Call of Duty XP Event This September

4.7
How many Call of Duty fans would travel to Los Angeles and pay $150 for a two-day event featuring the first hands-on with Modern Warfare 3, the chance to play real-life paintball based on a Modern Warfare 2 map and other ridiculousness? Activision's betting 6,000 people will.

Activision's calling this Call of Duty XP 2011. It takes place on September 2 and 3, within a 12-acre compound in California that's going to "feel like you stepped into the game," according to Activision Publishing CEO Eric Hirshberg, whom I recently spoke to on the phone about the event.

You might know Hirschberg's name because I've published parts of his internal memos to Activision on Giant Bomb before. That didn't exactly come up during our conversation yesterday.

There are a couple of things to note about the price tag associated with Call of Duty XP 2011. BlizzCon, which Hirshberg admitted to deeply examining while planning, is charging $175. In this case, Activision is not profiting from the tickets. All of the proceeds from the ticket sales are going into the Call of Duty Endowment, a non-profit that helps transition veterans into civilian life.

"The event itself will cost us considerably more than we would have recouped from ticket sales, anyway," said Hirshberg. "Part of it is about raising money for a great cause, part of it's about just giving a kick-ass experience for the fans."

Hirshberg noted the $150 tag fell about in line with the going rate for similar events.

"When we decided to make it 100% of the proceeds donation to Call of Duty Endowment, we wanted to make that a meaningful donation number," he said. "It felt about right, and I think that for $150, we're going to deliver a two-day experience that will be an unbelievable value to anyone who attends."

What're you getting for your money?

First crack at playing Modern Warfare 3 multiplayer and Spec-Ops modes, a chance to compete in a 32-team bracketed tournament for more than one million in cash and prizes, panels with Call of Duty developers, live shows from unnamed "AAA entertainment," an on-site museum, access to a paintball setup modeled after the "Scrapyard" map from Modern Warare 2, some mysterious exclusives available only to those who attend the event, a usable zip line, a full-scale, playable recreation of The Pit, a chance to eat in Burger Town and some other unannounced "attractions."

If you're not attending, much of the event will be recorded and released online.

"It's all about the experience," said Hirshberg. "It's all about the fact that the game is about mastery, the game is about investment of time and improving and constantly becoming better as you compete. Those are the pillars of this experience. It's all about bringing the experience of the game to life."

Posted:

Source: http://www.giantbomb.com/news/introducing-call-of-duty-xp-2011-blizzcon-for-call-of-duty-fans/3440/

Comments

"Call of Duty XP Event This September" :: Login/Create an Account :: 11 comments

If you would like to post a comment please signin to your account or register for an account.

hackerboyPosted:

bad for those who live far

IIREDNECKSIIPosted:

dangit why do i have to be broke?

-DynastyPosted:

looks like i have to try hard, lol?

TheNukeMeastroPosted:

ClutchMasterDee
Ambicidal looks like theyre recreating the game in real life. We'll finally get to see what hell looks like!


thats funny call of duty blows now there all the same thing why do people think MW3 will be any different


I) have to agree that CoD is extremely similar now and I personally can barely stand to play multiplayer much anymore. however I do have some hope that mw3 will be different because cod 4 was a great game and mw2 definitely made changes from cod4 and 5 (not saying they were good or bad but definitely a lot of changes. Overall I could care less seeing as if I buy this game it will only be if my friends do, and I doubt they will. And If I DO get this game I'll play it for about 3 days before Skyrim comes out.

ClutchMasterDeePosted:

Ambicidal looks like theyre recreating the game in real life. We'll finally get to see what hell looks like!


thats funny call of duty blows now there all the same thing why do people think MW3 will be any different

XxGummibearxXPosted:

why iss it called a xp event?

NaturallyHatedPosted:

I like how this got posted on here a couple minutes after I posted this in the MW3 section.

PrincessBubblegumPosted:

This is so cool I'm totally going

AmbicidalPosted:

looks like theyre recreating the game in real life. We'll finally get to see what hell looks like!

z_quickscoperPosted:

to bad i live in georgia