The newly-announced Call of Duty XP will include scale versions of multiplayer maps, concerts, and a tournament featuring a $1 million prize.
Activision appears to be taking a few lessons from Blizzard in their attempts to expand the Call of Duty brand. Their latest initiative is "Call of Duty XP," a fanfest set for early September in Los Angeles.
Activision CEO Eric Hirschberg acknowledged the similarities to Blizzcon--which is set for October--but also said that it will be a "very different event based on the very different tonality of the game."
Some of the planned features include a replica of Modern Warfare 2's map "The Pit" that fans can visit; paintball, and even a real life version of Modern Warfare's "Burger Town." Activision is also planning to have "AAA musical talent" performing at the event and a Call of Duty tournament featuring a $1 million prize.
As for the game itself, Activision is planning to unveil Modern Warfare 3's multiplayer feature set in addition to providing demo kiosks. They will also offer details on the premium "Call of Duty Elite" service.
Activision is expecting roughly 6000 fans to attend at $150 apiece. All proceeds will be donated ot the Call of Duty Endowment, the charity dedicated to supporting returning veterans and helping them find work.
"[The ticket price] is right between what it costs to go to Blizzcon and what it costs to go Comic Con. And if you attend any AAA concert, that's about what you'd be paying," Hirschberg said. "So we think we're providing tremendous value that's really unreplicable anywhere else."
If you don't have the cash to attend though, Activision is planning to complement the event with a constant stream of photos, interviews and videos on social media sites like Facebook and Youtube.
Tickets go on sale July 19, while the event itself runs September 2nd and 3rd. You can find more information here.
Source: Daily News from GamePro.com
Thursday, June 30, 2011