All Articles: Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare
Activision thinks “a lot” about developing Call of Duty remasters
Remasters are all the rage these days, but one of the world’s biggest game publishers, Activision, has mostly stayed away from their back catalog. Activision has dabbled in the remaster market (producing Call of Duty Classic in 2009, GoldenEye 007/GoldenEye 007: Reloaded in 2010/2011, and Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater HD in 2012), but they haven’t made that big push into their past like Capcom, Sony, Square Enix, and several others.
However, that attitude might be up for a reevaluation as fans have begun to request remasters of Call of Duty titles from the PS3/Xbox 360 era. Rather than shut down such speculation, Activision Publishing CEO Eric Hirshberg is encouraging it, and confirmed that the company thinks about doing a Call of Duty remaster “a lot.” Speaking to Game Informer, the executive specifically cited Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare and Call of Duty: Black Ops as two games he’d like to see remade:
“If done well, I think [remasters] can be great,” Hirshberg says. “You talk about nostalgia, and people have such connection to the games they love from the last cycle. They want to see what it would look like if someone did it right for this cycle. It’s always the opportunity cost, meaning we need every body we can get to make the content we’re already committed to for our new games. It’s always a matter of finding great people to do that work. I would love to play Modern Warfare 1 or the original Black Ops. There’s certainly a deep well there. No announcements, but it’s something we talk about and think about a lot.”
Activision has aggressively expanded the Call of Duty franchise over the last decade, building it up into one of the biggest franchises of all time. If I had to guess, I think Hirshberg sees a Call of Duty remaster as a matter of “when,” not “if.”
Modders turn COD4 into Star Wars: Galactic Warfare
Do you still have a copy of Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare for the PC lying around? If the answer is yes, go download the Star Wars: Galactic Warfare total conversion mod right now. The mod recasts Call of Duty 4’s Marines, SAS soldiers and terrorists as Imperial Stormtroopers and Rebel Alliance members in an all-out battle for control of one of seven maps: “Mos Eisley,” “Bespin,” “Bestine,” “Not A Cave,” “Jundland,” “Jundland Dusk” and “Anchorhead.”
So what are you waiting for? Download the Galactic Warfare mod from the official site of developer BlackMonkeys.de now.
Guitar Hero III tops biggest moneymakers list
Guitar Hero may be dead (for now at least), but the franchise has certainly left its mark on the gaming world. In a report released by The NPD Group yesterday, Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock was crowned the king of all video games… in terms of total sales dollars that is. The music game has brought $830.9 million into Activision’s coffers, no doubt thanks to the expensive guitar bundle you see above.
Activision can also lay claim to the number two game on the list, Call of Duty: Black Ops (even though gamers have bought more copies of CODBLOPS than any other game ever). All told, the publisher snapped up half of the spots in the top ten.
But when it comes to printing money, the only other name that comes to mind is Nintendo. The consolemaker has four games in the top ten: both versions of Wii Fit, Wii Play and Mario Kart Wii. The only non-Activision/Nintendo title in the top ten was MTV Games’ Rock Band.
Interestingly, no game on the list was released before 2007, but CNBC pointed out that the list may not be entirely accurate as Super Mario Bros. 3 sold 18 million copies back in 1990 (before The NPD Group started tracking game sales). Originally retailing for $50, the game’s $900 million dollar tally would surpass every other game on the list.
Hit the jump for the full top ten. (more…)