The Los Angeles judge ruled that Activision had provided sufficient evidence against EA in the suit, and ordered the case be moved to trial.

Back in December 2010 , Activision filed an amended complaint to its $400 million lawsuit against West and Zampella for breach of contract, adding in that EA disengaged the duo after making various overtures since 2009.

Activision claims West and Zampella hired industry firm Creative Artists Agency to seek other employment while still under contract, and were even secretly flown via private jet to San Francisco to attend a barbecue held at EA CEO John Riccietello’s home during August 2009.

The firm also alleges EA had plans in place to finance and co-own a studio from West, Zampella and other employees who left Infinity Ward – a studio the publisher purchased in 2003.

West and Zampella previously filed a $36 million lawsuit against Activision, alleging they were terminated before royalty payments on Modern Warfare 2 could be paid. In June, a court judge ruled that the IW founders had provided sufficient evidence to support their case against Activision, therefore the case will be going to trial.

Via Yahoo Finance.

• Watch Ice T unbox the Gears of War 3 Xbox 360 limited edition bundle. Must be nice.
• The Xbox Live activity chart for the week is in. Guess what? Call of Duty titles take up three of the top 10 slots.
• Sony has decided on the box art for the ICO collection. We though it was already decided ages ago, but apparently we were wrong.
• Microsoft laid the banhammer down on some XBL users recently. Turns out, it was because they were stealing from the Marketplace.
• The “Get in the Game” winners have been revealed for Resistance 3.
• Square Enix is teasing something with a new webiste. Any idea what it could be?
• PSA: Rock of Ages is now available on Steam. Hooray.

According to court documents obtained by The Hollywood Reporter, the judge felt there was enough evidence to support the March 2010 claim Activision defrauded the duo by firing them before having to cut a royalty check for Modern Warfare 2.

In March, a superior court judge ruled that Activision also had sufficient claims against Electronic Arts, which it claimed were courting the duo in a secretive manner.

A trial will likely be set for the end of the year or early next year, so don’t expect any of this to be resolved soon.

According to a report over on Herald.ie, Microsoft Ireland’s general manager, Paul Rellis, revealed the information during his keynote at the Bank of Ireland Business Week conference.

According to Rellis,  Microsoft is now working with the Tallaght teenager so as to develop his talent and skills for “legitimate purposes.”

Microsoft’s put into affect a service alert for Xbox Live. Currently, the service as it is as well as Marketplace and the Account segments on the Xbox website are greenlit, but Matchmaking currently has a red light beside it in relation to “potential phishing attempts” on Modern Warfare 2.

It reads: “Users may receive potential phishing attempts via title specific messaging while playing Modern Warfare 2.

“We are aware of the problem and are working to resolve the issue. We apologize for any inconvenience this may cause and thank you for your patience”

It comes following a week of horrowing problems for PlayStation Network and the now week-long outage it has lasted. Sony last night confirmed that hackers had gained access to PSN account information, such as names, addresses, passwords and, potentially, credit card details.

PSN was taken offline last week following the detection of an “external intrusion”.

No release date has been decided for the update, though.

“The latest patch for Modern Warfare 2 has finished production and is now going through internal quality assurance. This new title update will address security issues that have affected online play,” community boss Rob Bowling said on the IW forums.

“We plan to release this update for all platforms (Playstation 3, Xbox 360, and PC). No release date is set at this time. Once an ETA is established, it will be posted here.”

The update will also fix a exploit on multiplayer map Fuel.

The update comes after Infinity Ward said it’ll no longer rely on the security of the platform holders following PS3 being hacked in January.

“Every developer dreams of making the No.1 selling title in the history of gaming,” said, speaking to MCV.

“You want to make the biggest, strongest, highest-rated, most critically acclaimed and best-selling video game on the planet.

“We looked at Modern Warfare 2 and said: ‘What an amazing benchmark, let’s go get it’.”

Despite Black Ops’ outstripping of its brethren in rate of sales, 2009′s titan still haunts the Treyarch team.

