Call of Duty: Black Ops 2 “The Replacers” Video
Call of Duty: Black Ops 2‘s “The Replacers” video has been released. The trailer is for the Uprising DLC Map Pack. Basically we get a rundown of the four maps and what content we can expect to see in the upcoming DLC. However, it’s all done in a humorous twist.
Activision Fires 30 Employees
Activision has apparently fired about 30 people.
Among the affected we find Treyarch, the studio responsible for Call of Duty: Black Ops 2. The layoffs are apparently to ”aligns costs with revenues”, and thus 30 people were fired. It has been reported that the other people that was fired were from a part of the company which handles licensed games.
An Activision rep said in a statement to Kotaku, “Like any successful business, Activision Publishing consistently works to align its costs with its revenues-this is an ongoing process. In 2013, we expect to release fewer games based on license properties and as a result are realigning our structure to better reflect the market opportunities and our slate.”
They added, “Approximately, 30 full-time employees have been impacted globally, which represents approximately one half of one percent of Activision Blizzard’s employee population. We are offering those employees who are impacted outplacement counseling services.”
Regarding Treyarch cuts, the rep said, “Now that we have launched Black Op II, we are taking a minimal reduction in staff to better align our development talent against the needs of DLC development. The release of the DLC will not be impacted by this move.”
That’s companies for ya!
UK Software Sales for Xbox 360 & PS3 (Week Ending 2/16)
UK software sales for Xbox 360 & PS3 has been released for the week ending 2.16. Despite being heavily criticized for its rather… lacking gameplay, graphics and whatnot, Aliens: Colonial Marines still managed to top the charts for both the PS3 and Xbox 360. Let’s hope the poor souls knew what they were getting into. The sales charts are identical up until spot number 5, with the same positions for Dead Space 3, FIFA 13, Call of Duty: Black Ops 2, and Far Cry 3. From there on out the charts starts to differentiate themselves.
PS3 Sales:
1. Aliens: Colonial Marines – SEGA
2. Dead Space 3 – EA
3. FIFA 13 – EA
4. Call of Duty: Black Ops II – Activision Blizzard
5. Far Cry 3 – Ubisoft
6. Need for Speed: Most Wanted – EA
7. Assassin’s Creed III – Ubisoft
8. Ni no Kuni: Wrath of the White Witch – Namco Bandai
9. Hitman: Absolution – Square Enix
10. Hitman HD Trilogy – Square Enix
Xbox 360:
1. Aliens: Colonial Marines – SEGA
2. Dead Space 3 – EA
3. FIFA 13 – EA
4. Call of Duty: Black Ops II – Activision Blizzard
5. Far Cry 3 – Ubisoft
6. Halo 4 – Microsoft
7. Forza Horizon – Microsoft
8. The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim – Bethesda Softworks
9. Assassin’s Creed III – Ubisoft
10. Need for Speed: Most Wanted – EA
NPD Reveals Top 10 Best-Selling Games in U.S During January
The NPD group has reported about the top 10 best-selling games in the U.S during the month of January, 2013. Game Spot said the following about the sales charts:
The January 2013 reporting period was actually five weeks instead of four due to the NPD Group’s adherence to the National Retail Federation calendar. This extra week is a consequence of the NPD Group’s 4-5-4 retail calendar and occurs only once every five or six years. As a result of including the “Leap Week,” sales are inflated to a degree. Adjusted sales are in the chart below.
