Videogame News

Why is Sony Trying to Cause You to Hate Call of Duty?

Most gamers have noticed that magazines and websites have been writing articles trying to rip on Call of Duty and Modern Warfare. But what most gamers don't realize is "Why" this is happening and "Who" is ultimately responsible. Quite a few people have written to me, asking my thoughts on this subject. I am pleased to report that I now have the ability to share a fact-based theory with you.

Sony is the organization responisble for ripping on Call of Duty, Modern Warfare, and Activision. It has been this way ever since Microsoft signed an exclusive-rights deal with Activision. This deal allows all Call of Duty downloadable content such as maps and other expansions to be launched first, exclusively for the Xbox 360. This was a very important deal for Microsoft to sign, and Sony didn't like it.

In fact, Sony immediately responded by signing a similar deal with EA. The Battlefield series is published by EA and is a competitor of Call of Duty and Modern Warfare. As soon as this deal with EA was signed, the Playstation magazines and websites, sponsored by Sony's advertisements, started showing bias towards Battlefield.

The "fanboys" of the Playstation also noticed what was happening with Battlfield and Call of Duty. When the fanboys of the Playstation would write a comment, they would often do their best to do two things. First, the Playstation fanboys would praise the Battlefield series from EA. Second the Playstation fanboys would rip on the Call of Duty and Modern Warfare games from Activision.

What most people don't realize is that many of the people writing the articles and starting the forums are receiving income from Sony. Sometimes this is direct income -- as in, if the Playstation Magazine goes out of business, that person will no longer be employed. Sometimes this is indirect income -- Sony is paying editors of multiplatform websites to show bias against Call of Duty. I even talked with someone online who said that Sony "encourages" employees to write online forums saying nice things about Battlefield and saying bad things about Call of Duty.

When you see online multiplatform websites writing about "What People Don't Like About Call of Duty," you need to realize that this is just an attempt to take a shot at Activision and the Xbox platform. Call of Duty and Modern Warfare are by far the best-selling multiplatform first-person shooters available this generation. In other words, "People Like Call of Duty and Modern Warfare."

And when you look at the sales figures you clearly see that people enjoy playing Call of Duty and Modern Warfare much more on the Xbox 360 platform than the Playstation 3 platform. It was like this long before the exclusive-content deal with Activision was signed. The simple fact that the Xbox 360 has a much larger number of people who play online -- particularly with the ability to chat online while playing -- proves Xbox 360 is the true home of Call of Duty and the true home of Modern Warfare.

Obviously, Sony doesn't like it that the most popular multiplatform first-person shooter enjoys so much more success on the Xbox 360 than it does on the PS3. However, it must be incredibly frustrating for Sony to see that even Battlefield -- the series which Sony signed an exclusive deal with EA -- sees better sales on Xbox 360 than it does on the PS3. In fact, the Xbox 360 version of Battlefield 3 has outsold the combination of both the PS3 and PC versions of Battlefield 3!

This simple statistic means the Xbox 360 enjoys the best environment to play Battlefield 3. There is always a much larger number of gamers to play with at any time. And there is always a much larger percentage of gamers who have the ability to chat online while playing, since Xbox 360 comes packed with a headset and the PS3 does not. Ironically, the Xbox 360 ended up being the true home of Battlefield, as well.

In conclusion, there is no doubt that people love playing Call of Duty and Modern Warfare on all platforms. There is no doubt Call of Duty and Modern Warfare are going to remain the most popular multiplatform first-person shooters throughout this generation and into the next generation. The frustrating thing is that Sony would go to such greath lengths teaming up with EA in order to attack the most important products made by a longtime publisher such as Activision, and even try to steal employees away from developers at Infinity Ward.

Xbox 360 is the True Home of Call of Duty and Modern Warfare!

