Call of Duty 4 is great. We like it, you like it and Bungie sure as shit likes it. Doesn't matter if Bungie's Halo 3 and Infinity Ward's CoD4 duke it out over most played XBLA title, Bungie looks at the game as a possible source of inspiration. As Bungie's Lead AI Programmer Damian Isla (pictured, compressed) points out:

We have a lot to learn from their success too, they did some very innovative things to keep people going and their experience-rewards system was something that we paid a lot of attention to... I think it's a great game and single player obviously is fantastic... They did a hell of a job with their set pieces, of scripting certain moments that they were really sure the player was going to actually see and experience first hand. The way that they use those moments to craft the player experience... Halo has a lot to learn from.

Always nice to see developer take another's work, incorporate it and hopefully improve what they do. Warm fuzzy feelings all around!

Bungie: We've got a lot to learn from Call of Duty 4 [Games Industry] [Pic]

I often use the example of Activision doubling the price of Call of Duty 4 on Steam to illustrate how dire the "price of games" situation has become in Australia, but Andrew Ramadge of News.com.au has uncovered a better one:

... Gamers who visit the Steam and Electronic Arts websites are charged up to five times more to download popular titles like Medal Of Honour: Airborne -- which Australians can buy and download for $99.95, while users in the US pay just $21.15 ($US19.95).

Yes, we can import, but that doesn't mean everyone else should have to cough up the cash. And why should we be forced to look overseas in the first place? That just doesn't make sense to me.

It's unlikely prices will come down anytime soon - the publishers would vomit at the lost profits - so buying games will continue to be an online affair for us (minus Steam, of course).

The article also notes how the ACCC is powerless to do anything and, unsurprisingly, that none of the publishers were willing to talk about the problem.

Aussies paying five times more for software [News.com.au]

It's time to turn down the lights down real low. Set the mood, right. Previously, Microsoft exec and ladies man Aaron Greenberg talked up Bill Gates hot tub habits with two Penthouse Pets. This time it is Robert Bowling from Infinity Ward's turn. Robert Bowling? Yes, ROBERT BOWLING. He talks to the Pets about his part in Call of Duty 4:

Penthouse Lady: You are behind Call of Duty 4, right?
Robert Bowling: Uh, yeah. I'm the Community Manager for Call of Duty 4: Modern Warefare and Infinity Ward, which is the developer.
Penthouse Lady: Right on.

Phew. Good thing that wasn't all awkward. It sure could've been. These clips are from GDC and will never get old. Never.

In Bed With The Pets [Das Gamer via videogaming247]

Infinity Ward's Call of Duty 4 was fantastic. Treyarch's CoD3 wasn't as fantastic. Granted, it was pretty good! But honestly, not as good as Infinity Ward's CoD2. (See where this is going?) Says CoD5 senior producer Noah Heller:

PC Call of Duty 4 gamers can download four maps free in an NVIDIA-sponsored Variety Map Pack due to drop Thursday.

The four maps for Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare are the Broadcast, Chinatown, Killhouse and Creek maps. Furthermore, PC players will get a patch that fixes a server crash, fixes some other bugs, adds in some things and, oh yeah, enables support for the new maps.

So, PC gamers, don't say nobody never did nuthin' for ya. Xbox 360 owners had to buy this. Enjoy!

Variety Map Pack Sponsored by NVIDIA hits PC June 5th [IAMfourzerotwo]

Activision saw a record $US 2.90 billion in revenue for the fiscal year ending March 2008, the publisher announced today - $US 602.5 million was in the fourth quarter alone, as compared to $US 312.5 million during the same period last year.

Strong worldwide sales for Call of Duty 4, Guitar Hero III and Spider-Man 3 drove the considerable growth, supported by Transformers: The Game and Shrek The Third. NPD data also shows that GHIII was the year's best-selling game in the U.S. and Europe in dollars during the year, while CoD4 was the number two worldwide best-seller in Europe, and the number one highest-earning PC title worldwide. Both franchises have surpassed a billion dollars in sales since launch.

It was the most profitable fourth quarter ever for Activision, even though the publisher did not release any new titles during that period. With its overall growth outpacing the rest of the market by more than four times, the company is now the number one console and handheld software publisher in dollars, according to NPD Group data.

PlayStation 3 gamers who've answered the fourth Call of Duty will get their version of the Variety Map Pack this Thursday, a DLC bonus that Xbox 360 owners have been enjoying for a few weeks now. The new maps will hit the PlayStation Stores in both North America and Europe. In additionally good news, this weekend will be a "Double XP Weekend Extravaganza" giving Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare players twice the experience.

The official word from Infinity Ward is that the devs will be available for headshotting on Friday, April 25 from 11AM to 2PM PDT and from 5 PM to 8 PM PDT. It should give us something to do while we wait for the Metal Gear Online beta to go prime time.

Call of Duty 4's Variety Map Pack was downloaded one million times in the first nine days, a new record for Xbox Live Marketplace, Activision said this morning.

The publisher said that more than 30 million sessions of the game, totalling 32 million hours of gameplay, were logged from April 4 to April 12. Sheesh, you guys really do live your COD.

"Infinity Ward is extremely grateful for support from our loyal Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare community around the world," said Robert Bowling, community relations manager, Infinity Ward. "From the beginning, we were committed to do our best and that continues now with the Variety Map Pack. We can't wait to get back online with everyone."

Hit the jump for the full release.

We're smack dab in the middle of the Call of Duty 4 Live Fire weekend, where Xbox 360 COD4 players have a chance to win prizes, play with devs, challenge girls, or maybe even learn a thing or two. Kicking things off are hourly prizes, in which everyone who plays a multiplayer match of COD4 online are entered, meaning your odds pretty much suck. They get worse for the Grand Prize - an Xbox 360 Elite console, VIP Accessories kit, and various bits of Call of Duty 4 merchandise. For those of you not into games of chance, Infinity Ward game devs will be on hand tonight from 6-9 Eastern to challenge all comers. The tomorrow night from 9-11 Eastern you can choose to challenge the girls of the Xbox Gamerchix, or possibly three-time UFC lightweight champion Jens Pulver. Finally Sunday is for newbies, with many of the Xbox Ambassadors available to help you learn the ropes, or just suck less. Hit up the link for more info on the Call Of Duty 4 Live Fire Weekend.

Call Of Duty 4 Live Fire Weekend [Xbox.com]

Bonus NPD news! Activision & Infinity Ward have taken this month's NPD software sales and done the math on Call of Duty 4's lifetime sales data. According to them, it's sold nine million copies since November. Nine million. For a game that didn't get the marketing of, say, Halo 3, and was only released in November, those are some staggering numbers. Staggering, but for such an extraordinary game, totally deserved. They're also reporting that the 360 map packs have already been downloaded one million times, so I get the feeling some corks will be popped and some backs slapped over at Infinity Ward come Friday afternoon.
CoD4 sells over 9 million copies and breaks DLC Records [IAMfourzerotwo]