If there’s one thing you can say about Activision, it’s that they know how to squeeze every last dime out of their products.  The recently announced Stimulus Package DLC map pack for Modern Warfare 2 is no exception, and honestly the name couldn’t be more accurate.

It is a stimulus package.  For Activision’s bank account.  However, many MW2 players are throwing a hissy fit about the cost of the expansion – $15 for 5 maps, two of which are revamped maps from an older game – and are doing their very best to pretend like they’re not going to pay for it.

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Maybe the guys over at Activision realized how screwed they are now that their top devs got shitcanned, because it looks like they’re trying to milk as much cash as they possibly can from the Modern Warfare franchise before it falls apart.  That’s the only justification I can think of for why a map pack, the  McDonald’s hamburger of downloadable content, could possibly be priced at 1,200 Microsoft points.  However, Activision seems to think that Modern Warfare 2 players will pay anything to cure mapathy, and I’m sad to say that they’re probably right.

Destructiod managed to get the map names before they vanished from the Live website:

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Jason West and Vince Zampella, the former president and CEO of Infinity Ward respectively, may be looking at spending the next few years in court with Activision over Modern Warfare 2 royalties, but that doesn’t mean they’re not on the prowl for new opportunities.  Both have recently signed to be represented by the Creative Artists Agency, Hollywood’s biggest talent agency.

While some big names in gaming do in fact have representation in one form or another and the two may be looking to start an independent development company, I wouldn’t be surprised to see them pulled into some sort of film project.  Call of Duty has always had great story arcs and incredible settings, both of which translate quite well in to non-interactive media.

That is, of course, if Activision doesn’t own them.  I guess we’ll see!

Via the L.A. Times

Bizzarre Creations and Activision have been fairly tight-lipped about Blur, but with launch date edging ever-closer features are beginning to slip out.  We’ve already heard about players issuing cross-platform challenges via Twitter, and today we have news about downloadable content straight from lead designer Ged Talbot.

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It looks like Tuesday’s drama over the ousting of Infinity Ward’s Vince Zampella and Jason West was just the beginning – we now have word that the two have filed suit against Activision for breach of contract.  According to the press release, the two were due for some “substantial” royalty payments but got the axe just before they were set to be paid out.

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Activision and Bizarre Creations are attempting to smash down the walls of platform-specific services by allowing players of their new title, Blur, to issue challenges to one another via Twitter.  Though these challenges won’t affect  in-game rankings and certainly won’t link Xbox Live subscribers to PSN users, it will still help to keep people with different hardware engaged in the same game world.  This may be a smart play, considering the massive gap that exists between the three main gaming platforms.

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According to ars technica, the closed beta for Blizzard Entertainment’s long-awaited and oft-delayed StarCraft II is officially live.

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