Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 is a first-person
shooter video game,
developed by Infinity
Ward and Sledgehammer
Games, with Raven
Software having assisted in development.[7] It is the third
installment in the Modern Warfare series, a direct sequel to 2009's Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2, and the eighth Call of Duty
installment.
The game was released on November 8, 2011 in North America on Microsoft Windows, Xbox 360, PlayStation 3,[8] and Wii,[6] with a separate version for Nintendo DS developed by n-Space. In Australia, the
Wii version was released on November 23, 2011.[9] In Japan, Square Enix handled the
installment with a separate subtitled and dubbed version, as they did for Call
of Duty: Black Ops, released November 17, 2011 and December 22,
2011 respectively. Within 24 hours of going on sale, the game sold 6.5 million
copies in the U.S. and UK alone and grossed $400 million, making it the biggest
entertainment launch of all time.[10][11][12]
Gameplay
Like its predecessors, Modern Warfare 3 is a first-person
shooter video game. Activision
confirmed at Gamescom 2011, that Modern
Warfare 3 on the PC
has dedicated
servers support.[13]
Campaign
The player assumes the role of various characters during
the single-player campaign, changing perspectives throughout the progression of
the story, which, like its predecessors, is divided into three sets of missions
called "Acts". Each mission in an act features a series of objectives
that are displayed on the heads up
display, which marks the direction and distance towards and from
such objectives. Damage to the player is shown by the percentage of blood
splatter shown on the screen. The player's health regenerates over time.
Mission objectives vary in their requirements, ranging from having the player
arrive at a particular checkpoint, to eliminating enemies in a specified location,
to standing their ground against enemy squadrons, manning mini-guns and other
weapons, and planting explosive charges on an enemy installation. Some of these
objectives can be failed, and may or may not hinder progression of the story.
The player is also accompanied by fellow soldiers who cannot be issued orders.
Cooperative
Modern Warfare 3
features a new mode, called Survival
Mode. This game mode features one or two players fighting endless
waves of enemies, with each wave becoming increasingly difficult. Despite being
much compared to the World at War Nazi Zombies mode, enemies do not spawn at
fixed locations like the zombies do; instead, they appear at tactical positions
based on the current location of the player. The mode is available on all
multiplayer maps in the game. Players earn cash for items such as weapons, upgrades,
ammo, air/ground support and equipment.[14][15] Special Ops
also returns from Modern Warfare 2. These challenge missions feature up
to 48 stars, unlike its previous installment, which featured 69. Some weapons
in Spec Ops are exclusive to that game mode, and are not available for play in
Multiplayer mode.[16]
The entire Killstreak reward system has been
revamped. Killstreaks are now known as Pointstreaks, and kills are no
longer the only way to increase the player's pointstreak. Completing objectives
such as planting the bomb in Search and Destroy or capturing a flag in Capture
The Flag awards points towards the player's Pointstreak. Pointstreak
rewards are organized into three different "strike packages" called Assault,
Support, and Specialist.
The Assault strike package works the same as the
Killstreak reward system in Modern Warfare 2 and Black Ops: the
player must earn more and more points without dying. Once the player is killed,
his or her points are reset to zero. Likewise, the Specialist strike
package rewards players with perks after every second consecutive kill. Upon
death, however, the player loses all the perks and the points are reset to
zero. In contrast, the Support strike package are awarded based on the
total points that the player has earned over the entire match, regardless of
how often the player dies.[17] Players are
allowed to choose which Pointstreak rewards they want to use when they gain it
during the match, rather than choosing them between rounds.
Along with revamping the entire Killstreak reward system,
Modern Warfare 3 also has a completely modified Ranking and Unlocks
system, which does not use a currency system for unlocks.[18] The player's
primary weapon levels up alongside the player, and unlocks a number of
"Proficiency" perks such as Attachments, (allows two
attachments and is a successor to the "Bling" and "Warlord"
perks), Kick (reduced recoil while aiming down the player's sight) and Focus
(reduced flinching while under fire). Only one Proficiency can be put on a
primary weapon.[19] Another new
addition is the ability to equip "Hybrid Scopes" on a weapon, such as
a Reflex Sight a magnifier similar to an ACOG on the same weapon, and the player can switch between
the scopes.[19] Modern
Warfare 3 introduces a new "Prestige Shop" which will unlock only
after the player has selected the option to prestige for the first time. The
"Prestige Shop" allows Prestige players to use tokens they gain from
using the Prestige option to buy exclusive features such as double XP and an
extra custom weapon class.[20]
Several controversial perks in Modern Warfare 2,
accused of being overpowered, have been removed in Modern Warfare 3.