“It drives a lot of what we do everyday,” Vonderhaar said. “It is a huge inspiration to us, and for us to even be in that league, that’s fantastic.”

Thanks, GoNintendo.

Infinity Ward comms boss Rob Bowling has provided an update to the security problems facing the PS3 version of Modern Warfare 2.

Bowling said on the IW forums that the developer is looking to fix the problems currently facing the shooter “as quick as possible”.

“I just left a security meeting with the coders here at Infinity Ward where we discussed a lot of solutions. I feel good about the meeting, but of course I can’t go into detail on the possible solutions we discussed as we don’t want to give out any information that could potentially hinder the security any further,” he said.

“The key factor I want you to know is, that while any update takes time, we are looking to make the process as quick as possible and nothing is being left unattended.

“Our main focus right now is on:

1) Preventing hackers from affecting legitimate players.
2) Addressing users who have already been affected.”

Bowling had previously said in a post that Infinity Ward is not going to solely reply on the security of the platform holders, following news that PS3 had been hacked earlier this month.

Yesterday’s mandatory Xbox360 dashboard update may not have been as inconsequential as it seemed; those running illicit copies of Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 and Black Ops have found themselves locked out of both games.

According to Engadget, Xbox-Scene forumites first commented on the update’s strangely weighty file size and attendant download time.

After applying the update, burned copies of both Activision games ceased to function, suggesting Microsoft slipped a little more content than advertised into the patch.

The only publicised function of the update was a restoration of the lost boot to disc option.

Infinity Ward community head Rob Bowling has said that it will no longer solely rely on the first-party security of consoles, following reports that Modern Warfare 2 online stats were affected on PS3.

PS3 Modern Warfare 2 players have reportedly had their stats hacked and, in some cases, fully deleted.

The news comes after PlayStation 3 was fully compromised by hackers this year.

One user on the IW forums described the situation as “horrible, just horrible”.

“Games rely on the security of the encryption on the platforms they’re played on, therefore; updates to the game through patches will not resolve this problem, unless the security exploit itself is resolved on the platform,” said Bowling.

“Regretfully, Call of Duty games are receiving the bulk of the hackers’ attention, due to its high player counts and popularity. However, the number of legitimate players severely outweighs the bad apples.

“If you are concerned about playing with players who are hacking, I encourage you to play exclusively with friends by utilizing the party or private match options in Modern Warfare 2 and Call of Duty 4 to avoid such players as much as possible until this issue is resolved by Sony.

“Let me assure you, while we are very reliant on Sony updating their firmware and security to address the core problem of this issue. We are looking at EVERY option available to us to help any user affected.”

Bowling concluded: “This only applies to legacy games such as Call of Duty 4 and Modern Warfare 2.

“In the future we plan to adjust our approach to not rely solely on platform security and reduce the ability for this to happen in our games, as has already been displayed by the work Treyarch has done on Call of Duty: Black Ops to prevent similar measures.”

To catch up on everything in PS3 Hackgate, including insight from analyst Michael Pachter and Braid developer Jon Blow, hit this.

The NPD has released a top ten list of the best selling games of 2010 and amazingly, Call of Duty: Black Ops is royally serene at the very head.

Other notable entries include Black Ops’ precursor, Modern Warfare 2, at eighth place; Red Dead Redemption at fifth; and NBA 2K11 sneaking in at tenth.

The NPD’s data covers only physical media, so you won’t see any digital-only titles popping their heads over the bestseller event horizon. Anyway, digital sales data would probably just propel Black Ops even higher up the charts, requiring an entirely new method of counting to represent.

The full top ten’s below. Data utilised included all platforms and editions.

1. Call of Duty: Black Ops* (360, PS3, Wii, PC, NDS)
2. Madden NFL 11 (360, PS3, Wii, PS2, PSP)
3. Halo: Reach* (360)
4. New Super Mario Bros. Wii (Wii)
5. Red Dead Redemption (360, PS3)
6. Wii Fit Plus* (Wii)
7. Just Dance 2 (Wii)
8. Call Of Duty: Modern Warfare 2* (360, PS3, PC)
9. Assassin’s Creed: Brotherhood* (360, PS3)
10. NBA 2K11 (360, PS3, PS2, PSP, Wii, PC)

According to a story on thisisxbox.com, Infinity Ward is developing a prequel based on Ghost from Modern Warfare 2.

