Lending weight to CEO Bobby Kotick's claim that Call of Duty is as much a social networking phenomenon as it is a video gaming one, Activision released numbers boasting of online time that, per user, surpasses the Facebook average.

More than 20 million users on Call of Duty: Black Ops logged more than 600 million hours of playtime between the game's Nov. 9 release and Dec. 24, Activision said. That computes to an average of 87 minutes per day per player. Facebook's per-day/per-user average is around 55 minutes.

Gamasutra noted that the Xbox 360 exclusive Halo: Reach logged 50 million man-hours of play over its first week of availability - or a little over half of Black Ops' total if it was sustained over 45 days.

In an interview with CNN last week, Kotick boasted of Call of Duty's heft alongside Facebook, text messaging, and other social networking phenomena. "The audience of 'Call of Duty' is probably greater in terms of size than in any other interactive form of entertainment," Kotick said.

Activision: Over 20 Million Black Ops Players Log More Than 600 Million Hours [Gamasutra]

Not only is Call of Duty: Black Ops one of the fastest selling video games of all time, racking up more than a billion dollars in sales in 2010, it's also impressively enough one of the most illegally downloaded.

According to a report from BitTorrent news site TorrentFreak, the PC version of Black Ops has been pirated an impressive 4.2 million times. The newest Call of Duty bested Battlefield: Bad Company 2 (3.96 million downloads), Mafia II and Mass Effect 2 to take home the most-stolen crown.

Thieves who own an Xbox 360 did their share in Black Ops stealing, downloading that console version 930,000 times, according to TorrentFreak's numbers. Dante's Inferno wound up being the most downloaded Xbox 360 game, with Super Mario Galaxy 2 sitting atop the most pirated list on for Wii owners. Congratulations all around!

More impressive numbers at TorrentFreak.

Call of Duty: Black Ops Most Pirated Game of 2010 [TorrentFreak]

Speaking to CNN earlier this week, Activision's CEO noted that more people play Black Ops, daily, than watch the late night hosts Leno, Letterman and Fallon, combined. No offense, but that would seem to be an easy goal to beat.

No, network television isn't the yardstick Bobby Kotick uses to measure Call of Duty as a social phenomenon. He likens the shooter to Facebook and text messaging, in terms of cultural relevance.

"The audience of 'Call of Duty' is probably greater in terms of size than in any other interactive form of entertainment," Kotick told CNN. "If you look at the 500 million people who are on Facebook and the way that people text each other and instant message and use video chat, there is now an evolution of media. Those are the characteristics and attributes that a generation and audiences feel are very important to their media and entertainment experiences."

CNN said Kotick believes the Call of Duty franchise delivers on that trend through its online multiplayer, which currently drives a majority of the Xbox Live traffic.

Kotick couldn't do the interview without getting in a shot at Infinity Ward which, though its founders were fired and are now embroiled in a lawsuit against Activision, is a studio the publisher still owns. "Multiplayer has been largely developed by Treyarch," Kotick asserted. "I don't think Treyarch got their due for how much they contributed in the production and polish to the multiplayer."

Activision CEO: 'Call of Duty' is Like Facebook, Texting [CNN]

Internet video superstar Freddie Wong, fresh from showing us how to do a real-life Rocket Jump, now shows us what a futuristic round of Call of Duty would like. Spoilers: it has great lighting, but strange character design.

It's funny, the whole time I was watching it, I was thinking: this looks great on camera, but it would have looked even better to someone just walking by and seeing wooden men bobbing their crotch in some other guy's face.

I've been a long-time advocate of somebody making a war game that plays like an actual war: one where you fight in real battles, not battles from a video game based on an action movie. This is what I mean.

This clip, posted on military site TheBrigade.com, depicts a US infantry squad in combat in Afghanistan. Thanks to the camera's vantage point instant parallels can be drawn with first-person shooter games.

Had this firefight taken place in a game, it would have been a tutorial level. Or a brief stopover between objectives. A few bad guys, a few shots fired, then you move on to the next triggered sequence. In comparison to the bombastic set pieces of modern war games, it's pedestrian.

Here, though, it's tense. Gripping. Partly because we know these are real people, sure, but also because of the (albeit unintentional) cinematic effects. The shaky-cam, the nervous chatter, the immediacy of the whole thing brought to you by loud sound effects and copious amounts of dust.