Diving from standing to prone, known as "dolphin diving", has been
removed due to balancing issues.[21] Modern
Warfare 3 will utilize Treyarch's hot fix system to fix bugs and glitches.[22] Modern
Warfare 3 features a local and online split-screen option.[23]
Several new game modes have also been added:
- "Kill Confirmed" requires players to
collect floating dog tags from the corpse of a downed enemy before the kill
can be registered. However, the opposing team can pick up the dog tag as
well to deny the other team of a kill.
- "Team Defender" requires both teams to try
to capture a flag dropped by the first person who gets killed when the
match starts, and hold it to gain double points per kill while the team
without the flag only gets the default amount per kill.
Private matches also now include pre-made game modes
including: "Infected" (where the infected kills enemies to recruit
them to their team), "Drop Zone" (where the player must hold a drop
zone for points and care packages), "Team Juggernaut" (each team
plays alongside an AI Juggernaut character), "Gun Game" (be the first
to get one kill with every gun in the game), "One in the Chamber" (in
which players are only allowed one pistol with one bullet and three lives where
they can only get more bullets by killing other players), and
"Juggernaut" (free for all against a juggernaut, kill the juggernaut
to become it). Along with this, players are allowed to create their own game
modes with customized settings such as number of players and time limit.[17]
Special Ops
The Special Ops game mode from Modern Warfare 2 is
present in Modern Warfare 3, and includes new features which make it
more repayable and similar to other game modes, such as Nazi Zombies from
previous Call of Duty games, and Hordes from Gears of War. One of
the changes makes it easier to unlock new Special Ops levels, which is good for
casual players, but undesirable for those looking for a challenge. The two main
Special Ops modes include one that is generally the same from the last Modern
Warfare game, and a new wave based game where the player is inserted into a
multiplayer map alone or with a single partner and defends an area against
waves of enemies. Between waves, the players can buy support options with XP
earned during each round.
Call of Duty: Elite
Main article: Call
of Duty: Elite
Call of Duty: Elite is a
new free/subscription-based service developed by Beachhead Studios for the
multiplayer portion of Modern Warfare 3 (as well as the previous
installment in the series, Black Ops). It was first showcased at E3 2011 and was released on
November 8, 2011 to coincide with the release of Modern Warfare 3. The
free version includes features such as lifetime statistics and
social-networking integration. The subscription version is priced at $49.99 per
year and includes monthly downloadable
content, daily competitions with virtual and real life prizes, the
ability to level up your clan, pro analysis and strategies, and more.[24]
Downloadable content
Main article: Downloadable Content in Call of Duty:
Modern Warfare 3
This
section has been split to Downloadable Content in Call of
Duty: Modern Warfare 3. This section may need to be cleaned up
or summarized
|
Initially at the release of Modern Warfare 3 and Call
of Duty's Elite
service, premium members of the service were promised 20 pieces of downloadable
content (DLC) over a 9 month period with content releases for each platform
every month. This number was later increased to 22 in Call of Duty's
official Elite Content Calendar.[25]
The DLC season began for Xbox 360 users on January 24,
2012 with the release of the first two Elite content releases, called Drops.
The DLC season for the PlayStation 3 began a month later when the first two
content drops were released on February 28, 2012. Drop 1 is a
multiplayer map called "Piazza". Drop 2 is a multiplayer map
called "Liberation".
Drop 3 is a multiplayer map
which is similar to the "Highrise" map from Modern Warfare 2
called "Overwatch". Drop 3 was released on the Xbox 360
February 21 and on the PlayStation March 29.
Drops 4, 5 and 6
consisted of a multiplayer map and, two extra Spec Ops missions. Drop 4
is a multiplayer map called "Black Box" which takes place around a
downed Air Force One. "Black Ice" is the first Spec Ops mission which
adds the Snowmobiles back into the game. Drop 6 is another Spec Ops
mission which consists of lots of "Breach and Clear" events throughout
the mission which takes place in India. It was made available for Xbox 360 Elite
users on March 13 and for PlayStation 3 on April 12.