The game will apparently lead up to the events of Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare, showing how Ghost became a main part of Task Force 141 in MW2, as told in the series of David Lapham comics on Ghost put out around the time of MW2′s release.

These events will revisit COD4 and MW2, but this time from Ghost’s perspective.

Obviously, this could be absolutely untrue in every sense. We’ll ask Activision.

VG247 was told by US development sources last January that, before ex-heads Jason West and Vince Zampella were fired from the studio for insubordination, that Infinity Ward was not creating Modern Warfare 3.

Activision COO Thomas Tippl confirmed in a financial call last May that Infinity Ward was still working on something in the Call of Duty universe, although what that is unknown.

The future of the COD IP has also been determined outside of Infinity Ward: Treyarch will release the first map pack for Black Ops, First Strike, on February 1.

Upstart Sledgehammer Games, led by ex-Visceral bosses Glen Schofield and Michael Condery, is also working on a title in the series.

It’s thought that game is set in space, although nothing has been officially announced yet by Activision.

Jason West and Vince Zampella are countering Activision’s recent attempt to broaden the legal clash between the mega-publisher and the two ex-Infinity Ward heads by claiming undue financial hardship, according to documents unearthed by Kotaku.

West and Zampella have argued against widening the suit’s focus because “any delay of the trial in this lawsuit would increase the financial and non-financial burdens and would continue to distract us from running our business and earning a living”.

The pair claim legal fees to date have already exceeded their combined annual salaries.

The newly-filed papers also allege that Activision’s proposed amendment to the suit was a calculated move, designed to delay the May date of trial. The documents suggest Activision was aware of EA’s asserted involvement in the case, the casus belli for the potential delay, as early as six months ago.

West and Zampella are suing Activision for $36 million over what they describe as an “Orwellian conspiracy” to oust the pair from their roles without due payment.

Activision’s counter suit claims the two made an attempt at a coup to pluck the majority of the studio’s talent from the publisher’s grasp.

Final Fantasy XIII won big at last night’s PlayStation Awards, getting the Platinum award.

The Square RPG was the only PS3 game that walked away with the prize at last night’s ceremony. The award is only given if a title has shipped 1 million units in Japan.

Not just that, the title was in the user choice category as one of the best games of the year alongside Modern Warfare 2, God of War III, Metal Gear Solid: Peace Walker and Yakuza 4.

Find the full list of winners at Siliconera.

Chart-Track’s told MCV that Call of Duty: Black Ops sold 1.4 million units in its first day on sale in the UK, making £58 million in revenue.

Yesterday, it was announced that Black Ops sold 5.6 million units in its first day in North America and UK, taking $360 million in revenue.

The UK news ostensibly puts day one NA sales at 4.2 million units.

The Treyarch title has easily become the biggest first day game seller in the UK, and has smashed levels set by last year’s Modern Warfare 2.

The Infinity Ward shooter sold 1.23 million units on its first day last year in the UK.

This Russian hates Modern Warfare 2. A lot.

So much so that, as discovered by GamesRadar, he actually shoots his 360 copy of the limited edition – several times with several weapons – and sets it on fire.

Nothing on this guy, though.

Watch it below. He’s a bit pumped for Black Ops on Tuesday, though.

The BBFC’s just listed the classification rating for Call of Duty: Black Ops, giving it an 18.

The listing says the Treyarch shooter, the second in the COD series to get an BBFC 18 following Modern Warfare 2 last year, passed with no cuts made.

Read it up here.

Call of Duty: Black Ops launches next Tuesday for PS3, 360, PC, Wii and DS. Watch the launch trailer for it here.

Those playing Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 on PC but have yet to get in on the DLC released for it may wish to log into Steam, as there’s  sale going on for it at the moment.

