infinity-ward posts

There's no doubt that the release of Modern Warfare 2 on November 11 will be one of the biggest game releases of 2009 in terms of sales. However publisher Activision is aiming for the Infinity Ward-developed first person shooter to have the "biggest entertainment launch of all time" according to a new Advertising Age article.

To that end the publisher has hired LA-based agency TBWA/Chiat/Day to handle the ad campaign for the game but as the article itself states there may not been much need for a massive campaign since Modern Warfare 2 already is seen as the big multiplatform game release of 2009. Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare has sold over 13 million copies since its November 2007 release. By contrast one analyst is predicting that Modern Warfare 2 could sell as many as 11 million copies in its first two months of release.

A lot of major game releases are coming out in Collector's Edition nowadays and it appears that Modern Warfare 2 is no exception. The present day themed shooter from developer Infinity Ward and publisher Activison now has a new listing on the Gamestop web site that shows a Collector's Edition of the game for a whopping $79.99.

There's no word yet on what the collector's edition will contain at this point but we would be willing to bet there will be stuff like a behind-the-scenes DVD, a art book and other goodies. Meanwhile people who pre-order the game at a Gamestop store can get a Modern Warfare 2 poster for free.

Are you ready for some action? developer Infinity Ward and publisher Activision hope that you are. With the Memorial Day weekend holiday in full swing they are also hoping you are checking out the launch of the full Modernwarefare2.com web site this evening. The site has only shown the previously released teaser trailer for the upcoming FPS but now the game's first true gameplay trailer is up, showing nearly two minutes of footage from the highly anticipated game.

As one might expect there's lots of shooting and lots of explosions shown in the footage. Indeed the trailer looks a bit like a James Bond film with the snowmobile chases and the assault on a castle in the final sequence. The site also has the first three official Internet screenshots from the game which we have put into our newly established Modern Warfare 2 gallery. We've also taken our own screenshots from the trailer and added them to the gallery as well.

Download HD Modern Warfare 2 'Reveal' Trailer (118 MB)

Activision is getting ready to roll out a lot more info on Modern Warfare 2. The next game in Infinity Ward's best selling present-day first person shooter series will offer up another gameplay teaser trailer tonight on Spike TV's GameTrailersTV program. You can catch that at 12:30 am ET tonight and check it out later on the GameTrailers.com web site.

We've already reported that the full gameplay trailer will debut during TNT's NBA Eastern Conference Finals telecast on Sunday. However the full Modern Warfare 2 web site (at modernwarfare2.com, natch) is also schedule to go live that night as well, according to a Twitter post from Infinity Ward's community manager. So there's a reason to check up on your basketball.

It's safe to say that no matter what, Modern Warfare 2 is going to sell tons of copies for developer Infinity Ward and publisher Activision. However, info from the first major media preview of the game (from the latest print Game Informer magazine, natch) indicates that folks who liked the co-op campaign in Call of Duty: World at War will be disappointed.

In short, Gamespot informs us that the article states that co-op play for Modern Warfare 2 isn't available. It quotes Infinity Ward's COO Jason West as saying, "We did a whole lot of co-op stuff early on that we were interested in, and it didn't work with the story at all." The storyline, by the way, takes place a number of years after Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare and features the return of one of that game's two playable character "Soap" MacTavish (who gets a promotion from sergeant to captain in the sequel)

Activision user the NFL Draft in 2007 to show off the first gameplay footage from Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare. Now it seems the publisher is going to do something similar with the first gameplay footage from Modern Warfare 2. On Sunday, the publisher showed about 10 seconds of gameplay footage from that trailer during an NBA playoff game on TNT and our sister site Joystiq has the footage in hand.

The teaser footage is certainly action packed with snow, underwater and air combat (and some stuff blowing up). You can expect more when a full commercial for the Infinity Ward-developed game is shown on May 24 on TNT during the NBA Eastern Conference finals.

Download HD Modern Warfare 2 "Tune In" Teaser Trailer (19 MB)
Check out all Modern Warfare 2 downloads

As hinted at earlier tonight the end of the Game Developers Choice Awards was the place to show the first teaser trailer for Modern Warfare 2, the next game in the hugely successful FPS series from developer Infinity Ward and publisher Activision. And yes, it's just being called Modern Warfare 2; Infinity Ward is apparently ditching the Call of Duty title for this installment. The trailer also reveals a November 10, 2009 release date.

The teaser trailer is certainly one that is different from the norm; there's not really any gameplay featured. But it is certainly suggestive that things in the sequel are going to get personal rather than having it be just a pure military game. You can head to the game's teaser site which allows you to actually zoom in on the video; perhaps some Easter Eggs await. You can check out the teaser trailer after the jump

While we all know the game is under development, rumors are flying that Activision intends to officially reveal the first details for Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 sometime tonight. Variety reports that the reveal could be a part of tonight's Game Developers Choice Awards that are occurring later tonight as part of the Game Developers Conference.

One big clue as to what might be happening: A newly launched web site, modernwarfare2.infinityward.com, that for the moment has an animated graphic that looks like some kind of sound monitor (that's the image above). But what will be shown tonight? Will there be a gameplay teaser trailer or just a few screenshots? Stay tuned.

Activision is still keeping details about the game under their vests but at least Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 is still on target for its release. During the Wedbush Morgan Securities's annual Management Access Conference, Activision's CFO Thomas Tippl said that the Infinity Ward FPS is still due for release this fall.

Tippi's address to the conference, which you can listen to on Activision's investor web site, pretty much gushed over the game. He stated that Modern Warfare 2 will be " . . . the most anticipated game of the year." He added, "There is no doubt in my mind that it will again raise the bar for the shooter genre.The game is looking incredible and Infinity Ward . . . is just doing an unbelievable job." It all sounds good to us. Now we need is a gameplay trailer to convince us.