The first full map pack, Content Collection 1,
consisting of Drop 1 through 6, became available for non-Elite
on March 20 for Xbox 360. It will become available for PlayStation 3 and PC
sometime in April.
Drops 7 and 8, both
multiplayer maps, were released for Xbox 360 Elite users on April 10. Drop
7 is called "Sanctuary", taking place in a Greek monastery, Drop
8 is called "Foundation", taking place in a concrete factory.
Synopsis
Characters
Main article: List of characters in Call of Duty:
Modern Warfare 3
The game sees the return of former Task Force 141 Cpt. John "Soap" MacTavish
(voiced by Kevin
McKidd), former S.A.S.
Cpt. John Price (Billy
Murray) and Russian informant "Nikolai", who are on the
run after killing the rogue U.S.
Army Lt. General Shepherd, the main antagonist of the
previous game. However, for most of the game, the player will
control Yuri (Brian Bloom),
an ex-Spetsnaz who joins Price on
his hunt for Russian Ultranationalist leader Vladimir Makarov (Roman
Varshavsky). Makarov returns as the game's primary antagonist,[26] and has a new
contact named "Volk", a Russian bombmaker in Paris, France. Several new
playable characters have been added, including: Delta Force operative Sgt.
Derek "Frost" Westbrook; S.A.S.
Sgt. Marcus Burns; and Andrei Harkov, a Russian federal security agent tasked
with protecting the Russian President. Just like President Al-Fulani in the first game, Soap is only "playable" during the
game's opening sequence; while Price becomes the player character in the game's
final mission, Dust to
Dust. The player also takes brief control of a civilian tourist
in London, seconds before he and his family are killed by a chemical agent; as
well as an AC-130 TV Operator during Team Metal's escape from Paris in the
mission Iron Lady.
New non-player characters (NPCs) include: Delta Force
operatives "Sandman" (William Fichtner),[27]
"Truck" (Idris Elba),
and "Grinch" (Timothy
Olyphant), who serve as Frost's squadmates. Captain MacMillan
returns from Call of Duty 4 to provide the 141 with critical
intelligence. Craig
Fairbrass, who originally voiced the characters Gaz
and Ghost,
returns to voice SAS
operative Sergeant Wallcroft, who originally had a minor role in the first Modern
Warfare.[28]
Plot
On
August 17, 2016, hours after killing General Shepherd, Captain Price
and Nikolai evacuate a dying John "Soap" MacTavish from Site Hotel
Bravo, Afghanistan. Soap receives
medical attention in a safehouse run by Nikolai's Loyalist allies in Himachal
Pradesh, India, but Vladamir Makarov's forces arrive in an attempt
to kill the trio. After the doctor is shot down, Yuri, Nikolai's best soldier
with a grudge against Makarov, gives Soap an adrenaline shot to keep his heart
going, and helps to secures a safe route out of the country. Together, the four
are all that remain of the now-disavowed Task Force 141. On the same day, World War III continues.
The actions of Delta Force
Team Metal—made up of Sgt. Derek "Frost" Westbrook,
"Grinch", "Truck", and their C.O. "Sandman" (with
whom Soap, Price, and Ghost previously worked
together with on Operation Kingfish three years ago to kill/capture
Makarov)—facilitates the Russian army's withdrawal from the invasion of Lower Manhattan,
New York. They destroy a jamming tower on top of the New
York Stock Exchange, then hijack a Russian Oscar
II submarine in the East River,
in order to use its ordinance against its own fleet.
On October 4, 2016, Russian
President Boris Vorshevsky announces plans to make peace with the
United States at a summit in Hamburg, Germany. However,
Makarov's men hijack Vorshevsky's plane and force it into a crash landing at the Hamburg
tarmac. F.S.O. Agent Andrei Harkov attempts to secure
Vorshevsky's safety, but is killed when Makarov appears inside what the F.S.O.
mistake as the evac chopper. Makarov kidnaps the President, and plans to
capture and torture his daughter Alena, to force the President to give Makarov
access to the Russian nuclear arsenal.
Soap recovers from his wounds, and, with help from Yuri;
and with intel from Price's former mentor and C.O., MacMillan; the 141 follow
Makarov's trail to an arms transport in Sierra Leone, but are
unable to intercept the cargo, which is distributed to Paris, Berlin, and London. A British S.A.S.
unit, including Sgt. Marcus Burns and Sgt. Wallcroft, is sent in
to deal with the cargo, but discover one of the transports to be a decoy. A
piece of the real cargo, revealed to be a biochemical
weapon from Fregata Industries, is detonated on a London street
nearby, killing a young American family as it releases its toxic payload near Big Ben. The attacks pave
the way for the Russian
Army to invade Europe, and Team Metal is deployed to Hamburg to
rescue the U.S.