Both the Stimulus Package and the Resurgence Pack are on sale for 50 percent off the normal price of $14.99, meaning you can get both for $7.49 a piece.

Not a bad deal, especially if you’re not one of the 20 million folks and counting who’ve already purchased the game.

Head on over to Steam and see for yourself.

Activision has said it wants to beat Modern Warfare 2′s sales with Black Ops.

Call of Duty’s European GM, Michael Sportouch, has told MCV that the publisher intends to surpass the sales record set last year by the Infinity Ward mega-shooter.

“We’ve a fantastic game and a fantastic marketing campaign so our ambition is to set another record like we did with Modern Warfare 2,” he said.

“The resources invested behind Black Ops in terms of development of the game and the marketing are the highest ever for Activision. Our ambition is not only to be the biggest game but also the biggest entertainment launch of the year.”

Sportouch also confirmed the Black Ops’ ad campaign will kick off tomorrow, with a 60-second TV spot that will air during the Euro 2012 qualifier between England and Bulgaria.

After that, he insisted it would be “non-stop”.

Treyarch blew its load on Black Ops multiplayer in LA last night, confirming new gameplay modes and thensome.

Get our play impressions here.

Call of Duty: Black Ops launches on November 10.

See this, Dr Kawashima? This is danger close right up in your bespectacled face.

Chart-Track’s confirmed that Modern Warfare 2 is now the biggest selling British game of all time.

The Infinity Ward shooter achieved the feat this week, 41 weeks from launch. The game has spent only three weeks outside the top 10 since releasing in 2009.

MW2 has stolen the UK crown from Dr Kawashima on DS, which took around 36 months to overtake the previous holder, GTA: San Andreas on PS2, Xbox and PC.

As ever, no firm figures were released by Chart-Track. Suffice it to say, Modern Warfare 2 has sold “a lot”.

Activision will be looking for another CoD smash with Treyarch’s Black Ops on November 9.

Toy Story 3 remained top of the UK charts this week, despite a resurgence from Rockstar’s Red Dead Redemption.

The popular open world westerner, which climbed three spaces to number two, has no doubt felt the benefits of the Legends and Killers DLC which was released on both PSN and Xbox Live last week.

Meanwhile, Modern Warfare 2, which managed to climb to number two last week, will have to wait at least one more week before surpassing Brain Training as the biggest ever selling game in the UK. The popular shooter only managed to reach number eight, although what’s another week we reckon.

Get the top ten for the week ending August 14 below. Last week’s data is here.

In Infinity Ward’s defense, we don’t imagine “unlocks a full copy of The King of Fighters ’98 Ultimate Match” is a common bug to check for.

So, here’s how it works: Modern Warfare 2 – whether it’s the recent single-player demo or the full game – has turned SNK’s selection of XBLA games into an all-you-can download buffet. Well, some of them, anyway. Garou: Mark of the Wolves, The King of Fighters ’98 Ultimate Match, Metal Slug 3, Metal Slug XX, and Samurai Showdown II are the only games that have been affected, oddly enough.

Other XBLA games – SNK-published or not – have managed to avoid the five-finger discount ray, meaning there’s a slight chance this bug is sentient, and instead of taking over the world, has decided that it just really loves certain SNK games. “Just one more match” against Geese and then you’ll start the apocalypse, huh? Yeah, we’ve all heard that one before.

Worthplaying has more details on exactly how the glitch works, but we doubt it’ll matter for too much longer, seeing as Microsoft, SNK, and Infinity Ward are probably scrambling to patch up this exceedingly odd money leak.

Toy Story 3′s regained the top spot in the latest UK charts, but it’s Modern Warfare 2 that’s made the biggest gain.

The Infinity Ward shooter, which was at number eight last week, has smashed its way back up to second.

You could say it’s had a bit of a “Resurgence”, innit.

According to Chart-Track, it had a 25 percent week-on-week increase thanks to burgeoning PS3 sales, and may overtake Dr Kawashima’s Brain Training as the “UK biggest unit seller” as soon as next week.