It's surely time we got to play a game like this. Where even the smallest skirmish is as exciting as it is dangerous. Where tension is built via the panicked calls of comrades, not a rousing soundtrack. Not for some sick thrill of living the life of a soldier, but as a means of education as entertainment. Put someone in the shoes of a real soldier facing real battles, where even minor firefights are important, health packs can't save you and allies don't respawn just in time to save the day.

Note: there's some NSFW language in this.

[image: Getty]

The nasty lawsuits between Call of Duty publisher Activision and the ousted lead creators of that hit series got nastier today with accusations that the president of rival EA was instrumental in trying to "hijack" the Call of Duty developers.

And there's more mud being slung. Activision also says the makers of Modern Warfare gleefully sabotaged the sister studio behind this year's Call of Duty: Black Ops.

Activision spelled this out in a legal filing today through which they intend to add Medal of Honor and Battlefield publisher EA — their Coke-vs-Pepsi rival — to their lawsuit against Jason West and Vince Zampella, the founders of original CoD studio Infinity Ward. West and Zampella were fired by Activision in March for alleged acts of insubordination, just months after the studio the men founded finished and released the huge hit Modern Warfare 2.

West and Zampella sued Activison last spring. Activision had sued them back. (Read a summary of the Call of Duty Legal Warfare that has ensued up until now.)

Activision now wants at least $400 million from EA and has described a series of clandestine efforts by EA to woo West and Zampella away.

In its filing today, Activision also has spelled out what it says were acts by West and Zampella to hurt Treyarch, the Activision-owned studio that just released the mammoth Call of Duty: Black Ops.

(After this story was originally filed, Kotaku heard back from both West and Zampella's attorney and a spokesperson for EA. Both shot down the claims, the attorney calling them "a pathetic mash-up of false and reckless assertions." EA called them "deliberate misdirection" but declined to specifically address the actions the company is accused of having taken.)

Who knows how any of this will affect gamers, but it makes for sensational reading, suggesting just how bitter the rivalries among some of gaming's most powerful companies may be.

"Cooking Up Chaos"

West and Zampella, as founders of Infinity Ward, were deep into making Modern Warfare 2 in the summer of 2009 and and had two years left on their contract with the company when, Activision claims, EA came calling.

Activision's legal filing today sets this up:

Unable to compete with Activision and Infinity Ward, and, upon information and belief, enraged by the recent defection of two Electronic Arts executives to Activision (unlike West and Zampella, the executives who left Electronic Arts were not under employment contracts), Electronic Arts was determined to retaliate. Electronic Arts set out to destabilize, disrupt and to attempt to destroy Infinity Ward. Although the precise dates the scheme was conceived and initiated remain somewhat unknown to Activision it was clearly underway no later than July 30, 2009.

At that point, the Call of Duty publisher claims that EA's number two executive, John Schappert, started communicating in secret with West and Zampella, bringing Hollywood agents into the mix and trying to woo the Infinity Ward chiefs away.

The Activision filing includes copies of e-mails allegedly sent by CAA agent Seamus Blackley saying ""I'll wager a kidney that you'll be astonished" about the opportunity he wanted to set up for the Infinity Ward guys. Another e-mail featured Blackley inviting the IW guys to visit with EA boss John Riccitiello: "JR cooks a mean BBQ. I think we could accomplish some interesting chaos." According to Activision, EA dispatched a private jet to bring West and Zampella to the get-together.

In time, and with EA's knowledge that West and Zampella were under contract to Activision for another two years, Activision claims EA and the two Infinity Ward founders hatched a plan — one rife with private e-mails, attempts to surreptitiously scan company documents and maybe even a good deal of cackling — to start a spin-off company that would make games to compete with Call of Duty. EA, CAA and the Infinity Ward founders were assisted in their plot Activision says, by Harold Brown an attorney who was formerly a member of Activision's board of directors. He is not being sued by Activision.

Activision is informed and believes that the negotiations between Electronic Arts and West and Zampella were structured with the design and the expectation that West and Zampella would "spin out" from Activision and would take significant numbers of key Infinity Ward employees with them to set up their own independent company so that Electronic Arts could make another run at competing with Activision. Electronic Arts would finance the illicitly-created start-up in exchange for an ownership interest or exclusive distribution rights to the content created by their new company, which would produce video games for Electronic Arts instead of Activision.