Vice President from a hostage situation. Acting on intelligence
supplied by Price, who had extracted it from a warlord in Somalia named
Waraabe, they capture Volk, Russian bomb-maker and CEO of Fregata, in Paris.
They then fight to an extraction point with the help of an AC-130 gunship, but the Eiffel Tower collapses into
the river after a bombing run eliminates all Russian forces at the escape
point.
Team Metal learns from Volk of Makarov's hiding at the
Hotel Lustig in Prague, where he is about
to call a meeting with his top advisors. Price's team infiltrates the locked-down
city, meeting up with Loyalist Kamarov, now an organizer of the Czech
Resistance, to try to assassinate Makarov. Yuri and Soap take up sniping
postitons from a church tower across from the hotel, but Kamarov himself is
taken hostage and rigged with explosives. Price, who sneaks into the building,
escapes the hotel just as Kamarov is blown up. Makarov reveals that he knows
Yuri personally, by acknowledging him as his former "friend". Makarov
then detonates rigged explosives in Yuri and Soap's overwatch spot. Soap and
Yuri are not killed by the explosion, but the former is wounded from the height
he'd fallen, causing his
knife wound to reopen. Yuri helps him and escapes with Price to a
resistance safehouse. As Yuri tries to help, Soap tells Price that Makarov and
Yuri know each other before dying. After leaving his Colt M1911 pistol with
Soap's body and taking Soap's journal and dog tag, an enraged Price punches
Yuri down a staircase and holds him at gunpoint, demanding him to explain his
connection with Makarov.
Yuri explains that he was a former Ultranationalist who
befriended Makarov, both escorts of Zakhaev. They evacuated Zakhaev from the
arms deal at Price's 1996 assassination mission; and witnessed Makarov's
detonation of the nuclear bomb in the Middle East, killing 30,000 of Shepherd's
Marines. Yuri, changed by the latter event, attempted to stop the massacre
at the Zakhaev International Airport in Moscow 5 years later, but was found out,
restrained and shot in the stomach by Makarov beforehand. Yuri's guilt
convinces Price that they are fighting for the same thing, and the two keep
their alliance.
After infiltrating Makarov's castle near Prague and
learning of Vorshevsky's captivity, Price alerts Team Metal of an
Ultranationalist plan to abduct Alena from a safehouse in Berlin. Team Metal is
unable to prevent the kidnapping, but trace Makarov's Ultranationalists to a Siberian diamond mine.
Together with Task Force 141 (minus Frost), they ensure the safety of President
Vorshevsky and Alena, end the conflict between the United States and Russia,
and clear the name of the Task Force 141. During extraction, Sandman, Grinch,
and Truck stay behind to buy the evacuation chopper some time, but are killed
when the mine collapses on them.
On January 21, 2017, three months after World War III,
Price, Yuri, and Nikolai track Makarov to Hotel Oasis in the Arabian Peninsula. Price
and Yuri assault the hotel with E.O.D. armor, which is
later destroyed by the impact of a crashing helicopter. Makarov attempts to
escape by another helicopter on the roof, but Price kills the two pilots and
crashes the helicopter back down. Makarov prepares to murder a weary Price, but
is distracted in time by Yuri, whom he kills instead. Enraged, Price tackles
Makarov and wraps a steel cable around his throat, then forces and crashes his
body through the glass roof, resulting in Makarov's death by hanging and the end of the
Ultranationalist movement. Price lands on the atrium floor, and smokes a cigar
in front of Makarov's hanging corpse as the police arrive. A picture of Soap,
Price, Ghost and Sandman as part of "Operation Kingfish" is shown after
the credits.