Modern Warfare 3 is about to be released by Activision. This very popular Call of Duty game is being released for multiple hardware platforms, but many people have asked “Which version of Modern Warfare 3 should I buy?” The answer really is simple: Xbox 360

Xbox 360 has the best version of Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 for several reasons while I will now outline:

* DLC: Activision and Microsoft have a contract signed where all downloadable content (DLC) is launched exclusively for the Xbox 360. In other words, whenever new maps, new expansions, or any other content is released for a Call of Duty or Modern Warfare game, it is going to be released first for Xbox 360.

* Online Gaming: There is no doubt that the best online service available today is Xbox Live. Experts agree that Xbox Live a premium service is one full generation ahead of any other online gaming service. There are literally millions more gamers playing on Xbox Live than there are the PSN. This is particularly true in English-speaking parts of the world. You will never need to be worried about having fellow gamers to play with at all times of the day if you own an Xbox 360.

* Online Communication: Microsoft made the decision to pack Xbox 360 units with microphone headsets for free when the Xbox 360 console was released. Sony made the decision not to pack any form of headset in with the Playstation 3 console when it was released. Ultimately, this ended up being a big difference in gaming. The simple fact is that millions of gamers now have the ability to talk online while playing with their Xbox 360, but only a much smaller percentage of PS3 owners can talk online while playing.

* Strategy and Teamwork: When you have an entire team of gamers playing a game like Modern Warfare 3, Call of Duty, Gears of War 3, or Halo: Reach, it helps when everyone can talk online while playing. This is a very common scenario on Xbox 360 when playing over Xbox Live. But with the PS3 and the PSN this is not the case, since such a smaller number of PS3 console owners play with an online microphone. When you play with an online microphone, you have the ability to talk with your teammates and listen to each other; you can work together as a team! This element of strategy adds an amazing amount of depth to the game.

Do the PS3 and PC versions of Modern Warfare 3 allow the "potential" for features such as online chat and teamwork? Yes. But it is the Xbox 360 that truly takes full advantage of this feature in an environment where you can expect to work with gamers whenever you randomly start up a game with new people. The same can be said about online DLC. Yes, the PS3 and PC will eventually get those expansions, but if you are a true hardcore gamer, you will want to play the DLC on the console that receives it "first." And obviously you want to play on the hardware platform with the largest number of online gamers -- the Xbox 360.

Winner: Xbox 360

By the way, there is a cool new Xbox 360 console design with Modern Warfare 3 as the theme for the console and controllers. The size of the hard drive is extra large, too. If you are a fan of Call of Duty and Modern Warfare, you know that is the version you will want to get in the same way that Star Wars fans are influenced in similar ways!

Winner of 2011 E3: Microsoft - Software Overpowers Hardware!

The E3 (Electronic Entertainment Expo) is traditionally an event where people get excited about futuristic products that will be released at later points in time. Generally speaking, a new hardware device tends to carry more weight than a new game. When games are announced that focus on the future, it usually generates more excitement than games being released that year. However, the E3 show is an opportunity to place publicity on current products that will be sold later that same year.

Sony tends to have a reputation for focusing on games being released years down the road. Some critics have pointed out the reason for this is because Sony has nothing to show “that particular year.” This year, Sony unveiled a new portable console called the PSVita, while still showing a lot of games for the PS3 being released later this year. The games Sony displayed for the PS3 were the ones expected (and the ones rumored), but Sony actually did not show off several PS3 games that were available to be shown. This may suggest the games will be delayed.

I believe the PSVita disappointed a lot of people in several different ways. The name of “PSVita” is considered relatively stupid. The price of the PSVita is between $249 to $299, but this is too expensive for Sony to expect a large market anytime soon. There is no doubt Nintendo will remain champion of the handheld game market for many years to come.

The PS3 has a relatively strong lineup of games scheduled for release this year, but none of these games are “best-sellers.” Games like Uncharted 3 and Resistance 3 are considered good games born in the PS3 era, but both of these series are known for experiencing disappointing sales that were lower than expected. I believe Sony did the right thing trying to focus on this year’s games rather than Gran Turismo 6, which won’t be released for a very long time. But it was a mistake for Sony to try and shine all the light on just a couple of this year’s games rather than evenly distribute the light on others in niche markets.

