xbox live

The ‘Most Played Games on Xbox Live’ list has been posted yet again on Major Nelson’s blog, and Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare has been holding onto the #1 spot for several months now. We revealed recently in a Eurogamer article that there are between 1.2 and 1.3 million gamers playing Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare on Xbox Live EVERYDAY! With the numbers on PSN being “monstrously huge” in the words of our Producer, Mark Rubin.

So when I post the Top Games of Xbox Live update every few weeks, think of it as a huge thanks to all of you guys, those 1.3 million of you who are logging into multiplayer every day to shoot each other in the face; because without you it wouldn’t be possible.

With the Variety map pack hitting this past week and a record breaking amount of people downloading them, I hope we can keep that number one spot for a while and make anyone who takes it from us really have to fight for it.

To continue to show our appreciation for you guys logging in every night, and to celebrate the success of the map pack (also the fact that we’ve gone insane), we’ll be extending DOUBLE XP AGAIN! You can continue to get double XP throughout today (Tuesday) until Wednesday morning….. then that’s it….. seriously…. no more after Wednesday morning…. I mean it this time.

Seriously though, thank you thank you thank you for all the support you guys have shown the game. We by far have the greatest game community I’ve ever been a part of (as a gamer).

Heads Up: In light of the map pack taking down Marketplace for a good chunk of time during Friday’s launch of the DLC and hence putting a hold on a lot of gaming time for Friday we’ve decided to extend Double XP until Tuesday morning, allowing you another whole 24 hours to rank up.

Come Tuesday morning Double XP will be gone for good and the new maps will be added to ALL playlists, so get your last bit of XP whoring in and try to reach that level 55 of the prestige you promised you wouldn’t do again before you realized it was double XP!

The weekly numbers are in for the ‘most played games on Xbox Live’ and I’m happy to say Call of Duty 4 is holding on to the #1 spot and has been for five weeks now; Which is awesome considering how many amazing multiplayer games are out and coming out right now.  With the new feature patch releasing this past week, adding in the new kill cams and a few other additional features to multiplayer, we saw some record numbers of people playing. The new DLC multiplayer maps are looking great and getting closer to a planned release, not to mention the fact that we might be adding an additional map bringing the total to FOUR new maps in the map pack. No news on whether they’ll be priced or not and no new release date announced. We’re also going to start adding in and testing out some new playlists that I’ve talked about in the past, now that the feature patch has hit, which is going to add a lot to the multiplayer considering you could log on and have a completely new gametype to try out and enjoy at anytime. All in all, I say we’re going to be putting up a fight against any contenders for the #1 spot for a while now.

Alright, the patch went live last Friday and all weekend long I’ve been tracking the feedback and response to it and I wanted to give you all a quick update on what’s happening on this end and what the team will be focused on today and I’m sure a few days to come. Overall the response to the new patch has been positive with the game pulling in record numbers on Xbox Live over the weekend. The new kill cams are working great, as well as the sniper rifle and ACOG scope tweaks have went over well.

However there are a few things that we’re currently looking at that some of you have wrote in to us about, whether by commenting on this blog, emailing us, or the forums that I wanted to let you know we are listening and addressing as needed. For example I’ve got some reports of players spawning in with their character faced towards a wall or looking in the sky instead of facing forward. We’re currently looking into that right now.

Regional specific Players

To our Australian players (or others effected) Don’t worry, I’ve heard your cries and thanks to all of our players who took the time to write me (comment, email, forums) and let me know about your concerns with matchmaking to other Aussies. Right now the host migration and optimized server selection is designed to choose the host with the best connection determined by a robust QOS (Quality of Service) check (regardless of region). That doesn’t mean it will always choose a US player, but I understand that the odds are typically stacked against some of our more remote players to be selected as host. We’re currently looking at options available that might help out with those odds and I’ll keep you updated on it.

CLAN TAG TWEAKS

Clan tags are having some issues that we’re looking into. There was a fix put in to prevent users from using the “Button Clan Tag Glitch” where they would put Left Stick symbols or other button images in their clan tags. That’s been fixed which also made it so you can’t use accented characters or symbols. That aspect of it is by design (no symbols) but it seems there are a few other wonky things happening with the clan tags that we’re looking at now.

QUICK MUTE INFO

Quick Mute. Note that quick mute is currently only available while in-game, regretfully we couldn’t link our quick mute solution and the built in Xbox Live mute functionality making it so quick mute is more of a fast temporary solution to an annoying player, so once the game ends and you have more time to actually fully mute the player you can via Xbox Live. I had spoke of a in-lobby quick mute in my previous blog post, I apologize for that as that was a fuck up by me, I was playing on a DLC build here at the office which has the new in-lobby quick mute that didn’t make it in for the feature patch. I’m hoping that will stay in for the DLC build.