Development
]System Requirements
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A 2010 Q3 earnings call from Activision confirmed that
the eighth installment of the franchise was currently in development by
Sledgehammer Games and Raven Software and due for release "during the back
half of 2011". This was revealed to be Infinity Ward's Call of Duty:
Modern Warfare 3, with the latter developers co-developing multiplayer.[30] Call of Duty:
Modern Warfare 3 was known to be in development after a legal dispute
between Infinity Ward co-founders Jason West and Vince Zampella and Activision resulted in the
pair being fired from the company. Several dozen Infinity Ward employees
followed West and Zampella as a result of the ongoing dispute, causing Activision to enlist the
services of Sledgehammer Games and Raven Software to assist development of the
title.[31] The game was
said to have been in development since only two weeks after the release of
their previous game, Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2.[7] Also reported was
that Sledgehammer is aiming for a "bug free" first outing in the Call
of Duty franchise, which also sets a goal for Metacritic review scores
above 95 percent.[32] Modern
Warfare 3 utilizes the MW3 Engine,
unofficially the IW 5.0 Engine. Improvements include better streaming and
audio.[3] Sledgehammer
Games announced the game to be the first entry in the Modern Warfare
series to have built-in support for color-blind gamers.[33]
The Official UK PlayStation Magazine lent credence to
speculation that Modern Warfare 3 would be a prequel starring fan
favourite character Ghost. The magazine's sources strengthened a rumor which
first reared its head online early in January 2011. On the Rumor Machine page
in its issue (055), OPM points to "insider whispers" which suggest:
"Infinity Ward's next Modern Warfare title will be a prequel, with
Ghost in the lead role."[34] According to PSM3,
the first snippet of Modern Warfare 3 gameplay would be revealed in
mid-April. According to the publication's May 2011 issue, insider rumors say
"the next in Activision's megaton FPS series will be announced in
mid-April".[35]
On May 13, 2011, video game website Kotaku revealed the existence of Modern
Warfare 3 following a massive leak. According to Kotaku, this leak came
from multiple sources who may or may not work at Activision and Infinity Ward.
The leak contained thorough information about the game, confirming that it
would be a direct sequel to Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2, as well details regarding
weapons, levels and modes found in the game.[36] In response to
the leaks, Robert Bowling tweeted "A lot of hype & a lot of leaked
info on MW3, some still accurate, some not. To avoid spoiling the
experience, I'd wait for the real reveal." Just hours after the leaked
assets appeared on Kotaku, four teaser trailers were released on the official Call
of Duty YouTube page, separately
titled "America", "England", "France" and
"Germany", indicating the various locales of the game.[37]
Marketing
On May 23, 2011, Activision released the
first gameplay trailer for Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 on YouTube
ahead of its official premiere during the NBA Western Conference Finals.[38] On May 31, 2011,
Activision announced Call
of Duty: Elite, a new social service for the Call of Duty
community to track and compare statistics, create videos and access premium
content. The service is fully integrated into Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3,
and launched on November 8, 2011 to coincide with the game's release.[39] On June 6, 2011,
at 11:00 AM (PDT), the first live gameplay demo of Modern Warfare 3 was
presented by Robert Bowling and Glen Schofield at E3 2011. On June 14, 2011,
12:35 PM (EST), the first live gameplay demo of the new Survival Mode was
played by Jimmy
Fallon and Simon Pegg
on Late Night With Jimmy Fallon.[40] On August 9,
2011, the trailer for the new Survival Mode was released on YouTube.[41] On September 2,
2011, the multiplayer world premiere trailer was released on YouTube.[42] On September 3,
2011, another multiplayer trailer was released on YouTube showing off the
heads-up display along with various weapons, perks, and killstreaks.[43] On October 6, 2011,
a second full-length cinematic trailer was released.[44] On October 22,
2011, the launch trailer was released.[45]
On July 19, 2011, UK distributor Lygo's unveiled a range
of Turtle
Beach Ear Force Modern Warfare 3 gaming headsets that
launched in November 2011. The headsets are distinguished by custom audio
presets designed by the audio teams at developers Infinity Ward and
Sledgehammer Games "in order to provide the ultimate immersion into the
cinematic world of Modern Warfare 3".[46] On August 24,
2011, Activision revealed the official Modern Warfare 3 sunglasses.
