Activision turned 
heads last year with its eye-popping “There’s a Soldier in All of Us” campaign for “Call of Duty: Black Ops”. Now it’s upping the ante.
Jonah Hill (“Superbad”) and Sam Worthington (“Avatar”) headline the campaign’s new installment – with a quick cameo from Orlando Magic center Dwight Howard. And it’s just as heart pounding as the original.
Call of Duty fans 
are a dedicated bunch. So when word escaped earlier this week that certain Sears and K-mart locations had mistakenly put upcoming release Modern Warfare 3 on sale early, they descended, buying what they could before the store realized its error.
And, true to form in the gaming world, a few cash-strapped types immediately put those copies up for sale on eBay. Some went for a couple hundred dollars, but one lucky seller saw a bidding war erupt — and may have walked away with $1,725 for his copy.
Communication and 
financial problems are the two leading causes of divorce today, but a new study shows that video games are quickly climbing the list.
Conducted by Divorce Online, the study breaks down the reasons couples split. Of the wives that pointed to “unreasonable behavior,” 15 percent said their husbands put gaming before them. One year ago, that figure stood at 5 percent.
September typically 
marks the beginning of the holiday shopping season for the videogame industry. From this point through late November, publishers will release at least one potential blockbuster each week.
Holiday sales make up roughly 40 percent of the overall industry revenue—and the year’s biggest hits are born then. But as publishers prepare for the fourth-quarter battle, what better time to see what has been driving sales this year?
Perhaps more than 
any other entertainment field, video games are seasonal. While an occasional blockbuster is released in the first or second quarter, the Sept.-Dec. timeframe is when publishers really make their bank.
The last four months of the year not only make up more than half of the industry’s annual sales, but the titles released in that period can pay dividends well into the following year, as illustrated by the best-selling games of 2011 (through the end of August).
With the upcoming 
Modern Warfare 3 looking to set new industry sales records when it launches later this year, Gamasutra’s Chris Morris questions whether Activision’s behemoth franchise can keep it up.
Even if you slept through your high school physics courses, you’re probably pretty familiar with the concept of what goes up, must come down. And given how high up the Call of Duty franchise has gotten in the past few years, there’s a very vocal segment of the gaming world waiting for it to fall.
Part of that is this industry’s insatiable need to declare the leading publisher evil and wish them harm. Part of it is rooting for an underdog. But whatever the reason, it looks like despite all the bellyaching by Activision opponents, gravity’s not going to be pulling the franchise from orbit this year either.
The digital transition is 
going pretty well at Activision-Blizzard.
The video game publisher, in an Analyst Day presentation, notes that its digital revenue over the past 12 months hit $1.7 billion, topping last year’s $1.4 billion and 2009’s $1.2 billion. That’s a 37 percent increase in just 24 months.
Activision is bringing in 
some Hollywood heavyweights to help it entertain the Call of Duty social community.
Director Ridley Scott, whose hits include “Alien,” “Blade Runner” and “Gladiator,” is leading the charge on “episodic entertainment” that will be available exclusively to Call of Duty: Elite subscribers. Included among the other contributors are actors Will Arnett and Jason Bateman.
Call of Mini: Zombies certainly offers 
players plenty of options in terms of firepower and characters, but ultimately it’s another “me too” title that cribs the gameplay style of another title. The juxtaposition of the grim-faced but toy-like characters (and zombies) with the copious amounts of blood feels like the old Joe Camel ads — something that’s meant for an older audience that’s being targeted at kids. Even for older players, though, the game falls flat, with no co-op or multiplayer mode — and just two maps that you explore again and again. In an overcrowded genre, this app really fails to stand out.
Gamasutra editor-at-large Chris Morris examines 
Activision’s move to bring a subscription option toCall of Duty players, and how the decision could hint at a wider subscription strategy at the publisher.
So now it’s official. The long-awaited (and, in some cases, long-feared) subscription service for Call of Duty is a reality. And while players pore through the previews and press release to determine exactly what Elite entails, I’m finding it a lot more interesting to look further down the road.
Make no mistake, Elite is a bold move by Activision – and one that could ultimately change the way the industry operates when it comes to user communities and digital add-ons.
Chris Morris: Journalist 