Sony: B
The PSVita announcement was handled nicely, but the name actually left people disappointed. Sony has a nice lineup of PS3 games for 2011, but several of the games Sony announced were rather disappointing. Sony’s lack of desire to show several games also suggests some of the games on the show floor may be delayed.

Nintendo is the company I really thought had the best chance of winning this year’s E3. Nintendo was said to be unveiling a new “next-generation console.” But here at Controversy, we knew the console would not be a “next-gen” console with “next-gen” graphics due to the fact that the hardware specifications would not allow it – as we discussed here. Nevertheless, I really thought any form of new console from Nintendo would carry so much excitement along with it that Nintendo would easily be crowned the winner of the 2011 E3.

Unfortunately, Nintendo’s presentation of the Wii U left a lot of people disappointed and confused. Nintendo has made it clear the Wii U is not a portable gaming device. But the Wii U does seem to be both a console and a controller in one. And the evidence suggests that as long as the Wii U is kept within a certain distance of your TV set, it can be used as a portable gaming device.

Nintendo did not officially unveil hardware specifications or pricing for the Wii U. But our industry insider sources at Controversy have already provided us with information relating to Wii U specifications. As expected, the Wii U has graphics similar to the Xbox 360 and PS3. In fact, it actually appears the graphics of the Wii U are less impressive than the Xbox 360 and PS3. For example, there is no doubt the Tekken games on Xbox 360 and PS3 look better than Tekken on the Wii U.

This is a bit surprising because according to the reported specifications, the GPU and CPU of the Wii U are very impressive. The Wii U has a GPU nearly identical to the Xbox 360 GPU, and the same can be said about the CPU. Similarly, the Wii U has the same 512MB amount of RAM as the Xbox 360 and PS3. I think the reason why the Wii U probably has graphics less impressive than the Xbox 360 and PS3 is because so much processing power is devoted to other functions that Xbox 360 and PS3 don’t need to deal with.

Nintendo: B-
Nintendo focused on the Wii and 3DS consoles very nicely. But the Wii U ended up being a confusing disappointment. Whenever an audience is confused, you can say something was handled incorrectly.

Microsoft is a company known for using trade shows such as E3 to focus the spotlight on products being released relatively soon. From a business point of view, this is a very smart decision. High-profile games receive all the attention they deserve, which can help boost preorders. And if enough spotlight focus is placed on a low-profile game, market status can be raised to new heights.

I really thought Microsoft would be given the lowest rating this year at E3, simply because both Nintendo and Sony would be announcing new forms of hardware. I knew Microsoft had the strongest lineup of popular software this year, with amazing games such as Gears of War 3 and Forza Motorsport 4 – both considered the best game ever released in their particular genre. I also knew Microsoft may be announcing a couple rumored games, such as some form of Halo Anniversary Edition. Thankfully, Microsoft lived up to all these promises.

What really won the 2011 E3 show for Microsoft was the announcement of a new Halo “trilogy” starting with Halo 4! Microsoft is known for their tradition of saving exciting announcements until the end of their E3 presentation. Some people thought Halo 4 might be announced, due to the fact that hours earlier the xbox.com page apparently listed Halo 4 as an upcoming game as an accident (since Halo 4 was deleted from the list shortly after being posted). But nobody thought an entirely new “trilogy” of Halo games involving Master Chief John 117 would be announced for Xbox 360!

Halo: Reach is an amazing game, which is why it is so awesome to watch Master Chief use that form of jetpack in Halo 4! The anniversary edition of Halo: Combat Evolved is completely updated to high-definition. The game also adds a variety of new game play elements not included in the original Halo: CE game. This additional game play will link the anniversary edition of Halo: Combat Evolved to Halo 4, Halo: Reach, the Forerunners, and other elements of the Halo plot.