ADJUSTED JANUARY US GAME SALES (December 30, 2012-February 2, 2013)
OVERALL DOLLAR SALES
Total retail sales: $667.76 million (-13%)
Non-PC hardware: $164 million (-17%)
Accessories: $205.28 million (4%)
Total software: $314.32 million (-19%)
TOP 10 GAMES FOR JANUARY 2013
Title (Platforms) – Publisher
1. Call of Duty: Black Ops II (X360, PS3, Wii U, PC) – Activision Blizzard
2. Far Cry 3 (X360, PS3, PC) – Ubisoft
3. Just Dance 4 (X360, Wii, Wii U, PS3) – Ubisoft
4. NBA 2K13 (X360, PS3, Wii, PSP, Wii U, PC) – Take-Two Interactive
5. Madden NFL 13 (X360, PS3, Wii, PS Vita, Wii U) – Electronic Arts
6. DmC: Devil May Cry (X360, PS3) – Capcom
7. Halo 4 (X360) – Microsoft
8. Assassin’s Creed III (X360, PS3, PC, Wii U) – Ubisoft
9. Skylanders Giants (X360, PS3, Wii U, Wii, 3DS) – Activision Blizzard
10. FIFA Soccer 13 (X360, PS3, Wii, PS Vita, 3DS, Wii U, PSP) – Electronic Arts
Call of Duty: Black Ops 2’s Revolution DLC Dated for PSN
The Revolution DLC for Call of Duty: Black Ops 2 has been dated for PSN.
Activision has confirmed that the Revolution DLC will be released on February 28th for both North America and Europe. The DLC previously launched on January 29th to the Xbox 360. Even though it wasn’t offically announced, it’s assumed the DLC will drop to PC at Feb. 28 as well.
UK Sales Chart (Week Ending Feb. 9)
The UK sales chart for the week ending with February 9 has been revealed. Unsurprisingly, Dead Space 3 has grabbed the number 1 spot. However, Dead Space 3 has sold 26 per cent less than Dead Space 2 during the launch week. DmC: Devil May Cry was knocked down to a 25th placing, even though it actually was number 1 a few weeks ago.
1. Dead Space 3
2. FIFA 13
3. Call of Duty: Black Ops II
4. Far Cry 3
5. Hitman: HD Trilogy
6. Ni No Kuni: Wrath of the White Witch
7. Need for Speed: Most Wanted
8. Just Dance 4
9. Hitman: Absolution
10. Sonic and SEGA All-Stars Racing Transformed
11. The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim
12. Assassin’s Creed 3
13. Halo 4
14. Forza Horizon
15. Skylanders Giants
16. Football Manager 2013
17. LEGO The Lord of the Rings
18. LEGO Batman 2: DC Super Heroes
19. Madden NFL 13
20. Forza Motorsport 4
Steam’s Top Sellers Period February 3-9
The top 10 best sellers at Steam during the period February 3rd to February 9th has been unveiled.
To put this into perspective, Skyrim‘s Dragonborn DLC was released on February 5th on Steam. Borderlands 2 was released on September 21st, 2012. The Witcher 2: Assassins of Kings Enhanced Edition was 50% off due to the announcement of The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt.
- Skyrim – Dragonborn DLC
- Borderlands 2
- Counter-Strike: Global Offensive
- Antichamber
- Aliens: Colonial Marines
- ArmA II: Combined Operations
- Skyrim
- The Witcher 2: Assassins of Kings Enhanced Edition
- Call of Duty: Black Ops II
- Far Cry 3
PS3 Chart – UK Software Sales (Week Ending 2/2)
The PS3 UK Software sales have been revealed. The period counted is to February 2nd. Quite unsurprisingly the highly anticipated Ni no Kuni: Wrath of the White Witch took the first place, closely followed by FIFA 13. The list differs slightly from the previous sales chart.
1. Ni no Kuni: Wrath of the White Witch – Namco Bandai
2. FIFA 13 – EA
3. Call of Duty: Black Ops II – Activision Blizzard
4. Far Cry 3 – Ubisoft
5. Hitman HD Trilogy – Square Enix
6. Assassin’s Creed III – Ubisoft
7. Need for Speed: Most Wanted – EA
8. Hitman: Absolution – Square Enix
9. DmC Devil May Cry – Capcom
10. Uncharted 3: Drake’s Deception GoTY
Call of Duty: Black Ops II and Twitch Teams Up
You can now play and record Call of Duty: Black Ops II directly, using no additional software (or hardware).
This is made possible due a partnership between Activision and Twitch. All you have to do is register a Twitch account and begin record. As of now you can only do this through Xbox 360, so far it has not made available for PS3, PC users.
[Infographic] Games That Pulled the Trigger
An infographic was recently released showing the progress of FPS. So what games changed the way we look at FPS games? See the infographic below:
Do you agree with the infographic?
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