Assuming gamers could be distracted from the release of high-profile titles such as “Halo: Reach” and “Call of Duty: Black Ops,” there were plenty of memorable moments occurring behind the scenes in the video-game industry this year. Here are 10.
1. The Infinity Ward debacle.
This March, in a move that tore apart one of the world’s most successful studios, publisher Activision dismissed Jason West and Vince Zampella, the president and CEO of “Call of Duty” developer Infinity Ward, citing a breach of contract.
A messy legal battle ensued that included a countersuit by more than 30 current and former Infinity Ward employees for millions of dollars in unpaid royalties and bonuses from “Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2.” About half the studio resigned, many to follow West and Zampella to their new studio, Respawn Entertainment, which sought financial backing from EA, one of Activision’s main competitors.
2. “Call of Duty: Black Ops” breaks sales records.
Within a month of the dismissal of Infinity Ward’s leadership, Activision announced that developer Treyarch would be behind the next game in the “Call of Duty” series.
With 33 million units sold between them, the “Modern Warfare” branch of the franchise is a titan in the industry, but with the studio responsible for its development in shambles, its future seemed uncertain. To add to cause for concern, Treyarch’s last mainline contribution to the franchise, “Call of Duty 3,” was one of the series’ lowest-rated.
Despite this, gamers expressed their faith at the checkout counter. Within 24 hours of going on sale Nov. 9, “Black Ops” sold a monstrous (and record-setting) 5.6 million copies. Within five days, its sales reached an estimated $650 million.
3. “Duke Nukem Forever” almost finished.
The one-liners, lethal weaponry and blond crew cut of Duke Nukem made him one of gaming’s most beloved characters when “Duke Nukem 3D” debuted in 1996. As a result, gamers were over the moon in 1997 when developer 3D Realms announced a sequel, “Duke Nukem Forever,” was in development.
For 13 years, the game was delayed so often that it became the poster child for vaporware (mythical titles that will never see the light of day). In 2009, 3D Realms abandoned the game for good, but on Sept. 3, Gearbox Software announced it had taken the reins. The studio produced a surprisingly highly polished, playable demo and promised a 2011 release, prompting gamers everywhere to cry “Hail to the King, baby.”
4. EA removes playable Taliban from “Medal of Honor.”
When EA decided to reboot “Medal of Honor,” its long-standing WWII shooting franchise, it brought the series into a modern-day setting with missions based in Afghanistan. When it was revealed that players would be able to play as the Taliban during multiplayer matches, politicians as far away as the United Kingdom, Canada and New Zealand issued scathing responses and called for bans of the title.
Rather than support the feature, as Activision did in 2009 with the controversial “Modern Warfare 2” mission involving slaughter of civilians in a Russian airport, EA capitulated. When the game launched Oct. 12, all references to the Taliban were replaced with a more generic “opposing force” moniker.
5. Microsoft and Sony attempt upset of Nintendo’s monopoly on casual gaming.
On Sept. 17, Sony released PlayStation Move, a motion-based system using a combination of a camera and wand to control games. On Nov. 4, Microsoft released its own motion-based system, the completely controller-less Kinect, which utilizes an infrared sensor to track player’s movements.
Both games’ launch libraries were full of mini-game collections and titles featuring simplistic or family-friendly gameplay targeted toward casual gamers, a demographic typically associated with the Nintendo Wii. Sony confirmed shipment of 2.5 million units in Europe and the United States during the first month after Move’s launch. Microsoft posted the same number in sales and predicted double that number by the end of the year.
6. Apple claims devices’ superiority in handheld gaming.
Since 2004, there have been only two major players in the handheld gaming market, the Nintendo DS and the Sony PlayStation Portable, which was released in 2005. During its annual Special Music Event on Sept. 1, however, Apple executive Philip W. Schiller claimed the iPod and iPhone were superior gaming platforms. In defense of that statement, he cited the lower price point of most titles in the 21,000-strong game library on the App Store.
The comment received a huge response from gamers and a scathingly ironic TV spot from Sony. On the website Gamespot alone, Schiller’s comments drew hundreds of user retorts, mostly from supporters of Sony and Nintendo’s devices, who argued that App Store games are designed for casual, not hard-core, gamers.
7. Nintendo 3DS this year’s only system announcement.
The Electronic Entertainment Expo marked the fifth year in a row that Microsoft, Sony and Nintendo failed to announce the next generation of hardware consoles. This was in keeping with each company’s stated intention of supporting their current systems longer than the traditional five-year hardware cycle.
What it lacked in console announcements, however, E3 made up for when Nintendo unveiled the 3DS, a follow up to its 6-year-old DS handheld. The announcement was accompanied by major support from third-party publishers, a traditional weak point for Nintendo hardware. The system’s true killer feature, however, was its use of autostereoscopy, which simulates 3D visuals without the need for goggles.
8. Game companies take steps to disrupt used game market.
The used game market has long been a sore point between game retailers such as GameStop and game developers and publishers, who don’t receive money when stores resell games.
This year, several publishers took steps to encourage gamers to purchase titles new instead of used. “Dragon Age” and “Mass Effect” developer EA included codes in some games for extra content that expired after being activated and attached to a user’s account. EA Sports and THQ both adopted a more restrictive approach, including one-time passes for online play with some titles. After activation, these codes expired, requiring secondary purchasers to pay a one-time fee to access multiplayer features.
9. Roger Ebert says video games aren’t art, then recants … sort of.
In an April 16 blog, film critic Roger Ebert wrote: “No one in or out of the field has ever been able to cite a game worthy of comparison with the great poets, filmmakers, novelists and poets” and that “No video gamer now living will survive long enough to experience the medium as an art form.”
The gaming community responded in droves, including a multipage feature in the magazine Game Informer wherein game developers refuted Ebert’s position. Ebert’s blog also received about 4,800 reader posts, which he said amounted to more text than “Anna Karenina,” “David Copperfield” and “The Brothers Karamazov” combined.
In a second blog on July 1, Ebert said he stood by his position but admitted he shouldn’t have made his statements without being more familiar with the experience of video gaming.
10. Bungie bids ‘Halo’ farewell.
When “Halo: Reach” was released Sept. 14, it marked the end of an era for developer Bungie as the last title the company would make before splitting from Microsoft Game Studios. “Reach” was the last Bungie-developed game in Microsoft’s flagship series, though Microsoft retains intellectual property rights to future titles in the “Halo” franchise. Just as “Reach” was about to enter beta testing phase in April, Bungie announced it had signed a 10-year publishing agreement with Activision Blizzard and was working on a new intellectual property, its first in 10 years.