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Infinity Ward community manager Robert Bowling has announced that Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 will host its first worldwide double XP weekend from April 2 until April 5 on Xbox Live, just a few days after the "Stimulus Package" maps are set to arrive.

Unfortunately, in conveying this to Joystiq readers -- many of whom are statistically likely to be interested in the news -- we've expanded a perfectly concise tweet into a pompous, self-referential article and unfairly reduced the internet's available supply of letters and punctuation.

we r rly sry try 2 do bttr in futr

click to wipe in to the galleryFrom now on, thanks to Activision's latest announcement, we're going to have to specify which Wipeout series of games we're talking about. There's Wipeout, the now Sony-exclusive futuristic racing game series, and Wipeout: The Game, the new Wii and DS game based on the game show about people falling off of elaborate obstacle courses.

This Wipeout is a four-player game in which opponents can taunt and throw stuff at each other as they attempt the show's trademark (and not at all inspired by Ninja Warrior) obstacle courses. Of course, the show's hosts will provide in-game commentary. Commentary like you'll hear in the video after the break, in which yelling men ride foam rockets while the hosts relentlessly mock their intellligence and weight. Wipeout: The Game will be out this summer, "just in time for the premiere of the TV show's highly anticipated 3rd season."

We were busy ogling the suitable-for-framing cover art of the May issue of GamePro just posted by mag boss John Davison when we noticed a title we didn't recognize: Spider-Man: Shattered Dimensions. Considering how well-informed and handsome we all are, we were understandably stymied. Unfortunately, Activision declined to comment so we don't know any more than you do about it at the moment, though we have to assume this is the previously-announced upcoming Spider-Man game, which supposedly won't suck.

Hopefully we'll have more for you when the issue starts hitting subscribers in the coming days.

Looking to add 85 new songs to your Guitar Hero library? Want a game that's made for "Party Play?" Oh, sure. Admit it -- you just want to make the ghostly Cobain avatar do your musical bidding. Well, whatever the motivation, you can pick up Guitar Hero 5 (the game only) for a pretty reasonable $28.99 today, thanks to Amazon's Deal of the Day.

While supplies last (or through the end of the day), the discount is applied to the Wii, PS3, Xbox 360, and PS2 versions of the game. Guitar Hero 5 is worth investing in especially if you're loaded down with PS2 instruments and don't want to buy new ones for another console -- there won't be any more Guitar Heroes for PS2, after all. So, if you want more music, this is pretty much your last chance, all you PS2 holdouts!

[Thanks, Jared]

It would appear that finger skating is about to go "pro" with a Tony Hawk game for iPhone. The pro skater recently tweeted, "In the PR world, this is considered 'going rogue,' but I'm too excited. This is real & dropping soon." The attached picture, as you can see above, appears to be an iPhone version of his venerable skating series. The message has since been deleted, but as we saw it on the feed of an Activision employee, we feel pretty confident it's on the level.

Man, Tony just couldn't be more of a rebel, could he? Not only is he a skateboarder, putting curb wax on church steps and listening to rock 'n' roll too loud ... on his boom box, now he's using his Twitter feed to take on the corporate fat cats! Is there such a thing as too extreme?

We've read all the available info about the new Modern Warfare 2 map collection "Stimulus Package," but we still didn't have an answer to the big question on everyone's mind: "Is that the game with a bunch of guys or the one with the beards?" That, we still don't know. However, we've gotten an answer to the second biggest question from Xbox Live's Major Nelson: The five maps (three new, two remakes) will run you 1200 MS points or $15.

As a basis for comparison, the "Variety" map pack for Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare ran 800 points ($10) for four new maps. Whether or not the new offering is a stimulating enough value is a decision you'll have to make for yourself when it arrives on March 30.

In the video game industry, the talent (read: game developers) are often "hired guns," if you will -- part of a developer that is either wholly owned by a publisher (i.e. Infinity Ward's relationship with Activision) or a developer that's being contracted for development by a publisher (i.e. Ruffian Games' relationship with Microsoft). Rarely, if ever, is an individual (or individuals, as is the case here) represented by a talent agency, nonetheless a fancy, bigtime Hollywood one like Creative Artists Agency. That is, however, the case for the recently let go ex-Infinity Ward heads Vince Zampella and Jason West, who recently inked a deal with the agency.

Though a CAA representative wouldn't divulge any info on what the duo's next move is (nor the CAA's next move on their behalf), we have to imagine the pair's pedigree will help out just a bit in finding work. According to the LA Times Company Town blog report, hollywood talent agencies aren't exactly known for scooping up game developers, so this could very well mark a new option for (at very least) big name devs in search of greener pastures.

"I'm the voice of Guitar Hero 6," says KISS front man Gene Simmons during a video clip produced by Game On, a division of UK media site ITN. And that's all he says. The clip -- view it after the break -- has been removed from the context of what's assumed to be a full interview and essentially turns Simmons' statement into a gag line. Still, Simmons does appear to be the first "official" spokesperson to outright name the next iteration of Guitar Hero, albeit unofficially.

Activision previously dated a forthcoming Guitar Hero game for the "back half" of 2010. Presumably, that's "Guitar Hero 6" and the game Simmons will apparently star in. What? Activision didn't offer his crew a full-on Guitar Hero: KISS game? It's for the better, really, because all we want to do is get the digitized Simmons onstage and make him crank 'dat Soulja Boy!

According to a report on Kotaku, a "source" has told the site that the remaining Infinity Ward developers still working for Activision in the wake of the recent leadership shakeup are holding out on leaving the company for now due to royalties owed by the publisher. As claimed by ex-Infinity Ward heads Vince Zampella and Jason West in their recent complaint against Activision (with regards to themselves, that is), the publisher is allegedly holding out on promised royalties owed to the entire company. The tipster says that, rather than a traditional salary-based reward system at IW, the studio pays "regular or even low salaries" and offers "ridiculous royalties" to the whole staff.