These Call of Duty-branded glasses come from technology eyewear
manufacturer GUNNAR – in a licensed partnership with Activision – and join its
"Advanced Gaming Eyewear" line. They come with a limited edition Modern
Warfare 3 carrying case and cleaning cloth. The product is sold exclusively
in North America at Best Buy retail locations and at select European retailers.[47] Microsoft
released two limited-edition Modern Warfare 3-themed accessories on
October 11, 2011, a wireless controller and a wireless headset.[48] On September 29,
2011, Munitio announced a partnership with Activision in order to make a
special edition Modern Warfare 3 9 mm "billet" earphone
featuring the Modern Warfare 3 logo, among other things. The earphones
were available for pre-order and were released on October 23, 2011.[49] On October 18,
2011, Logitech announced a
partnership with Activision in order to make a special edition Modern
Warfare 3 mouse and keyboard which feature many things, including the Modern
Warfare 3 logo.[50]
On September 2, 2011, Jeep announced a partnership with Activision
for the second year in a row, to make a special edition Modern Warfare 3
Jeep based on the Wrangler
Rubicon model. The Jeep comes with various features including the
interior and exterior being designed with a Modern Warfare 3 theme. Jeep
dealers started selling this model in November 2011.[51]
On August 24, 2011, the PepsiCo-owned brand Mountain Dew officially
announced on their Facebook page that they would be promoting the game with
their "Game Fuel" soda variants, which would be
cherry-citrus-flavored (the original Game Fuel that promoted Halo 3 in 2007 and
brought back in 2009 to promote World of Warcraft) and
Tropical-flavored (a new flavor that was tested by 500 Dew Labs members). The
drinks feature codes to give the player double experience points in-game for a
limited time depending on the size of the drink.[52] Another
PepsiCo-owned brand, Doritos,
are promoting the game with their "Cool Ranch" and "Nacho
Cheese" flavors and also follow the same rules as the Mountain Dew
promotion. Both promotions started on October 10, 2011 and ended on December
31, 2011.[53] In Australia,
500 ml cans of V Energy Drink
have been branded with the Modern Warfare 3 logo, along with a branded
code which can be used for downloads and previews.[54]
To promote the game, Activision held a two-day
event called Call of Duty: Experience 2011 (Call of Duty: XP
for short) which took place in Los Angeles from September
2–3, 2011. It featured many things including the reveal of the new multiplayer
which attendees were able to play for the first time. In addition, all
attendees received the Hardened Edition for free as a gift for attending.[55] At a Call of
Duty: Modern Warfare 3 VIP party in Amsterdam, Dutch porn star and avid fan
of the series Kim Holland was originally invited to attend the event until she
was suddenly uninvited when Activision discovered her profession. In her blog,
she shared her opinion and feelings towards Activision's sudden decision:
"People murdering people is neat, [...] but love-makers are dirty?"
she wrote. Activision did not respond to any comments about the subject.[56]
Activision had planned to set up an official website to
promote the game, however the domain name "ModernWarfare3.com" had
already been taken and was used for an anti-Call of Duty website and
redirecting users to Electronic
Arts's game Battlefield
3. Activision filed a lawsuit against the site with the National
Arbitration Forum costing US$2,600.[57] On September 8,
2011, Activision won the lawsuit and acquired the rights to the domain name.[58] In November
2011, actors Jonah Hill
and Sam
Worthington (who voiced the main character Alex Mason in Black
Ops), and NBA athlete Dwight
Howard starred in commercials advertising the game.[59]
Release
Two weeks before the release of the game, it was reported
that half of the PC version had been uploaded online after being stolen from a
warehouse in Fresno, California. Investigators working on behalf of Activision
have been searching torrent websites for traces of the game as well as visiting
people who had downloaded a copy across the United States and requesting that
they remove it or they will face a fine of US$5000.[60]
As early as late October, reports were already surfacing
about copies being sold early to people with gameplay videos uploaded online.[61] On November 3,
2011, it was reported that copies of the game were already being sold early in
the United States. K-Mart had already started
selling copies of the game before its scheduled release date with copies
already appearing on eBay and Craigslist. This was due to
an error made by one the shipping companies that told K-mart to sell copies of
the game immediately after receiving the shipments. However, Activision
contacted K-mart about this and had the issue resolved.[62]
French site TF1 News
reported that a truck suffered a collision with a car on November 6, 2011 in Créteil, south Paris, before two masked individuals emerged
from the car. The criminals reportedly used tear gas to neutralise the truck
drivers before hopping in and making off with the video game shipment said to
be worth 400,000 Euros. A separate report said the truck contained a delivery
of 6000 copies of Modern Warfare 3.[63]
Shortly after the game's release, a man from Aurora, Colorado who did
not receive a copy of the game at his local Best Buy, despite pre-ordering it,
claimed to be so angry that he "could blow this place up". He was
also reported as having threatened to shoot employees once they left the store.
