In what can only be described as a slap in the face to Infinity Ward and Activision, the people at DICE and EA have updated their blog with a post poking fun at the "Mapathy" campaign from a few days ago.  The second free map pack for Bad Company 2 will be available on March 30th on all platforms to those who have entered their VIP code in game and will include the following:

Arica Harbor Conquest mode - US Command launches a break through action directly at the Russian base. Collateral damage is of no consequence. Capture and secure tactical positions in Conquest Mode across the vast Arica Harbor map.

Laguna Presa Rush mode - The valley and surrounding mountains possess a strategic value in the battle for South America, and an infantry assault supported by light armor vehicles is likely by both armies as US forces defend the nearby Dam.

As for the negative marketing going on, I'll let you decide for yourself if there is some bad blood here or if it's just friendly competition:

It also plays a vital part in making sure you, the players get proper value for the money you’ve invested in Battlefield: Bad Company 2. This is why these map packs are available at no extra cost, contradicting the industry standard and what our direct competitors are doing. Of course, it also helps avoid segmenting the community, making sure everyone can play together having the same maps available. There will be future paid downloadable content as well but these packs will focus on expanding other parts of the game experience rather than the selection of maps available for the basic game modes. We’re dedicated to taking care of this product for a long time – helping you avoid “mapathy” without getting nickel-and-dimed.

Robert Bowling, FourZeroTwo, just tweeted a link to a teaser site, Mapathy. According to the site, which has logos for Modern Warfare 2, Xbox 360/Xbox Live, Activision and Infinity Ward Logos, the “cure” to Mapathy is coming to Xbox Live on March 30th, 2010. Mapathy is described simply as "a state of indifference to the same old maps one has been playing for the last several months." I’m pretty sure you can all put the pieces together yourself, but if not I’ll do it for you:

The first DLC for Modern Warfare 2 will be coming in 3 weeks on March 30th, 2010 which will include several new maps, details of which will be slowly revealed throughout the week. Remember, the first DLC pack for MW2 will be a timed Xbox 360 exclusive, sorry PS3/PC owners, no love for you yet.

FourZeroTwo [Twitter]

We’ve obtained a copy of the lawsuit filed by ex-Infinity Ward heads, Jason West and Vince Zampella, against Activision. While most of the documents explain what we already know, there are a few details that have been unveiled in the document that are of some interest to us:

• Infinity Ward employees working at “break neck pace under aggressive schedules” with regards to Modern Warfare 2 production (which took under 1 year and 8 months to complete)
• Infinity Ward was restricted to creating Modern Warfare 2 in order to extend their contract with Activision (West and Zampella were hesitant of extending their contract)
  • West/Zampella feared that restricting the studio to Call of Duty games prevented them from developing new IPs (intellectual properties) and was “burning out” creativity
• Activision launched an investigation against West and Zampella at the beginning of February in which they interrogated the men for 6 hours, in a windowless room (over Presidents’ Day Weekend), and even interrogated some of the other IW employees to the point of tears.
• During the investigation, Activision sought to obtain West and Zampella’s PCs, phones and “other communication” devices leading West and Zampella to refuse on basis of their privacy rights (this could be the “insubordination” that Activision is referring to)
• Activision used accusations against the two men that were months old (when no action was taken against them at that time) which suggests that they were waiting until MW2 launched to begin their inquiry
• West and Zampella were given exclusive control over the Modern Warfare franchise, requiring their permission before another entry in the series is made

You can read the entire document after the break

Further details have been brought forth in regards to the lawsuit filed last night by Jason West and Vince Zampella against Activision. According to Bloomberg, the two former executives from Infinity Ward are seeking at least $36 million in addition to control over the Modern Warfare brand (note: not Call of Duty brand). Activision has also offered an official statement regarding the lawsuit against them which basically stated "Without us, Infinity Ward would not have become as successful as it is today". You can read the full statement after the break.

In an article over at Gamer/Law they explain the potential explosive nature of this lawsuit and what it means for us, the consumers. If the lawsuit is declared in favor of the two former execs, they would be able to veto any Modern Warfare-related content, including DLC and any upcoming new releases in the series.

Activision Sued by Sacked ‘Call of Duty’ Creators [Bloomberg]

Jason West and Vince Zampella have filed a lawsuit against Activision Publishing, Inc seeking proper royalty payments and the return of the Modern Warfare publishing license to West and Zampella who created it. This comes after Activision forcibly removed the two from their head positions in Infinity Ward and after they helped develop, and release, the most “successful entertainment product offered to the public”.

