Since when did Activision's Bobby Kotick start saying nice things? Did I confuse my morning cereal with crazy pills again?
News Blips:
Activision won't force Call of Duty gamers to pay a fee for playing online, according to Chief Executive Officer (and Internet punching bag) Bobby Kotick. Speaking at the Media, Communications, and Entertainment Conference in California, Kotick underscored the franchise's replayability, saying, "That's what people are paying their $60 for." He went on to rebuff the industry's increasing usage of in-game advertising. "When our customers are paying $60 on a game or a subscription fee, they don't really want to be barraged with sponsorship or advertising," he said. Someone pinch me — is Mr. Kotick actually making sense? [EuroGamer]
President Barack Obama announces the National Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math (STEM) Video Game Challenge. At the White House earlier today, President Obama charged fledgling and established game developers alike to create games that help promote education. "Our success as a nation depends on strengthening America's role as the world's engine of discovery and innovation," he said. I'd like to see an updated version of the edutainment classic Oregon Trail. That game defined my early school days.
Realtime Worlds' massively multiplayer cops-versus-criminals game APB abruptly shuts down. In a forum post on the official website, Community Officer Ben Bateman bid subscribers farewell, writing that "APB has been a fantastic journey, but unfortunately that journey has come to a premature end." The game's shuttering may be related to recent rumors of Realtime Worlds' struggle to stay afloat. This is horrible — where else am I going to stick a lewd decal on the hood of my car?
The PlayStation 3 is "on track" to meet its annual sales target, says Sony. At the Tokyo Game Show, President Kazuo Hirai spoke with Reuters on the console's formidable sales streak of the past year, with the lofty goal of 15 million units sold by March 2011 in close reach. "As of the end of August, sales look a bit better than we expected," he said, while being hopeful of the upcoming holiday season to further boost purchases. After Tuesday's rumor of a backwards-compatible device in the works, it seems that the PS3's star will only continue to rise.
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