Furthermore, the piece alleges that Activision "continues to delay royalties to other employees in order to keep them at the company" (though it's not clear whether that means other Activision-owned studios as well), and that morale at IW is supposedly "extremely low." We've asked Activision for comment on the claims and will update you if we hear more.

Update: Activision responded by saying, "Activision doesn't comment on industry rumor or speculation." Not exactly a definitive "no," but not a confirmation by any means either. We'll keep you updated as we hear more.

At Sony's special GDC event, Activision, Capcom, WB Games, Namco Bandai, Square Enix, Ubisoft, EA, Disney, Konami, Sega, Crave and Tecmo Koei all confirmed that they'll be supporting the Move in future versions of their games. Although that confirmation came in the form of a slide full of company logos and word from Sony vice-president of marketing and PSN that, "Virtually every third-party publisher" will support the new motion-control device.

Sony's Jack Tretton went on to say that 36 publishers and third-party developers will support it, and according to a press release, "In fiscal year 2010, SCE Worldwide Studios will also release more than 20 games that are either dedicated to or supported with the PlayStation Move platform. While this same group of publishers will probably support Microsoft's Project Natal as well, it's good to know that everyone is onboard. But onboard how? Are they developing Move departments that will get every possible ounce of gameplay out of these things? Or do they mean support like backrubs and cookies?

We aren't sure what titles will be supported just yet, but our team of Joystiqers are waving the Move about as you read this, and we'll have more news very soon.

EA's John Schappert spoke on the sticky situation regarding Activision and Infinity Ward at GDC today, and rather than put a spin on what he said, we'll let the man speak for himself:

"I'm sure there's two sides to that story, I'm certainly not passing judgement," Schappert said. "On the human side, they're two great guys. I'm disappointed on a couple of fronts. I'm disappointed because I think Jason and Vince, on the human side, are two great guys. I know them personally, and they've done great things. And I think they're two of the best creative leaders in our space, and to think that they're going to be spending their future dealing with litigation and lawyers rather than crafting the next great experience."

"I don't think that's good for them," Schappert continued. "I don't think that's good for our industry. I think that's disappointing. I hope that they find a way to make games and focus on that during this period."

"I think the other disappointing thing is that, rivalries aside, Modern Warfare 2 is a great game," Schappert concluded. "It's the biggest launch our industry has seen, it's a great franchise. I'm putting my consumer industry fan-hat on to think that there could be some challenges -- what's the future of that franchise? I don't know what's going to pan out. I feel bad for Jason and Vince and the franchise itself because they're great leaders and it's a great franchise for our industry."

Scr-scr-scratched through all of DJ Hero's tracks? Activision has announced a new DLC mix pack featuring Renegade Edition headliners Eminem and Jay-Z. The collection is scheduled to drop on Xbox Live, PSN and Wii this month and includes:

• "Shake That" by Eminem mixed with "Show Me What You Got" by Jay-Z
• "Without Me" by Eminem mixed with "Encore" by Jay-Z
• "Can I Get A..." by Jay-Z mixed with "Lose Yourself" by Eminem

The new tracks will be available on March 18 on Xbox Live for 640 ($8) and March 25 on PSN for $7.99. The tracks will not be sold separately for Xbox 360 or PS3. Each track, however, will be available for the Wii version on March 25 as a downloadable single for 300 Wii Points ($3); $9 for all three.

After a five-year hiatus, free-roaming felony franchise True Crime is set to return (sans subtitle) in Fall 2010. United Front, which is also working on the upcoming ModNation Racers and houses veterans from games such as Bully, Prototype and Scarface, is developing the new entry for PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360. Lead producer Jeff O'Connell describes it as a "more serious" reboot -- and a story that's more closely modeled after cop films. "It's an opportunity to be an innately good guy," he said of the undercover, under-pressure role you'll assume. "That's good drama."

Inspired by films like "The Departed" (see: "Infernal Affairs"), True Crime follows undercover lawman Wei Shen as he infiltrates the triad, slow-mo kicks enemies in the chin, and completes objectives across the game's new city playground. "Is it an accurate representation of Hong Kong?" O'Connell asked. "It's not." Despite referencing over 27,000 photographs, the city has been "tuned for gameplay," eschewing a realistic, street-for-street recreation in favor of a more cinematic and moody Hong Kong.

Infinity Ward community manager Robert Bowling has pointed us toward a new self-help website filled with good news: new Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 mutliplayer maps are coming to Xbox Live on March 30. While the powers that be at Activision might have ousted the creators of the game, they haven't affected the delivery of eagerly awaited new maps.

People afflicted with "mapathy," your cure is on the way. PS3 players ... well, you'll have to suffer a bit longer. Have you spoken to your FAMAS-ist about a prescription?

[Thanks Legion!]

It's not so surprising, really, that Modern Warfare 2, arguably the world's most popular video game, would recruit such a staggering amount of bodies for its perpetual online war. But, there it is: 25 million unique players, as revealed in a tweet from Infinity Ward's community guy-at-large, Robert "fourzerotwo" Bowling. We've contacted Infinity Ward for specific platform numbers, but in the meantime, Bowling offers a bit more to chew on:

He confirms the majority of players are taking the fight to Xbox Live, but he says the PS3 comes in at "a close" second. That puts the PC space in third, though it's still enlisted "millions," according to Bowling. But, what about that boycott? Oh, right.

Now, it should be noted that Modern Warfare 2's reported 25 million players aren't necessarily all on active duty. Surely, more than a few steadfast soldiers have taken up positions in DICE's Battlefield: Bad Company 2. No rest for the weary, eh?