Call of Duty trailer is one of YouTube's most disliked

Call of Duty: Infinite Warfare departs from the military shooter's roots, taking place in a near-future, sci-fi setting.

Fans have reacted by rating the video negatively, expressing more than 1.5 million dislikes in eight days.

Overall, the trailer has amassed more than 16 million views.

The game's dislikes make it the most disliked trailer or promotional video on the site, and the worst-rated gaming video in the site's history. However, it still trails behind Justin Bieber's music video, Baby, with 6.1 million dislikes, and Rebecca Black's Friday, which has more than two million.

Call of Duty is one of the world's best-selling game franchises, selling millions of copies of each annual instalment.

The game's publisher, Activision, said the reaction was down to the passion of gamers for the franchise - and said the company had seen such a reaction before.

"The fact is, while it's very early, pre-orders are off to a very strong start," CEO Eric Hirshberg said in an earnings call with investors.

"Views of the reveal trailer that you referred to are up and, in fact, the number of likes per view on the
Infinite Warfare reveal trailer are also the highest we've ever seen.

"We've seen this in the franchise before. The reveal trailer for Black Ops II, which took the franchise into the future for the first time, had the most dislikes of any reveal trailer we had ever made at that time. And that, of course, went on to become our most successful game ever," he said.

"What we know for sure is that if we always just did what worked in the past and never took any creative risks, we wouldn't have a franchise. The day to worry is the day we stop trying new things."

The company is also facing a backlash from some fans over an updated version of their 2007 classic, Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare.

The hugely successful title is being remastered with updated graphics for modern consoles, but will only be available to those who purchase the new Infinite Warfare game.
Call of Duty's sales have been in slow decline in recent years, although the most recent instalment, Black Ops 3, reversed that trend in 2015.

Activision is attempting to keep the franchise "fresh" with a new setting, said Piers Harding-Rolls, Head of Games Research at IHS Technology.

"Many veteran players are mostly interested in the multiplayer aspects of the game and can be considered 'core gamers', but more mainstream console gamers often get access to the latest version of the game as a Christmas gift," he said.

"If anything, the popularity of the respective trailers is a response to what is put in front of them - the trailer, the way it is edited and the music.

"After all, what people are liking/disliking is a short video clip and not the actual gameplay quality, which is central to how a game sells over its lifecycle."

Source: BBC

Space Invaders and Sonic added to gaming hall of fame

The 1978 space shooter was honoured alongside Sonic the Hedgehog, The Legend of Zelda, The Oregon Trail, Grand Theft Auto III and The Sims.

They join the six inaugural titles from 2015: Doom, Pong, Pac-Man, Super Mario Bros, Tetris and World of Warcraft.

Titles are selected for the US-based museum based on their status among players, longevity and influence.

Hall of fame games become permanent exhibits at The Strong museum of play in Rochester, New York.

The winning games were selected from 15 finalists, which included Final Fantasy, Tomb Raider and the original Pokemon games.

The inductees span genres, decades and platforms but "all have significantly affected the video game industry, popular culture, and society in general," the museum said.

"Although a handful of shooter games preceded Space Invaders, its runaway success, innovative features, compelling graphics, and elemental themes captured the public imagination, spurring many imitators and a craze for arcade games," said Jeremy Saucier, assistant director of The Strong's International Centre for the History of Electronic Games (ICHEG).

Oregon Trail, in which the player controls a wagon of settlers crossing the West in the early days of American settlement, is fondly remembered by many for its fun approach to education as well as its difficulty, which saw players frequently "die" of dysentery.

'Virtual dollhouse'

Grand Theft Auto III, a game with violence and mature themes, made headlines when it was released in 2001. It was a big commercial success, selling 14 million copies.

"Grand Theft Auto III renewed debates about the role of games and violence in society while it signalled video games aren't just for kids," Mr Saucier said.

The Legend of Zelda and Sonic the Hedgehog were the first entries in long-running franchises for Nintendo and Sega respectively, and remain popular today. Both games spawned multiple sequels and spinoffs, including cartoon series.

The Sims, released in 2000, was described by the museum as a "virtual dollhouse game" in which players manipulate digital characters to create their own stories.

"The game has had universal appeal, with female players outnumbering males, and adults as passionate about the game as children," said ICHEG director Jon-Paul Dyson.

"By turning the computer into a toy to explore the complexity of the human experience, The Sims radically expanded the notion of what a game could be."

Source: BBC

Nintendo announces date for NX console

Codenamed NX, the console had been expected to launch in time for Christmas.

Analysts agree the new device is much needed after disappointing sales for the Wii U.

At an earnings briefing, Nintendo also announced it would release four more smartphone games this business year, as it diversified its business.

The Japanese video-game maker reported a 24 billion yen ($216m, £147m) loss for January to March, bigger than the loss it reported the previous year.

Research company IHS's director of games, Pier Harding-Rolls, said the date of the new console launch was a setback for Nintendo.

"Ideally, they would have preferred to launch in 2016 to catch the holiday shopping season," he told the BBC.

The delay could either be as a result of in-house games not being ready or problems with the hardware, he added.

Nintendo has had ups and downs with its consoles - with the Wii proving a hit but the Wii U failing to engage the public.

"When the Wii U launched no-one really understood what it was," said Mr Harding-Rolls.

"The two-screen experience wasn't communicated well, so whatever they are bringing to market this time has to be unique and communicated clearly."

The company said it could cease production of the Wii U by March 2018.

Source: BBC