Take that you big, bad, evil company! You can read the full press release by O’Melveny & Myers LLP (West and Zampella’s legal representation) after the break.

[Updated - Sledgehammer Games's  COD title is not the 2011 title mentioned in the press release. The 2011 COD title is referring to yet another title not mentioned in the release and the developer of that title is unknown. However if history suggests anything it could be the MW2 successor, developed by Infinity Ward. Via: G4TV]

After the events of last night, today’s press release only confirms what we were fearing: a new direction for the Call of Duty series. In the press release Activision also confirmed that Jason West and Vince Zampella are “no longer with Infinity Ward”. However, that was only a portion of news, with Activision looking to push the franchise into new territory with Sledgehammer Games developing an action-adventure game based on the Call of Duty franchise which will be released in 2011.

Taking the place of the former Infinity Ward heads are two senior Activision members, Steve Ackrich and Steve Pearce who will lead IW on an “interim” basis. There has been no word as to why the West or Zampella were removed from their positions, but we wish them the best of luck in their future endeavors. There was no indication of whether or not Infinity Ward would continue to work on the Call of Duty series.

You can catch all the juicy details after the break, including Activision’s view on DLC (hint: money maker):

Last night a mysterious story showed up on G4TV.com’s website detailing the disappearance of two studio heads after a “bunch of bouncer-types” showed up at the IW offices and wouldn’t disclose their appearance. Two studio heads had previously met with Activision that morning and weren’t seen since then, stirring up confusion and a tense atmosphere at IW.

This morning however we received more confirmation and details in a SEC (Securities and Exchange Commission) document which stated that “The Company is concluding an internal human resources inquiry into breaches of contract and insubordination by two senior employees at Infinity Ward.” These two individuals are believed to be two of the studio founders, Vince Zampella and Jason West. Both have recently updated their social networking profiles to reflect their “unemployed” status, suggesting that they were fired by Activision.

We probably won’t hear any more details about this matter until it is all over with, since it will most likely be followed up by legal action. Either way, we wish the best of luck to West and Zampella who helped establish one of the greatest gaming franchises of the decade.

Security Appears at Infinity Ward [G4TV]

According to a blog post by Activision’s Dan Amrich, the closed beta for Blur will begin on March 8th. In the meantime several websites are starting contests and giving away beta tokens starting tomorrow. As such this beta will be “closed” with no word on whether or not the beta will become open to those unfortunate amongst us who may not be so lucky to obtain a code/token. The Beta is currently for the Xbox 360 only and no plans have been announced for other platform betas.

Blur can be described simply as “Mario Kart with real cars”. It’s your standard racing game with battle elements being introduced in the form of powerups found throughout the length of the course. It currently does not have a release date aside from the general release of “this fall” (Update: Will be released in late May!)

Blur Multiplayer Beta – Fact Check [One of Swords Blog]

Unsurprisingly, Modern Warfare 2 took the lead in NPD's industry sales charts for the month of November, clocking in in over 6 million unit sales for publisher Activision on Xbox 360 and PS3 alone. With yet-to-be-released PC figures thrown into the mix, we wouldn't be surprised to see that number inch very close to 7 million.

Hardware sales were up across the board as well. PS3 and Xbox 360 received a decidedly welcomed boost over October numbers, shifting 710,400 and 819,000 units respectively. DS trumped everything on the hardware front, moving 1.7 million units, with the Wii trailing at 1.2 million, reinforcing Nintendo's position as current market leader. Overall, this November was recorded as the second best in industry history, according to NPD.

See the complete breakdown of hardware and software sales after the break.

Two weeks have passed since Activision released Modern Warfare 2 into the hands of desperate gamers, and with the record shattering launch, this news should come as no surprise. According to Activision, over $3 billion has been generated in revenue from the Call of Duty franchise alone.

Modern Warfare 2 itself earned over $550 million within its first five days alone, making it the most successful launch of all time, not just in gaming, but in entertainment history. That’s certainly an enormous achievement, and definitely played an important part in helping the franchise reach the $3 billion mark. Overall this comes from a total of 55 million Call of Duty titles that have been sold since 2003.

“If you consider the number of hours our audiences are engaged in playing Call of Duty games, it is likely to be one of the most viewed of all entertainment experiences in modern history”; a bold, but likely true statement from Activision Chief Executive Bobby Kotick. If you were wondering where these figures came from, they were estimated using NPD along with internal company figures and an assortment of other tracking firms.

Not a week goes by without more news of Activison’s success, and it seems Modern Warfare 2 will be the gamers choice for some time to come. If you feel like a game, why not introduce yourself on the forums and gather some players?