Microsoft also focused on some amazing games and features associated with Kinect. The theme of making games better with Kinect is very important to Microsoft. It’s very cool the way games such as Ghost Recon: Future Soldier will actually have custom modes only available if you are using Kinect!

The anniversary edition of Halo: Combat Evolved will be released on 11/11/11. We were told Halo 4 will be launched during the Holiday shopping season of 2012. Gears of War 3 will be released in September and Forza Motorsport 4 will be released on 10/11/11.

This lineup of games is amazing! Halo has been called the greatest First-Person Shooter ever made. Gears of War is considered the greatest Third-Person Shooter ever made. Forza Motorsport 3 is now considered the greatest racing game ever made, and Forza Motorsport 4 races further ahead than ever. The announcement of the Halo 4 “trilogy” pushed this over the top for the Xbox 360!

Microsoft: A
The Xbox 360 holiday lineup of games for 2011 is literally the strongest lineup of games in the history of the videogame industry! The only other year to come close was 2007 for the Xbox 360. But getting Halo, Gears of War, Forza, and all of the other third-party exclusives, Xbox Live Arcade games, Xbox Live Indie games, and the surprise announcement of a new Halo trilogy makes it so Xbox 360 and Microsoft easily win this year’s E3.

E3 Champion of 2011: Microsoft
The Xbox 360 software overpowered the relatively disappointing hardware announcements from Nintendo and Sony. The Xbox 360 has the best software lineup this holiday season. Microsoft easily wins the 2011 E3.

Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim - See the Xbox 360 Game Here!

Skyrim is one of the most anticipated games of 2011! The developers at Bethesda Softworks have done on excellent job, particularly on the Xbox 360 version, as you will see here! This is a seven-minute video from GameTrailers, looking specifically at the Xbox 360 version. As you will see, the graphics are amazing and the scope of the environment is huge!

Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim will be released for PC, Xbox 360, and PS3. I like the way the developers stress the importance of a third-person view, since so many gamers prefer that viewpoint. Take a look at the video and you will see for yourselves!



Tags: GameTrailers.com, Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim - E3 2011: Gameplay Walkthrough (Stream), PC Games, PlayStation 3, Xbox 360

Ubisoft Unveils Lineup at E3

Ubisoft revealed some very impressive games for Xbox 360, PS3, and PC. In addition, Ubisoft did an excellent job of showing how games can be optimized to be made better with Kinect. Ghost Recon: Future Soldier is a perfect example of this! Simply put, there are features you never would have thought possible if it weren't for Kinect. For example, there is a gun smith mode where you can literally build a weapon with Kinect!

Assassins Creed: Revelations looked absolutely amazing when it was put on display. The plot is as good as ever, yet the graphics have somehow managed to get even better than ever! As we learn more about this game over the next few days, it will be very exciting. This is particularly true with the multiplayer aspects, but we will need to wait until tomorrow for the booth presentation from Ubisoft.

Brother in Arms: Furious 4 is a First-Perosn Shooter with a World War 2 theme. This is the most high-profile game like that since Call of Duty 2 in 2005. I'm really looking forward to learning more about this game.

Far Cry 3: Insane in the Membrane is a shooter where the character you play as appears to be insane! That's right, Vaas seems like a madman with a mission in an illogical way. Many people have said Far Cry 3 is a lot like having The Joker in the game, if you are a fan of Batman. One thing everyone agrees on is that Far Cry 3 appears to have noticably better graphics than Far Cry 2.

Beyond Good and Evil 2 is a game that was completely overlooked because it was placed in the middle of such high-profile games. This is the reason why I decided to talk about Beyond Good and Evil 2 last. If you were a fan of the original game (which was re-released in an HD format on Xbox Live earlier in the year) you will love the sequel. This is the second game, which was marketed as a trilogy and does have a loyal following.

I'm looking forward to see what else Ubisoft has to show! Please share your thoughts.