Call of Duty: Elite revealed by Activision

Everybody has been adding to the rumor that Activision will be adding a subscription fee to Call of Duty players. Well it has finally come to light but don't rage just yet. It's Called Call of Duty: Elite and  you can still play the Call of Duty Multiplayer for free. the Premium service just gives you extra features to further enhance your COD experience, Well that's what Activision said. Regardless, they're actually going to charge players for a premium service, and early info about this service shows Activision maximizing their Call of Duty Franchise for all it's worth.

There will be certain features free of charge but to get everything Elite has to offer you'll have to worry about a monthly fee. This Elite Premium service will be similar to what Bungie has for Halo with Bungie.net, you will be able to track players progress  such as which guns the player uses, how many kills the player has on that gun, how well you did in a certain match, they say it's to analyze players performance. You can watch game videos uploaded by players, join groups of other players, create clans, and also participate in leagues that will have not in-game prizes but real life prizes.

You will be able to use a  Facebook social grouping application which allows you to connect and group with other players, this feature will come free with Elite.

"Whether it's allowing you to connect with your friends, or people of a similar skill level, people who live in your city, people who share your favorite passions, join competitive clans or social groups, or upload, view and comment on the incredible mass of player-generated content, or watch and comment on exclusive created content, Call of Duty Elite will give people more ways to connect with fellow players than ever before. Elite will also allow players of every level to improve their game with an intuitive suite of tools, and compete in tournaments for both real and virtual prizes."

Now is it worth it? I say no. It's just Call of Duty meets Facebook and you have to pay for it. Not everything about this service has been revealed so we'll see if anything new about Elite will make us think it's really worth it, so far it doesn't look worth our money. It's actually a great idea for Call of Duty but to pay for its services is just pushing it.

This might pushback Call of Duty fans but Activision's Chief Executive Bobby Kotick thinks it won't.

In an interview, Activision Chief Executive Bobby Kotick said he isn't worried about pushback from gamers about the Call of Duty Elite fee because players will still be able to compete against each other online without subscribing to the service. While he is coy about many of the offerings that will be included in the service, Mr. Kotick said Call of Duty Elite, and the customer-service operation that will be needed to support it, wouldn't be possible if the service was free. "This is an enormous investment," he said.

Activision has yet to mention how much this will actually cost per month but they have mentioned it will be similar to services such as Netflix. That means it will come out maybe around $7.99 a month.

Call of Duty: Elite will launch together with Modern Warfare 3 coming out on Nov 8, 2011 and will be implemented to previous Call of Duty games.

A trailer was also released to explain Call of Duty: Elite, they tried to make the video funny but failed.

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=s3Ixz7pHXdg]

Well what do you guys think? is COD: Elite worth your hard-earned cash?

[Source: Wallstreet. 4playerpodcast]

Mortal Kombat - Skarlet DLC Trailer [Update: Fatality Early Build]

We finally get a trailer of the first two DLC characters that will be available for the latest Mortal Kombat game.

Skarlet, who as originally a color palette glitch from Mortal Kombat 3, is now a full fledged character. She seems to be a blood ninja of sorts and uses her short blades to slash and stab her opponents in many ways. Technically her data is already in the disc but it's incomplete.

I guess she reminds me of Noob but instead of leaving a mess of black goop, she leaves pools of red (insert period joke here).

If you haven't noticed, the trailer also shows off the Classic Costumes DLC that will also be available soon.

[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RtQe22atOH4&w=560&h=349]

Update:

[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V-AwE8JXfaE&w=560&h=349]

Rumors: Sony's next console is in development

"Note: This pic isn't real"

Are you kidding me?!

From IGN;

The successor to the PlayStation 3 is currently in development, Sony confirmed during the company's investor meeting today.

Executive vice president and chief financial officer Masaru Kato was asked to explain the rising research and development costs for the company's fiscal year. "In the game segment, we have the NGP to launch later this year. So we have development expenses to be incurred for this product," he explained.

"For the home console, the PS3 still has a product life, but this is a platform business, so for the future platform - when we will introduce the product I cannot discuss - but development work is underway, so the costs are incurred there."

Nintendo recently announced plans to reveal its new console at E3 next month, with a full product release in 2012. Meanwhile, Microsoft began hiring for its "next generation console" this past March.

And here I was thinking that the announcement for the successors to the PS3 and Xbox 360 would be announced next year.

Assassin's Creed Revelations E3 Teaser

Full E3 Exclusive Trailer premieres on June 6th. Watch the teaser video below.

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ClloTWxH7Lg]

In Assassin's Creed Revelations, master assassin Ezio Auditore embarks on a journey following his legendary mentor Altaïr, searching for five ancient seals that hold the keys to the future of the Assassins brotherhood.

Join Ezio on his pursuit as he travels to Constantinople, the heart of the Ottoman Empire, and engages the growing menace of a Templar army that threatens to destabilize the region.

Assassin's Creed Revelations is slated for release on Xbox 360, PlayStation 3 and PC this November.

PSP games getting the HD fix?

So we know that Monster Hunter Portable 3rd is getting the HD makeover. Apparently this won't be the only PSP game to get that treatment. No other games have been announced but I'm sure people who have heard of this are already making their PSP-to-PS3 wish list. Here's mine.

1. Dissidia 012 [Duodecim] Final Fantasy For obvious reasons as this is one of my favorite PSP games of all time. Technically I like the first Dissidia just cause I spent more time with it but Duodecim has more features, characters, content and tweaks that just makes it a better game.

2. Metal Gear Solid: Peacewalker Throw in Portable Ops too and make it a "Collection" of sorts. Peacewalker was a fantastic PSP game although the boss fights definitely felt a lot more 'Monster Hunter' than Metal Gear. A lot of people had a huge gripe with the camera being mapped to the face buttons which I think was giving more crap than it deserved. But this game would definitely benefit from dual analog stick controls.

I'd add more to my list of choices but I currently have no access to my collection of PSP games (meaning I'm currently not at home right now) but I might later on.

My choices are coming mostly from a control / feature standpoint. Like how Dissidia needs online functionality and how Peacewalker needs dual analog sticks.

Some of the obvious choices would be Kingdom Hearts: Birth by Sleep. Final Fantasy VII: Crisis Core and the 2 God of War titles on the PSP but those don't really need an HD remake. They were solid enough as PSP titles, both controlwise and presentation. I think the 2 God of War games would be no brainers as they pretty much control the same as their console counterparts but Crisis Core? C'mon, combat in that game was pretty meh and I've seen enough of it's story that I don't need to see it in HD. KH: BBS doesn't need a control overhaul nor does it need an HD retelling, in my opinion at least.

What about you? What are your prime choices for the PSP-to-PS3 HD ports?

[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8h_vxLEvw2I?rel=0&w=560&h=349]