Activision and Treyarch's upcoming Call of Duty: Black Ops is seeing faster preorder pickup than its Infinity Ward-created predecessor Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2, according to Pacific Crest analyst Evan Wilson, who projects the game's total holiday season sales at 12 million units.
That figure, reported this week by GameSpot and by IndustryGamers, represents a 20 percent increase over Wilson's previous holiday season sales expectation of 10 million units. The analyst boosted his expectations after speaking to Pacific Crest's retail contacts, who have received more preorders for Black Ops than they had at the same point prior to the release of Infinity Ward's last game.
Still, while every game in the Call of Duty game over the series' seven-year history has set a new franchise sales record so far, Wilson thinks that trend ended with Modern Warfare 2.
That game managed to accrue 16 million units in its holiday season release period, 33 percent more than what is expected for Black Ops, and Black Ops is unlikely to see the same long-term sales over time.
Wilson pointed to "competition, weaker marketing, and the Infinity Ward situation" -- referring to the Modern Warfare 2 studio's well-publicized employee drain -- as primary factors informing his sales expectations.
Ubisoft have just announced info on their upcoming KINECT compatible game "Michael Jackson: The Experience" for Xbox 360. The new game uses similar technology to Ubisoft's Your Shape to produce a 3D image of the player on the screen and will allow players to sing and dance completely hands-free.
Michael Jackson: The Experience is an interactive performance-based video game which will let players sing and dance completely hands-free. Designed for use with KINECT, Michael Jackson: The Experience will become available for Xbox 360 this November 2010.
The Kinect version looks to use technology similar to that of Ubisoft's Your Shape. The new game will project a 3D image of the player on screen to replace the usual avatars. Kinect's microphone also means singing and dancing can be done simultaneously and hands-free.
No word yet on multiplayer features, so be sure to stay tuned to 360-HQ for all the latest info as we get it. Michael Jackson: The Experience will be available this November.
Microsoft have announced that they will soon be bringing a new service to the Xbox LIVE Arcade. With over 250+ XBLA Titles already available, the new service will make it easier to find and purchase items from the XBLA marketplace. Users will also have the option to recommend game titles to a friend and stay up-to-date via a built in news feed.
Update: Microsoft has delayed the release until the Xbox Summer of Arcade Promotion.
The new service "Destination Arcade" will offer a new way for XBLA users to browse the entire selection of Arcade games available on the Xbox LIVE Arcade. Users will be able to sort the content by price and rating and will also have options to recommend titles to their friends.
Destination Arcade is set to become available on the 14th of July, 2010 and will be available in from the Games Marketplace Blade on your xbox 360 dashboard.
Looking for more XBLA games?? Look no further then the 360-HQ Games Database.. We have all the latest Xbox LIVE Arcade titles including screenshots, achievements, news and much more.
APB: All Points Bulletin - The Human Avatar: One Person. Three Weeks. Total Transformation
Inspired by the creative freedom of APB: All Points Bulletin’s innovative expression suite and the gritty, urban nature of San Paro - the fictional city in which the game is set - The Human Avatar activity is set to blur the lines between the real and the virtual worlds with a real-time experiment in identity and transformation. The Human Avatar experiment will see an average Joe significantly altered in the real world into a San Paro celebrity! One lucky person is going to have their persona completely transformed: hair style, piercings, tattoos, clothing, the complete San Paro makeover treatment as voted for by APB’s online community.
On Monday 5th July, www.thehumanavatar.com will go live as will community voting on the first stage of the activity: the identity of the Human Avatar. Throughout the weeks to follow, members of the public will be responsible for shaping the subject’s appearance, starting with the hairstyle and subsequently where they are pierced, where they are tattooed and finally what clothes they wear. No faking. The Human Avatar will be a real person undergoing a very real transformation.
The Human Avatar activity will last for three weeks and the whole process will be fully documented on www.thehumanavatar.com. Short films depicting each stage of the transformation, including the emotional highs and lows of the subject will be made available along with photos taken on location with live reactions from http://twitter.com/human_avatar.
The final stage of the process will be to have the talented artists at Realtime Worlds accurately recreate The Human Avatar in-game where he or she will be sent to their fate within the crime-ridden streets of San Paro. How long will they survive? Who knows...Experts suggest the average player dies once every six-and-a-half minutes...
APB: All Points Bulletin is a persistent online multiplayer action game where Criminals and Enforcers find daily conflict with each other in a constant struggle for power in San Paro. Like the real world, San Paro is constantly on, there is no offline, no escape and no let-up from the action once you are in-game. It is a living, breathing, constantly evolving world where players are the core focus of the action through their conflicts, creativity and sought after celebrity statuses.
The Human Avatar will go one step further in blurring the line between the virtual world and the real world...
For those who missed it, Tomb Raider Underworld is now available for direct download from the Xbox LIVE Games on Demand service. For more detailed information about the game browse the 360-HQ games database.
In an ancient ruin on the floor of the Mediterranean Sea, Lara Croft uncovers proof of the Norse underworld and the mythical hammer. As she attempts to unravel the secrets behind these myths, Lara’s perilous journey leads her toward a forgotten power that, if unleashed, could lay waste to all civilization.
Content: Tomb Raider Underworld Price: Check pricing for your region Availability: All Xbox LIVE regions except India and Japan Dash Text: (Online Interactions Not Rated by the ESRB) This game supports English, French, Italian, German, and Spanish. Download the manual for this game by locating the game on https://marketplace.xbox.com and selecting “See Game Manual". Designed specifically to take advantage of the latest technologies Tomb Raider Underworld represents a new advancement in exploration-based gameplay. As fearless adventurer Lara Croft explore exotic locations around the world, each designed with an incredible attention to detail resulting in breathtaking high-definition visual fidelity that creates a truly believable world and delivers a new level of challenge and choice.
Activision have published a bunch of new Call of Duty: Black Ops screenshots and we have them all right here on HQ. We currently have a over 25 screenshots and 2 trailers/videos available for Call of Duty: Black Ops.
View the latest COD: Black Ops screenshots by clicking the thumbnails below. Make sure you also check out our previous coverage and detailed information about the game by visiting the 360-HQ Games Database.
Call of Duty: Black Ops is scheduled for release on the 9th of November, 2010 for Xbox 360, PS3, Wii and PC.
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