Dance on Broadway, StarCraft II and Red Dead Redemption rounded off the top five.

Get the top ten for the week ending August 7 below. Last week’s data is here.

Modern Warfare 2 map packs are selling well, so well in fact sales may catch up with sales of CoD: World at War map packs in a couple weeks.

Speaking during Activision’s financial call to investors , COO Thomas Tippl said “Modern Warfare 2 maps haven’t “crossed with World at War yet”, but should “within a couple of weeks”.

As of February 2010, World at War map packs sold more than 8.5 million units, and at around $10 each, this means Activision has made approximately $100 million on map packs alone.

When asked, Tippl wouldn’t provide exact figures for each map pack released.

“We’ve received an incredible amount of benefit from our install base and reaction to the MW2 downloadable content,” added Kotick. “You will see that incorporated into Black Ops as well.

“We’ve created a multiplayer for it beyond what customers have ever seen, and it’s turning out to be one of the best products we have ever created.”

That’s the gist of the quote. We’ll have the full transcript for you tomorrow.

Black Ops releases worldwide on November 9 for PS3, 360, Wii, PC and DS.

In what isn’t the most shocking news of today, Modern Warfare 2 has once again topped the Xbox Live activity list for the week of July 26.

The Infinity Ward shooter beat off Halo 3, Call of Duty: World at War, Red Dead Redemption and Call of Duty 4 to the top spot, with Arcade hit Limbo rounding off the top ten.

Get the top ten below, via Major Nelson. You can get the full lot, and other Live charts, at the link.

1. Modern Warfare 2
2. Halo 3
3. Call of Duty: World at War
4. Red Dead Redemption
5. Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare
6. FIFA 10
7. Gears of War 2
8. Grand Theft Auto IV
9. Battlefield: Bad Company 2
10. Limbo

EU’s getting a fair bit of loving today in its PS Store update later on: for non-Plus members, the full version of LittleBigPlanet and a Modern Warfare 2 demo will go live.

Sackboy love for all

Previously on Blu-ray only until it launched last month on the PS Store for PlayStation Plus members, the full LBP1 goes live on the store for £16,99.

MW2 demo gets Cliffhanger

For the three people in Europe who haven’t bought it yet, Activision’s also releasing a taster for Modern Warfare 2 in today’s update, which will feature the Cliffhanger level from the Infinity Ward shooter.

inFamous trial comes to town

Previously exclusive to the US, the game trial for inFamous also gets a release this week for PlayStation Plus members, as previously detailed yesterday.

Give it a whack: full game’s decent, just so you know.

There’s a lot more included in this week’s update, including Tekken 2 and Ridge Racer PSP.

Get the full lowdown over at the EU PS Blog.

Activision’s announced sales of map packs sold for Call of Duty have hit 20 million LtD.

The firm’s released six map packs for Call of Duty games in total: one for Call of Duty 4, three for World at War and two for Modern Warfare 2, with the Resurgence Pack for MW2 the most recent release.

“The Call of Duty franchise is unique in the world of entertainment and delivers one of the best multiplayer experiences ever,” said Activision boss Bobby Kotick.

“We are thrilled to deliver to fans exciting and engaging content that has the intensity they have come to expect from the franchise.”

The latest title in the Call of Duty series, Black Ops, releases worldwide on November 9 for PS3, 360, Wii, PC and DS.

PR’s below.

Call of Duty Map Packs Surpass 20 Million Units

SANTA MONICA, Calif., Aug 02, 2010 /PRNewswire via COMTEX News Network/ — Activision Blizzard, Inc. (Nasdaq: ATVI) today announced that during the quarter ended June 30, 2010, life-to-date map packs for the Call of Duty(R) franchise surpassed 20 million units. Call of Duty remains the #1 best-selling first-person action franchise in the U.S. and Europe, according to The NPD Group, Charttrack and GfK, and has consistently raised the bar for the video game industry with its innovative and engaging online multiplayer experiences and downloadable content offerings. The most recent map pack for the franchise, the Call of Duty(R): Modern Warfare(R) 2 Resurgence Pack, was released on June 3 for the Xbox LIVE(R) online entertainment network and on July 6 and 7 for the PlayStation(R)3 computer entertainment system and Windows(R) PC.

