of Duty brand, according to Nick Williams, who runs the GamePlan Insights division for OTX.
"Up until the beginning of May, OTX had been tracking the title as Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2. More specifically, we asked a representative group of gamers in the U.S. whether or not they had heard of Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2. At that time, approximately 40 percent of all gamers in the U.S. claimed that they had heard of this title."
He continued, "However, once it became clear that Activision was positioning the title as Modern Warfare 2, OTX removed 'Call of Duty' from the consumer survey, and the awareness levels dropped to 20 percent. In other words, the Call of Duty brand association essentially doubles the awareness for the game. That is quite a remarkable statistic.""
According to a new GameStop product listing, there will be a Modern Warfare 2 Collectors Edition released this November along side the original Modern Warfare 2. The collectors edition will retail for $79.99, however no details were confirmed about what special features the collectors edition will include.
For more information, or to pre-order your copy, head on over to GameStop Product Page.
About a dozen brand new Modern Warfare 2 screenshots have been posted on the German enterainment website Cynamite. A few of the screenshots are recognizable from the recently released E3 Game Play Movie, but there are also some great new desert shots included as well.
Despite several rumors suggesting that Modern Warfare 2 multiplayer would require a monthly subscription based service, Infinity Ward confirmed today on the Official Forums that no such fee system would be implemented.
"This rumor has absolutely nothing to do with Infinity Ward or our games, including Modern Warfare 2. We would never introduce such a system for Modern Warfare 2 so don't worry.
Multiplayer will always be equal and free for everyone as always."
If you were wondering whether the motion sensor laser featured in the Modern Warfare 2 E3 trailer was a real weapon, it obviously isn't - which begs the question, will MW2 aim for realism or entertainment. According to Infinity Ward's Vince Zampella, in a new interview with Playstation Magazine, the game is aiming for fun to use weapons, rather than necessarily authentic weapons.
Personally I though the realism in the original Modern Warfare was one of the main reasons it was so successful. So how do you feel about the to put entertainment over realism, was it the right decision?
"We go for authenticity not realism," Zampella told Official PlayStation Magazine. "We're not making a sim, we're making entertainment. We want it to look real like an action movie."
Zamplella explains why the futuristic weapons, like a tripod gun that uses lasers to detect and shoot enemies, don't ruin the game's authenticity. "You see a guy in an action movie, what he does is a little over the top. It makes for a great movie.""
A new Modern Warfare 2 gameplay video from this year's E3 event that has been moving its way around net. You can checkout a great game play video posted on Youtube below, or for another similar 9 minute HD one, head on over to Planet Call of Duty. Both showcase a particular level based in snow covered mountains and feature great footage of a snow mobile chase scene, which we can't wait to play.
We are pleased to announce that The Multiplayer Network has launched its E3 2009 blog to keep you up to date from the world's largest gaming expo. We will bring you the latest news, media, and information straight from L.A., covering all of your favorite titles, including Modern Warfare 2 and much more! And be sure to keep checking back, as updates will continue hourly throughout the entire event.
Following a Modern Warfare 2 trailer at Microsoft's E3 press conference, the publisher announced that they have secured timed exclusives on the first two map packs. Potentially what this means that Playstation 3 gamers will have to wait 6-12 months for any new downloadable content.
No word has come from the Sony camp surrounding the issue, but expect to hear more on the issue in the coming days.
The official trailer for Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 has been released. If you were watching last night's Eastern Conference NBA finals, then it will probably look familiar as it was a good portion was aired during the half-time show. You can checkout an HD Version Here, courtesy of Planet Call of Duty, or watch the standard YouTube version below.
Officially first posted last week on Infinity Ward's Robert Bowling (FourZeroTwo) Twitter blog last week, many retailers have begun circulating the new Modern Warfare 2 box art cover on their pre-order pages, including Amazon and Gamestop. Don't forget that if you pre-order your game today from Gamestop, you will receive a free Modern Warfare 2 poster. Checkout the new box for yourself below.
In the next issue of Game Informer, initial game testers have confirmed that Modern Warfare 2 will include a Co-Op game mode. The article also features Infinity Ward CEO West announced that the game will feature a special op mode where we will see scenarios such as the Mile High Club level, which will be designated for the co-op play with more DLC in the future. Checkout a screen of the Game Informer article below.
A new Modern Warfare 2 teaser trailer has officially been released and aired during the NBA finals tonight on TNT. The new 15 second trailer gave us our first glimpse at actual gameplay, and promised plenty more footage will be aired during the finals on May 24th. Just another reason to watch the NBA finals this year!
You can watch the High-Definition Trailer Here courtesy of Planet Call of Duty, or checkout the basic Youtube version below. Keep checking back and we will have the trailer available for download soon.
For those of you Wii players out there hoping to get a chance to play Modern Warfare 2 with a Wii Zapper, we'd recommend holding off on your excitement. Best Buy, which has posted pre-orders for Modern Warfare 2 for 360, PS3, PC, and DS versions, did not include any section for a Wii release - meaning that its now highly unlikely the title will make it to Nintendo's flagship console.
Still, official word on a Wii release has neither been confirmed nor denied by Activision, so if you really feel the need, a small part of you keep on hoping.
"Up until the beginning of May, OTX had been tracking the title as Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2. More specifically, we asked a representative group of gamers in the U.S. whether or not they had heard of Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2. At that time, approximately 40 percent of all gamers in the U.S. claimed that they had heard of this title."
He continued, "However, once it became clear that Activision was positioning the title as Modern Warfare 2, OTX removed 'Call of Duty' from the consumer survey, and the awareness levels dropped to 20 percent. In other words, the Call of Duty brand association essentially doubles the awareness for the game. That is quite a remarkable statistic.""