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Where Call of Duty went and other mysteries of the universe photo

One day we were all walking along enjoying the weather and whistling a tune while we thought about playing Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2. Then the trailer dropped and the words "Call," "of," and "Duty" dropped along with it. Where did they go? Had they been stolen by the Wordburglarer? Or perhaps they had wandered off in the middle of the night hoping to make it big as a casual game on the Wii. No one really knew for sure until MTV Multiplayer used journalism to find out.

At E3 they did the obvious and asked Robert Bowling, MW2's community manager, where those three little words went. Bowling explains, "...this is just not another one in the Call of Duty franchise. This is a direct sequel to Modern Warfare. This has never happened in Call of Duty before. They’re typically all their own campaigns, totally unrelated to the previous one.”

This seems to explain it. However, if we look a little deeper we must consider that Modern Warfare had Call of Duty before it thus a sequel, especially a continuation of a story, should have it to. The sequel to a game with Call of Duty in the title should still have it despite being its own campaign or not since it is the subheader that the 2 is part of and not the Call of Duty which is the overaching series. Now that I have overanalyzed this incredible piece of minutiae the answer to those other mysteries of the universe follows.

42

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32 comments | showing # 1 to 32

ZeroTolo's Avatar
ZeroTolo at 06/07/2009 09:05
Not to be a critical douchebag, but your title should use the word "mysteries". Other than that, cool article. I'm glad that IW decided to drop the Call of Duty from the title, because I think it would have resulted in a lot of people thinking the series was suffering from EA Sports Syndrome.
KoKoO Psy's Avatar
KoKoO Psy at 06/07/2009 09:05
Logo looks a bit bare, a bit naked really. Bring back the COD!
Naim Master's Avatar
Naim Master at 06/07/2009 09:06
I'm pretty sure is about some satanic ritual , I mean , everyone knows Activision is a evil company doing evil things for evil sake because they're evil ...
Redzie's Avatar
Redzie at 06/07/2009 09:10
"MYSTERIES"
Makawa's Avatar
Makawa at 06/07/2009 09:21
To be honest, first comment after lurking so much here.

I think they actually dropped it because of mixed thoughts from the public about World at War, and the fact that Treyarch and Infinity Ward shared the title of Call of Duty, and it gave mixed signals to the public, expecting the same quality of Modern Warfare, yet Treyarch didn't deliver.. and the public did expect it, as it was branded "Call of Duty".

It is a shame that they have decided to temporarily drop the title they actually invented, Shame for Infinity Ward really, and well.. Treyarch, -- I shall not share my anger about that studio.
de BLOO's Avatar
de BLOO at 06/07/2009 09:26
LOL @ Makawa

The public doesn't really care who made it, WaW still sold millions.

And you need an avatar, intro post, and an about me. NAOW
linuxguy's Avatar
linuxguy at 06/07/2009 09:37
you are such a nerd Matthew
Your Moms Hot Lover's Avatar
Your Moms Hot Lover at 06/07/2009 09:37
Who cares? You kill people with modern guns. They could call it Post-Modern Gayfare 2: Hannah Montanna's revenge and it would still fly off the shelves like a 2007 wii.
Professor Pew's Avatar
Professor Pew at 06/07/2009 09:47
I'd love to know how Activision and IW came to this conclusion. Because I really doubt Activision would just drop the brandname of one of the most popular action FPS's just because it's a direct sequel. I can see IW not wanting it in front of their title after Treyarch's stuff though...
Uzzy's Avatar
Uzzy at 06/07/2009 09:49
Makawa's got the right of it. I'd also say that it's to counter criticism of the yearly CoD update. This way they can turn around and say that Modern Warfare and World at War are two separate franchises.
covah's Avatar
covah at 06/07/2009 09:52
"Modern Warfare" just doesn't carry the scale of the game well, if that makes sense. It's just so generic sounding.

It's like if someone released a game called "Fantasy Adventure 2" ...yeah that says a whole lot
Wozamil's Avatar
Wozamil at 06/07/2009 10:02
Most people referred to the last IW game as CoD4. Not many people went around calling it Modern Warfare. In fact, I know a few people that didn't remember Modern Warfare was part of the title. Those people won't recognize the new title as the yearly CoD installment. I think this will hurt the overall sales, even though this will probably still top the charts.
Matthew Razak's Avatar
Matthew Razak at 06/07/2009 10:11
@linuxguy