Lomon Sar, age 31, was issued a citation and court summons by police responding
to the disturbance.[64]
Retail versions
Modern Warfare 3 was
released in two different retail versions across the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 platforms:
Standard and Hardened. The standard version consists of the game and an
instructional manual, and is the only version available for the Microsoft
Windows platform. Contents within the Hardened Edition include the game disc
with "unique art", one year membership to Call of Duty: Elite,
"special founder status" on Call of Duty: Elite which includes an
exclusive in-game emblem, playercard, weapon camouflage, clan XP boost, and
more exclusive benefits, premium collectible Steelbook
case, exclusive animated timeline theme for PS3 only, exclusive Spec Ops
Juggernaut Xbox Live avatar outfit for
Xbox 360 only, and a limited edition, collectible field journal, which
chronicles "the entire saga with 100+ pages of authentic military
sketches, diagrams, and written entries."[65]
Robert Bowling of Infinity Ward confirmed that there will
be no Prestige Edition of Modern Warfare 3. In the past, the Prestige
editions of previous Call of Duty games have included physical items
such as a remote-controlled car for Black Ops, and a pair of night
vision goggles and a life-sized plastic head to put them on for Modern
Warfare 2.[66]
On August 19, 2011, UK retailer Game announced an Intel
Pack of Modern Warfare 3. It comes with a British special forces avatar
for both the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 versions, as well as a Brady strategy
guide.[67] On September 3,
2011, Activision and Microsoft jointly announced a special, limited Modern
Warfare 3 version of the Xbox 360 with a 320GB hard disk. The unit is
designed by the Call of Duty team and includes two custom wireless
controllers, a copy of Modern Warfare 3 and features custom sounds when
the console is turned on/off or when the disc tray is ejected. A one month
subscription to Xbox Live Gold is also included, as well as exclusive avatar
items.[68]
Sales and revenue
Activision has said that it believes Call of Duty:
Modern Warfare 3 day-one shipments were the largest for any game ever.
"The record number of pre-orders from Modern Warfare 3 drove the
largest day-one shipments in our history, and in the industry's history,"
said Activision Publishing CEO Eric Hirshberg during an earnings call on
November 8, 2011. Hirshberg said more than 1.5 million people queued at 13,000
shops at midnight on Monday to buy Modern Warfare 3, "making it the
largest retail release in Activision's history and in the industry's
history".[69]
Activision reported sales figures for Modern Warfare 3
in the U.S. and UK being more than 6.5 million copies sold on launch day and
grossed $400 million in the US and UK alone in its first 24 hours, making it
the biggest entertainment launch of all time.[70] It is the third
year in a row that the Call Of Duty series has broken the same record.
2010's Black Ops grossed $360 million on day one; in 2009, Modern
Warfare 2 brought in $310 million.[71] Activision
Blizzard president and CEO Robert Kotick stated that
"the launch of Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 is the biggest
entertainment launch of all time in any medium, and we [Activision] achieved
this record with sales from only two territories."[10]
The title grossed more than $775 million globally in its
first five days of availability, exceeding the $650 million record set by
2010's Call of Duty: Black Ops and the $550 million one achieved by
2009's Modern Warfare 2.[72] To be exact, it
has beaten theatrical box office, book, and video game sales records for
five-day worldwide sell-through in dollars.[73]
Modern Warfare 3 went
on to gross $1 billion throughout the world in 16 days of availability, beating
Avatar's
record of 17 days, according to Activision.[74]
According to NPD Group, Modern
Warfare 3 was November's biggest selling game of the month in the U.S. Modern
Warfare 3 sales surpassed first-month sales of 2010′s Black Ops by 7
percent, and sales for November sit at around the 9 million unit mark.[75][76]
Modern Warfare 3
topped the UK video game sales chart in its first week, becoming the biggest
video game launch in history by revenue. By November 21, 2011, the game
remained the bestselling title in the United Kingdom, despite sales dropping by
87%.[78] Modern
Warfare 3 held the top spot on the UK charts for a third week and fourth
week running. It was replaced by The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim in its fifth week on the
market.
The PS3 version of Modern Warfare 3 also topped
the Japanese chart in its first week on sale. The PS3 version shifted 180,372
copies, while the Xbox 360 version sold around 30,000.
[Official Trailer: httpvh://www.youtube.com/watch?v=coiTJbr9m04&feature=fvstsource: www.youtube.com ]
