Call of Duty XP 2011 convention announced
Call of Duty owner Activision is calling fans to Los Angeles this September for a two-day convention celebrating the FPS franchise. $150 will get you panels, playable MW3, paintball on a recreated CoD map, and more.
Given how monumentally successful Call of Duty is, it's a surprise this hasn't happened sooner. Franchise owner Activision today announced the first official convention celebrating the first-person shooter series, Call of Duty XP 2011. It'll take place over Labor Day weekend, September 2 and 3, at "a secure 12-acre compound in the urban confines of Los Angeles" and cost $150.
The festivities will include the premiere of Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3's multiplayer, hands-on time with MW3's MP and Spec Ops co-op survival modes, paintball on a recreation of Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 map Scrapyard, a real-life version of MW2's Spec Ops time trial 'The Pit,' the full reveal of subscription service Call of Duty Elite's functionality, and an armory displaying weapons from the series.
In the realm of more traditional convention attractions, there will be developer discussion panels and Q&A sessions, contests, and tournaments, crowned by a 4-player team tourney with a $1 million prize pool.
The $150 two-day passes for Call of Duty XP 2011 go on sale on July 19. Proceeds from ticket sales will go to The Call of Duty Endowment, Activision's non-profit which helps ease armed forces veterans back into civilian life.
For those who wisely refuse to brave LA's weather and traffic, Activision assures there will be "a constant stream of high-production value videos" online and on television. There's no word yet on whether this will be free to watch or if a fee will be charged, like Activision subsidiary Blizzard does for its own BlizzCon.
"From the high production values of our live, immersive events--all the way to the smallest details in every design and activity--we're pulling out all the stops to make Call of Duty XP the ultimate gathering for the global community of Call of Duty fans," said Activision Publishing CEO Eric Hirshberg in the announcement. "The celebration will immerse attendees in a Call of Duty experience unlike anything they've ever seen before."
Considering how popular BlizzCon is as a community-strengthening tool and publicity platform for Blizzard's products--selling out within minutes every year--it's no surprise to see Activision follow suit with Call of Duty. It might only be a single franchise and arguably a single game, but it's just as beloved by its fans.
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Alice O'Connor posted a new article, Call of Duty XP 2011 convention announced.
Call of Duty owner Activision is calling fans to Los Angeles this September for a two-day convention celebrating the FPS franchise. $150 will get you panels, playable MW3, paintball on a recreated CoD map, and more.-
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Good luck going to any remotely popular con that doesn't involve at least a little waiting in line. At least PAX has such an incredible variety of things to do that you can get variety and find some things that aren't jam packed.
That being said, after going 4 times in the past 4 years, I think I'm ready to give it a break for a while. -
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I guess the difference is that with quake con and blizzcon people are not only fans of the games but also fans of the developers. COD has no single developer, it just gets passed around now and cranked out by many studios. If you are a fan of blizzard or id there might be people who worked on those games you want to talk or hear talk on a panel but can you even think of a name of someone who works on the COD games?
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That's a fair point. Only thing I can say in response is a lot of people that go to BlizzCon probably can't name designers at Blizzard either. That doesn't disprove your point, but I guess points out it's not a deal breaker.
I still don't think it's unreasonable to have a con for Call of Duty, though. The fact that it's this nomadic franchise that so many devs have touched I think would make interesting panels (that may not actually be there). And I can think of two people that should DEFINITELY but won't have a panel: Jason West and Vince Zampella! -
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It is kinda funny to me how much nerd culture and bro culture have intersected over the past few years due to gaming. I have a few brosiff friends who think gaming is a waste of time, but still buy a console just for Madden and COD games. Personally, I can't imagine putting out that much money just for one or two franchises, but it makes them happy so I guess I can't judge.
Now if you'll excuse me, I'm going to retreat to my basement and play JRPGS.
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