“The Call of Duty franchise is unique in the world of entertainment and delivers one of the best multiplayer experiences ever,” said Robert Kotick, CEO of Activision Blizzard. “We are thrilled to deliver to fans exciting and engaging content that has the intensity they have come to expect from the franchise.”

Headquartered in Santa Monica, California, Activision Blizzard, Inc. is a worldwide online, PC, console, handheld, and mobile game publisher with leading positions across every major category of the rapidly growing interactive entertainment software industry.

Activision Blizzard maintains operations in the U.S., Canada, the United Kingdom, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Sweden, Spain, the Netherlands, Australia, South Korea, and China. More information about Activision Blizzard and its products can be found on the company’s website, www.activisionblizzard.com

.

Being wrongfully accused sucks. Depending on the situation, you could be looking at years in a state prison, loss of  job/money/life, or – worst of all – a permanent ban from the PC version of Modern Warfare 2.

Fortunately, Valve – whose anti-cheat software erroneously tossed good, law-abiding citizens in the slammer – saw the error of its ways, and set things right in the best and most sensible way possible: zombies.

“Hello, recently, your Steam account was erroneously banned from Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2. This was our mistake, and I apologize for any frustration or angst it may have caused you,” read a message from Gabe Newell to those who were given the boot.

“We have reversed the ban, restoring your access to the game. In addition, we have given you a free copy of Left 4 Dead 2 to give as a gift on Steam, plus a free copy for yourself if you didn’t already own the game.”

Apology accepted, Valve. If ever there was a right way to incorrectly ban people from playing a game, this is it.

Now here’s something you don’t see every day: Modern Warfare 2 not being in the top ten of the UK charts.

The Infinity Ward shooter charted this week at number 11, down two from nine.

It’s actually the second time since its release 37 weeks ago that it’s appeared outside the top ten. We’re just getting the date on the other time for you now.

Before that, it had a massive nine week reign as number one, selling 1.7 million units in launch week in the UK last November, as well as taking last year’s Christmas number one.

As for this week’s numero uno, that goes to Toy Story 3, followed by Red Dead Redemption, Dance on Broadway, Lego: Harry Potter and Tiger Woods PGA Tour 11.

Full top ten’s below. All without MW2. Last week’s data is here.

1. Toy Story 3 (Disney Interactive Studio, Disney)
2. Red Dead Redemption (Rockstar San Diego, Rockstar)
3. Dance on Broadway (Ubisoft, Ubisoft)
4. Lego: Harry Potter: Years 1-4 (TT Games, Warner Bros Interactive)
5. Tiger Woods PGA Tour 11 (EA Sports, EA)
6. Super Mario Galaxy 2 (Nintendo, Nintendo)
7. 2010 FIFA World Cup South Africa (EA Sports, EA)
8. Just Dance (Ubisoft, Ubisoft)
9. Dragon Quest IX (Square Enix, Nintendo)
10. Crackdown 2 (Ruffian Games, Microsoft Games Studios)

The two main developers behind Call of Duty have tonight debunked rumours that a subscription plan to play the series online will be coming into play in the near future.

Modern Warfare developer Infinity Ward and its community manager Robert Bowling tweeted:

“For the record, nobody has to pay to play COD or MW2 multiplayer, nor will they.”

This has since been followed up by Josh Olin, community boss of Treyarch, who’s developing this year’s iteration in the series Black Ops.

The tweet says:

“No, you will not have to ‘Pay to Play’ #CODBlackOps Multiplayer either. Rumor -> Squashed.”

It comes as a user from 360Junkies posted a video earlier this morning, where he tried to join a friend’s multiplayer session of Modern Warfare 2.

Instead, a menu for a subscription plan for the game was shown instead.

But there you have it. Dead. In the water. Like a drowning pigeon.