• CNET
  • All call of duty posts

call of duty

Violent video games and aggression: A cumulative effect?

Video games are the subject of so many studies, not to mention findings. Some suggest cognitive benefits, others behavioral issues that may or may not persist over time.

Many of these studies are small enough to require further investigation, and the journalists reporting on them often confuse correlation (when results happen in tandem) with causation (when one action is shown to result from another).

A new study out of Ohio State University suffers from a small sample size (70 participants), but its findings -- that people who play violent video games for three consecutive days show increases in aggression and hostility … Read more

The 404 1,168: Where we pass judgment on the Nintendo Wii U (podcast)

Leaked from today's 404 episode:

- Watch Jeff go nuts on the Wii U.

- German police stop man with mobile office in car.… Read more

122 hours of playing Black Ops 2 -- new world record

If video games truly desensitize us as much as some people would have you believe, then Australian Okan Kaya is a much more dangerous son-of-a-gun today than he was a week ago.

Today at the suburban Sydney offices of online retailer 4Cabling where he works as a sales manager, Kaya set a new Guinness World Record for longest video game marathon, after playing more than 122 hours of Call of Duty: Black Ops 2.

"This journey began nearly two years ago when I first heard about the record," Kaya said in an e-mail. "Back then it was 54 hours, and unfortunately earlier this year it skyrocketed to 120 hours."… Read more

Friday Poll: Did you call in sick on Call of Duty launch day?

This year, cold and flu season conveniently coincided with the November 13 launch day for Call of Duty: Black Ops 2. A poll from IGN showed that one in four respondents planned to skip work or school to indulge in the new first-person shooter o its first day out.

A new option to live-stream Call of Duty gameplay on YouTube meant that work and school-skippers had to be a little more careful about hiding themselves in case their bosses were browsing YouTube Live and found them gunning down foes rather than crunching spreadsheets. … Read more

Call of Duty: Black Ops 2 rakes in $500 million in first 24 hours

There's no stopping the Call of Duty franchise.

The latest version of the storied military shooter, Call of Duty: Black Ops 2, grossed $500 million in revenue around the world in its first 24 hours, Activision said today. The company said that marks the largest entertainment launch of the year, and the fourth consecutive year in which it could make that claim. … Read more

The 404 1,165: Where we roll into flavor town (podcast)

Leaked from today's 404 episode:

- NY Times posts violent takedown review of Guy Fieri's new restaurant in Times Square, New York.

- Travel Channel's Anthony Bourdain rips into Guy Fieri.

- Guy Fieri's last name isn't really Fieri.

- How Sony is turning into a ghost in Japan and around the world.

- Seriously though, how cool is this vintage Sony Sports transistor radio?

- Head to Sonyvintage.com for more photos and specs on vintage Sony hi-fi products.

- Japanese photo booth 3D prints mini models of an entire human being.

Bathroom break video: Grand Theft Auto V gets a new trailer and screenshots.… Read more

Petraeus a now unlikely defense secretary in Call of Duty

More than a decade in the future, we'll see a still-strapping Secretary of Defense David Petraeus greeting troops aboard the decks of the aircraft carrier U.S.S. Barack Obama.

OK, so that reality seems a little less likely in our world of carbon-based life forms now that Petraeus has resigned his CIA post amid an adultery scandal, but it's still very much part of the digital world in Call of Duty: Black Ops 2.… Read more

The 404 1,164: Where we've got free copies of Black Ops 2 (podcast)

The show title isn't just an SEO play, we actually have five copies of Call of Duty: Black Ops 2 to give away on the system of your choice (Wii U, Xbox 360, or PS3). Just follow us on Twitter and tell us your best 404-related box art parody name--use this one as an example, and don't forget to use the hash tag #404COD!… Read more

Calling in sick to play Call of Duty: Black Ops 2? You're not alone

Getting a bit of a scratchy throat? You'd better plan to stay home tomorrow to fend off what's sure to be a terrible cold. And while you're lying around hacking up a lung, maybe you can garner the strength to play a little Call of Duty: Black Ops: 2. Your boss will never suspect that's why you really dialed in sick.

Not until reading about a new IGN poll, that is. One in four respondents indicated plans to skip work/school tomorrow, the day the next installment of the hugely popular first-person shooter launches worldwide for PC, PlayStation 3, and Xbox 360. Health warning: The Call of Duty Cough is expected to be serious and widespread! … Read more