Since the spring, Activision has claimed that it knew West and Zampella had talked to EA, but until now it hadn't squarely accused those parties of scheming to hurt the Call of Duty series. Last spring, West and Zampella formed their new company Respawn Entertainment, which signed a deal to put out its first game through EA.

"Crush And Destroy"

The new legal filing we saw today also goes into richer detail before in alleging how the founders of Infinity Ward supposedly tried to interfere with Treyarch, the Activision studio that had traded making Call of Duty games with them in recent years, taking the odd years, and with whom IW was already known to have a frosty relationship.

This is an example of what Activision claims was going on:

Although West and Zampella preferred to portray themselves – both to the public and within Activision – as game developers often forced to battle with corporate "suits," the reality was and is much different. They were small-minded executives almost obsessed by jealousy of other developers and the thought that another Activision game or studio might share their spotlight. Motivated by envy and personal greed, West and Zampella went so far as to deliberately undermine the efforts of other developers within the Activision family and then lied about their conduct. On the same day that Treyarch released a video trailer promoting a follow-on product – a "map" pack or "downloadable content" – designed for players of Treyarch's game Call of Duty: World at War, West and Zampella released a marketing video for Modern Warfare 2 with the purpose of hurting Treyarch's and Activision's marketing efforts. Far from being remorseful, West attempted to justify his actions on the ground that Treyarch had insufficiently coordinated with Infinity Ward by stating: "We released on the same day as you because we had no clue you were releasing anything. We are not happy about it." The real truth, however, was revealed by a series of text messages between West and an Infinity Ward employee contemporaneous with the video trailers' release. The employee texted West that "treyarch released their mp dlc video." West responded: "Super nice? We release our video? Crush and destroy with our video." The employee answered: "We already did. And . . . we already did." West's following comment: "Nice." Thus, West's own words reveal his intentional strategy to "crush and destroy" his fellow developers at Treyarch.

Activision has an interest in painting West and Zampella in the worst light possible, of course. They are counter-suing these two fired employees who sued them. In the past Activision has intimated that the Infnity Ward founders withheld money their subordinates at IW deserved. In this new filing, Activision is more explicit and provides a lurid example of alleged unfairness.

The following are examples in which West and Zampella's self-interest in executing their secret plan to leave Activision corrupted their judgment so fully that they actually attempted to damage the very Infinity Ward employees they purported to lead. In July 2009, West and Zampella were asked by Activision management to provide the names of the Infinity Ward employees that should receive millions of dollars of Activision stock grants in connection with the development of a Wii version of Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare. West and Zampella adamantly refused. Again, in October 2009, when Activision planned to include Infinity Ward in its annual equity grants, West and Zampella refused to provide Activision with a list of the names it needed of the Infinity Ward employees that deserved awards of valuable stock and options. In responding to the President and CEO of Activision Publishing concerning the equity grant, West wrote, "You can give all the options to Vince and I . . . .," thereby depriving their own Infinity Ward employees of additional compensation.

It's not clear if the current and former employees of Infinity Ward are familiar with this version of events, but several dozen Infinity Ward employees did leave the company after West and Zampella's dismissal, many of them joining the two men's new start-up Respawn Entertainment, which is making a game for EA.

Activision hopes to get EA added to its counter-suit in January. The case is expected to proceed in mid 2011.

What's it wind up meaning for gamers? These kinds of suits can produce juicy stories — true, false, spun — about the people who make the blockbuster games we play. Elements of the suits do call into question who has the rights to make a Modern Warfare 3 and now whether EA can profit from making a game with Respawn. It's certain, though, that Activision will keep on making Call of Duty games and EA will keep trying to unseat them by making rival first-person shooters, at the very least.

Update: The attorney representing Jason West and Vince Zampella has responded to Activision's updated complaint: "Activision's filing is a pathetic mash-up of false and reckless assertions, designed only to delay the march to justice for Jason West and Vince Zampella. But what else would you expect from a company that doesn't let the truth get in its way."

Update 2: EA responds, calling Activision's accusations "petty."

Read the full legal complaint in the gallery below.

For a recap of the latest events in the imbroglio involving Activision, Infinity Ward, West, Zampella and now EA, check out Kotaku's ongoing Call of Duty Legal Warfare coverage.

The first downloadable content for Call of Duty: Black Ops has been revealed. It'll go on sale on the Xbox 360 on February 1, and cost $15.

The DLC comes in the form of a multiplayer map pack, containing four "regular" levels and one for the game's zombie mode.

