Modern Warfare 3, Pretend like you didn't see it coming. Options

[Crushinator]

So after a shitload of leaks earlier today (by Kotaku of all places? WTF?), IW and #fourzerotwo officially confirmed MW3, and showed the reveal trailer early because the cat's already out of the bag.



Lots of leaks regarding the campaign story, but I've avoided them to keep it fresh.

The multiplayer (supposedly) has 20 maps in the list, although some could be DLC. Map names point to locales such as Mogadishu, Brooklyn, Paris, and others.

Spec Ops mode is back, HEL YEH, along with a "horde" survival type mode.

I'm officially all aboard the hype train, damn the torpedoes, even if IW is a shell of what it was before... I fucking love me some Modern Warfare.

Casual Bro Gamer status: confirmed.

[Crushinator]

And so it begins.... Activision will be adding a subscription based "Elite" program to MW3 this fall.

Details released in a Wall Street Journal article earlier today:

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB1000142405..._LEFTTopStories

Short version from the Gamasutra article:

Activision is planning Call Of Duty Elite, a subscription-based service for console gamers to launch alongside Call Of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 this November, according to a report from the Wall Street Journal.

The WSJ report notes that Activision "plans to charge a monthly subscription fee for the service, which will provide extra content that isn't offered on game discs sold in stores, including downloadable map packs that give players new Call of Duty levels to play."

According to the available information, the monthly cost will be less than other online subscription services such as Netflix, which charges $7.99, and "portions of the service will be free".

The service will be billed separately to existing hardware company-charged subscriptions such as the multiplayer enabling Xbox Live Gold, or the more content-specific PlayStation Plus service.

The article also cites Jamie Berger, Activision's vice president of digital for Call of Duty, as saying the company has "seven million daily players of the game who spend, on average, about seven full days a year playing the game against others online."

Gamasutra was also briefed on Activision's plans for Call Of Duty Elite. A larger article on the service, which is announced just ahead of next week's key E3 trade show in Los Angeles, will debut in the near future.

From what it sounds like, they are providing a social site/stat tracking not unlike what Bungie has for Halo at www.bungie.net (which is provided free of charge); DICE's Battlefield games/community site are another similar example, and Brink from Splash Damage will also be rolling out a free stat-tracking page this coming week as well.

The subscription will also include the DLC map packs and seems to indicate additional campaign and/or Spec Ops levels as well.

No pricing at this time, but it was said "they expect the cost to be less than fees for comparable online-entertainment services, such as a $7.99-a-month Netflix Inc. movie subscription."

You don't need to pay the subscription or any additional fees to play the standard online multiplayer.

I guess we'll get the grand perspective at E3 next week.

Is this the beginning of the end for COD, or is it just the start of a terrible new era of monetization?