PATCH PLACEBO

Other than that I see a lot of players talking about the weapons or damage weapons do in-game being changed which is completely not true. There was one bug with the P90 that allowed you to sprint for longer when using it that was removed, but no damage stats or any other stats were changed to any of the weapons so we can put all the Patch Placebo stories to rest, NO WEAPON STATS WERE CHANGED!! It’s always interesting to read the forums or be in-game after a patch hits because there’s lots of gamer lore going around or more elegantly put, Patch Placebos. A Patch Placebo is essentially a ‘fake’ change players think or is rumored to be made that was never made. I’m seeing all kinds of crazy things people think we changed that was never touched.

HOST MIGRATION FEEDBACK

As for Host Migration, what’s the overall reaction? I know it’s not in-game host migration where you never have to return the lobby, it was never intended to be that kind of feature implementation. Essentially the host migration keeps everyone together so you don’t have to go back to your private party lobby, re-search or re-invite friends, etc. etc. Besides the fact that you might prefer in-game host migration how’s it working for you guys? Having any troubles finding new hosts? Like it? Don’t Like it? Always feel free to leave feedback in the comments or write in to us. We’re receiving a lot, but keep it coming as it all helps us when planning future updates or tweaks.

COMMENTING ON THE BLOG

What else…. what else… ahh yeah speaking of comment sections on the blog. Let me start out by saying I really appreciate everyone who takes the time to comment or write into the blog and let me know what you think (about the game, me, life, etc.) However, for the 1% minority that likes to douche it up… Come on guys… let’s keep it civil. I’m 100% pro commenting and letting us know if something sucks or if somethings awesome, or if you’re pissed about something but don’t turn it into kindergarten with personal attacks or profanity or general bullshit like that. If you’re having a problem LET ME KNOW, post in the comments and say, “Hey fourzerotwo - I was playing and got this error…” or “Hey - I was on last night and this was fucked up, can you guys look into it?” or something similar.

Trust me, I read everything. I read all your emails (thousands of them), I read all your comments, I read all the forum posts (xbox.com, infinityward.com, charlieoscardelta.com, etc.) so don’t think you’re talking to some faceless suit that doesn’t actually care, because I care. I totally fucking care. This past weekend was a crazy one, as it was ‘moving weekend’. I just got a new place and had all of Saturday to move from my old place to my new place in Encino (where our studio is). So it was pretty stressful, to top it all off moving weekend was patch weekend so I was keeping close tabs on my blackberry and the emails coming in to see how you guys (the community) was doing, when I saw how many hits the blog was getting and there were lots of comments I stopped moving and came into the studio on Sunday to take care of it and make sure I was getting all the feedback you guys were leaving and ensuring those who needed to know were aware so we could tackle it first thing today.

So something that will really help me out, is if you’re going to post a comment, don’t be a douchebag. I know that out of 190 comments, there’s typically only 2-3 douchebags so I really appreciate everyone who takes the time to let us know what you think. So don’t take that as I don’t appreciate the non-douchebags, because I do. You guys totally make my day when I get on here and read the comments, but to the few douchebags that like to dick it up, cut it out. It doesn’t get anything done faster as you have a douchebag here (me) that actually cares and if somethings fucked up, I want to fix it, and if there’s a concern you need heard, I want to listen. So don’t feel you need to be rude or douche up my blog’s comment sections to get your issue heard, because you don’t. I listen to it all, good and bad.

DLC STUFF

Other than patch related stuff going down today, I took some screenshots of the DLC today (finally) that is being sent over to Marketing at Activision to do their thing as needed. It’s looking like there might be an extra map in the map pack than originally planned, making it a total of four maps, not 100% on that yet though as it’s early on but it’s looking like it might get finished in time to join the other three originally planned. I’ll keep you posted on that.

That’s it for now, I’ll keep you guys updated as things progress.

Hey Everyone –

Just as I called it, the Xbox 360 patch for Call of Duty 4 passed certification by the weekend, and started hitting consoles near you this morning. For those of you wondering what’s been changed, a full list of the newness is:

New Kill Cams - Everything that can kill you has a Kill Cam now. Grenades, Airstrikes, Claymores, C4, M203 Rounds, RPGs, anything. So jump online, get owned alittle and check them out. They’re awesome, especially Grenades and M203 shots that go across the map and through a window.

Host Migration - Host migration was added, so now when the host leaves you won’t get dropped back to your own lobby by yourself. Everyone will stay together. Host Leaves, everyone returns to lobby, selects next best host, and the game starts up again. No more re-inviting, re-partying up because a host ended the game.

Improved Sniper Accuracy - The Sniper rifle accuracy has been improved. No more, WTF? shots now. Your cross hair will be a better representation of where your shot will ultimately land. Try out a sniper class today, let us know how the new accuracy feels.

Improved ACOG Scope Accuracy - ACOG scopes accuracy on any weapon has been improved. Test it out, throw it on one of your classes and give it a go.

Upgraded Spectator Cam - Now when you’re a spectator you have the option to follow in 3rd person or 1st person. As well as rotate 360 degrees around the player you’re watching. Next time you’re dead in Search and Destroy and just watching your team mates do stuff you know you can do better, now do it in 1st person or rotate around them.