Two of the regular maps are based on locations from the singleplayer campaign — Hong Kong and the Arctic Circle - while the other two take in Cold War locations we're surprised the game didn't visit first time around: the Berlin Wall and an ice hockey stadium.

As we all know, Microsoft struck a deal with publishers Activision for Black Ops' downloadable content to appear on the Xbox 360 first. So 360 owners, you'll get the pack on February 1, everyone else...well, there are plenty of things you can spend $15 on in the meantime that have a little more substance to them.

[Microsoft]

If Kobe Bryant playing pretend soldier offended some, then this - said to be Call of Duty: Black Ops' next TV spot - would rile them further. Update: Treyarch says this video is not a Black Ops ad.

We've contacted Activision representatives to ask about the authenticity of this video, which is on YouTube under an unofficial account right now. If it's a mashup, someone went to a great deal of trouble.

Update: Someone went to a great deal of trouble. This video is not authentic. The remainder of the post follows, but the opinion it expresses is based upon a fake video.

But let's focus on that voiceover. Here it is, transcribed:

"Today I say to you that the challenges we face are real. Our nation is badly weakened, a consequence of our collective failure to prepare the nation for a new age. Our nation is at war. What is required of us now is a new era of responsibility. Let it be said that we refused to let this journey end. And with eyes fixed on the horizon and with God's grace upon us, we carried the great gift of freedom to future generations."

Sound familiar? Here are excerpts from President Obama's inaugural address, Jan. 21, 2009:

[Sixth paragraph] Today I say to you that the challenges we face are real.

[Fifth paragraph, third sentence] Our economy is badly weakened, a consequence of greed and irresponsibility on the part of some, but also our collective failure to make hard choices and prepare the nation for a new age.

[Fifth paragraph, second sentence] Our nation is at war against a far-reaching network of violence and hatred.

[30th paragraph, second sentence] What is required of us now is a new era of responsibility.

[concluding paragraph] Let it be said by our children's children that when we were tested we refused to let this journey end, that we did not turn back nor did we falter; and with eyes fixed on the horizon and God's grace upon us, we carried forth that great gift of freedom and delivered it safely to future generations.

Not verbatim, of course, but an extremely close match.

Whatever you feel about Call of Duty: Black Ops, this might be pushing it a bit too far. A flaming minivan is certainly the most provocative image here, especially as our homeland is not under siege. For me, though, the biggest shame is in the fact the United States committed to - and is still prosecuting - two wars under leaders who never asked Americans to make any sacrifice in return. And here, in borderline satire, is a speech that dresses the fictitious conflicts of a war video game in the urgent language of national priority. That's why some might have a problem with this ad.

Will we ever get a Call of Duty game for the kids? Not if it's as bloody and gory as LEGO Black Ops, the stop motion animated elimination bloodbath from YouTube movie maker Keshen8.

You won't find much in the way of killstreaks, perks or outrageous tomahawk kills, but LEGO Black Ops, via FourZeroTwo's Twitter, is the best LEGO "what if?" imagining we've seen in a long while. For more of Keshen8's LEGO creations, including the amusing Cardboard Gear Solid, hit up the brick enthusiast's YouTube channel.

That's what parents near Sacramento, Calif., want to know and, you know, I do, too.

Officials at East Valley Education Center in Oakdale, Calif. refused to appear on camera, but it sounds like they were using video games as an incentive or a reward to help kids with developmental difficulties socialize. That's well and good if it's, I don't know, LittleBigPlanet or Super Mario Galaxy. Modern Warfare?
Officials at East Valley Education Center in Oakdale, Calif. refused to appear on camera, but it sounds like they were using video games as an incentive or a reward to help kids with developmental difficulties socialize. Sounds great, except Modern Warfare, an M-rated game, was one of them.

A school administrator backed out of an on-camera interview (which the reporter chippily notes) but said that the school would get rid of the games. Meantime, the mom and dad involved here say their autistic son came home with manifested anger issues, acting out and directing some of his behavior at his sister.

Years of overreaction have conditioned gamers to mistrust hysterical parents and sweeps-hungry local TV outlets in the violent video games debate. But, at face value, this is colossally stupid. If the ESRB rating has any meaning, Modern Warfare is not appropriate in any school, regardless of students' needs. Someone's thinking lawsuit here, and someone else is probably looking at unemployment for Christmas.

Violent Video Games Allowed At Special Needs School [CBS Sacramento, thanks Mike B.]