I'll take that as a compliment coming from someone with Linux in their name. ;)
Solgrim's Avatar
Solgrim at 06/07/2009 10:48
@Wozamill: Trust me. People who bought and loved COD:MW will know and recognize this new entry as being another MW. People aren't that stupid.
Analoge's Avatar
Analoge at 06/07/2009 11:05
A rose by any other name...
Necro BABS's Avatar
Necro BABS at 06/07/2009 11:24
They are just trendy bastards
Kradziej's Avatar
Kradziej at 06/07/2009 11:40
The only problem is using the short form quickly when talking. "MW" is harder to quickly say than "CoD".
But, well... whatever.
t3chn1k4l's Avatar
t3chn1k4l at 06/07/2009 12:01
HAHAHA 42!!!!
Mos Def is the shit in that movie....I mean any movie he's in.
braulio09's Avatar
braulio09 at 06/07/2009 12:28
i was thinking the exact same thing you wrote on your last parragraph while i was reading

soulmate ¢¾
Caster Tr0y 357's Avatar
Caster Tr0y 357 at 06/07/2009 12:37
i will say that i don't think i've ever texted one of my friends to say, "Hey, let's play Modern Warfare." i've always just said, CoD4. although, maybe we can wount modern warfare 2 as CoD5, since on activision's site, they always refer to it as Call of Duty: World At War, never Call of Duty 5.
HeartlessMockery's Avatar
HeartlessMockery at 06/07/2009 12:55
Such nomenclature tomfoolery in games is not unheard of, the Dark Forces and Jedi Knight games being a perfect example of this. In terms of brand awareness it matters little, CoD4 was a hit of such herculean proportions that I seriously doubt any gamers are going to be confused by this subtle name change.
GuitarAtomik's Avatar
GuitarAtomik at 06/07/2009 13:14
I think it's stupid personally. As mentioned, I never called the last one "Modern Warfare" I called it CoD4. I don't understand why they'd drop the name of a brand that carries so much weight now. I just don't get it.

In the end though, it's only a name. I'm sure it will still sell gangbusters (whatever that means).
Billy Monks's Avatar
Billy Monks at 06/07/2009 13:18
Activision probably decided that they'd rather have two franchises, although Modern Warfare is the worst name for a franchise ever. I don't understand why some people hate Treyarch so much. They're just doing their jobs and trying to make the best game they can make. WaW wasn't a bad game by any means and it wasn't Treyarch's decision to outsource the franchise.
Dexter345's Avatar
Dexter345 at 06/07/2009 13:20
Yeah, I'm pretty convinced that he gave MTV Multiplayer the PR answer, when the real answer is that Infinity Ward wanted to distance themselves from the Call of Duty name, since Treyarch puts in such average games.
madmatt92's Avatar
madmatt92 at 06/07/2009 13:31
I agree with dexter. TREYARCH BLOWS
Your Moms Hot Lover's Avatar
Your Moms Hot Lover at 06/07/2009 13:53
Clearly they want to have two separate franchises, which is fair enough. They probably though that the phrase 'call of duty' was more suited to WWII era crap, when there was you know - a draft and a big axis of evil to fight as opposed to some invented plot line.
Jon B's Avatar
Jon B at 06/07/2009 14:25
@Billy Monks

Yes, I'll agree WaW was indeed a good game. However it lacks that cinematic feel that Infinity Ward give to their games, and as such feels shallow in comparison. Some people just love to overblow the whole thing though.
Kalmah's Avatar
Kalmah at 06/07/2009 15:02
I'm just going to call this COD6.
Makawa's Avatar
Makawa at 06/07/2009 16:24
intro post wutt?, I made my profile especially for you Da Bloo :)
http://master.destructoid.com/blogs/Makawa

ByeBye.
Chronic Logic's Avatar
Chronic Logic at 06/08/2009 00:25
What's that Infinity Wards? You game is now called Call of Duty 6? Alright then.
Holyetheline's Avatar
Holyetheline at 06/08/2009 13:17
Just call it whatever.
wino1's Avatar
wino1 at 06/08/2009 15:34
In my mind, the "Call of Duty" title still illicits a metal respose of-World War II. I know that it has changed dramatically with the Modern Warfare title, but to me, I just love COD bc of the WWII action and (although limited) powerful and accurate old skool weaponry.

As far as the title goes, I kinda would like for COD to represent battles or the past, and not necessarily the future. I think maybe, a nice compromise here, would be to lable it, "Call of Duty presents Modern Warefare 2." Would/could that be enough to distinguish the game as standing on it's own? I mean, the COD label can't hurt the game's sales and marketing potential, bc imho Call of Duty titles just ROCK...

Although, one gripe, as usual, CAN WE PLEASE FLY THE DAMN PLANES AND DRIVE THE DAMN TANKS AND SHIT FOR ONCE?? ALL INCLUSIVE ALL TOGETHER? hopes and dreams...
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