Quick Mute Option - Now you can easily and quickly mute players in-game without ever going through the Xbox Live blades. Just go to their gamertag on screen and hit ‘A’ to quick mute via the in-game scoreboard if playing. Quick. Easy. Salvation!

In addition to these feature additions there will also be:

Improved Network Performance For Larger Games - 18 player games now require more bandwidth to host, resulting in smoother performance for players.

Optimized Server Selection for First Match - Server selection is now optimized to select best bandwidth servers associated by LSP.

Fixed “Playlist Older Than Host” Error - Player will no longer get this error when entering games.

Additional Start Spawn Locations in All Maps - Added a minimum of 9 extra start spawns on each side of all maps.

Jump online, test out the new kill cams and features, and as always let me know what you think. We’re also going to be playing around with new playlists in the near future so I’ll keep you updated on those changes as they come.

The weekly battle for the “Most Played Game on Xbox Live” continues this week with Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare still holding the #1 spot for 4 weeks straight and managing to keep Halo 3 from retaking the throne. I had a chance to talk with quite a few of the Bungie guys at GDC this past week, mostly at the Microsoft party, and I could tell that neither one of us were going to slip off the top of the charts without a fight.

With the release of our Feature patch and DLC coming closer and closer every day, and plenty of new playlist ideas being thrown around for Call of Duty 4 multiplayer I know we can keep the fight going for a long long time. I love these weekly number checks because it provides a great opportunity to give you guys a weekly update on how things are going here at the studio with those updates, so with that said…

I got word that the Xbox 360 Feature patch could be ‘very very close’, I can’t tell you exactly when because they haven’t passed on that information but apparently certification went fantastic and I was given the Green light to take care of some things that I have to do before it goes live to you guys, which means good things. I’m not going to get any hopes up, but I hope to be seeing some new Kill Cams by the weekend if we’re lucky. Don’t hold me to that though, but I have a good feeling about it.

The Ps3 Feature Patch has officially made it’s way off to Sony and has been going through the certification process, this one should be a rather quick turnaround hopefully so I’m not expecting too much delay on this at all. I will keep you updated as much as I can on it’s progress.

Hit the jump for DLC talk…

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I’m heading out to the 1 up Awards now and wanted to make a quick note regarding the weekly round of Top Games on Xbox Live over at www.majornelson.com and it looks like Call of Duty 4 is holding fast on it’s lead at #1!!

I’m going to be talking with Major Nelson later this week (tomorrow or the next day) on his Podcast here at GDC and I’m sure the “ping pong” match for the “King of Xbox Live” between Call of Duty 4 and Halo 3 will probably be amongst the things we talk about.

Well, I’m off to the awards, I’ll post another quick update after the awards and let you know how we fare. Thanks everyone!!

Update –

1up Awards re-cap:

10:00 PM and back at the hotel after the 1up Awards. We didn’t take home the top prize this time, the 1up Readers Choice GOTY award went to the well-deserved Bioshock.

There’s another award show tomorrow night, the GDC Choice awards, I’m gonna try to make that one, not sure if it interferes with any interview schedules yet, but if not I’ll be sure to attend and let you know how that one goes! Gonna go to sleep a bit early tonight as interviews start first thing tomorrow morning and go all day long so I’ll need the rest. See ya tomorrow guys!

Once again, Major Nelson has posted the Top Games on Xbox Live stats for the week of 2/4 and as I called it last week (post), Call of Duty 4 is managing to stay at #1 as the most played game on Xbox Live thanks to everyone’s continued support!

We won’t let you guys down in terms of returning the support either as we have already shipped the Xbox 360 feature patch off to certification with a few new features I talked about yesterday (New Quick Mute Option), as well as some increased spawn locations on maps, and general connectivity improvements that I forgot to mention last post. As well as are still working hard on the new DLC maps. I can’t let out details on them just yet, but I can say that I may just have a new favorite map (sorry Crash) within this batch of new maps.

I can tell you that I’ll be heading up to GDC (Game Developers Conference) next week (Tuesday - Friday) attending the 1up Awards and hanging out with some of my friends in the gaming press, so I wouldn’t be surprised if DLC was the subject of the trip. As the maps are already a lot of fun and look amazing, so I’m anxious to finally start talking about them.

Other than that, once I get back from GDC in San Francisco next week, it’ll almost be time for SXSW where I’ll be talking about Pro Gaming and Pro Gamers, which is lines up nicely with the recent MLG announcement.

That’s it for news, for a rant about Team Killing in Hardcore, keep reading.

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This week we’re seeing the result of Round 2 for the fight up the Xbox Live charts for the prestigious “King of Xbox Live” spot and according to Xbox’s Major Nelson, Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare has once again taken the #1 spot of the most played game on Xbox Live for the week of 1/28 away from Halo 3.

This battle for the #1 spot has been causing a surge of “Call of Duty 4 vs Halo 3″ articles and forum debates, and I don’t think the question is necessarily as easy as “which game is better”, because that’s all just opinions. Both amazing games, the question I have is who will stay on top, and do I think we can stay on top?

So can we stay on top? Yes.

Why do I think that? Well…

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