Call of Duty XP 2011 convention announced

Call of Duty owner Activision is calling fans to Los Angeles this September for a two-day convention celebrating the FPS franchise. $150 will get you panels, playable MW3, paintball on a recreated CoD map, and more.

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Given how monumentally successful Call of Duty is, it's a surprise this hasn't happened sooner. Franchise owner Activision today announced the first official convention celebrating the first-person shooter series, Call of Duty XP 2011. It'll take place over Labor Day weekend, September 2 and 3, at "a secure 12-acre compound in the urban confines of Los Angeles" and cost $150.

The festivities will include the premiere of Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3's multiplayer, hands-on time with MW3's MP and Spec Ops co-op survival modes, paintball on a recreation of Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 map Scrapyard, a real-life version of MW2's Spec Ops time trial 'The Pit,' the full reveal of subscription service Call of Duty Elite's functionality, and an armory displaying weapons from the series.

In the realm of more traditional convention attractions, there will be developer discussion panels and Q&A sessions, contests, and tournaments, crowned by a 4-player team tourney with a $1 million prize pool.

The $150 two-day passes for Call of Duty XP 2011 go on sale on July 19. Proceeds from ticket sales will go to The Call of Duty Endowment, Activision's non-profit which helps ease armed forces veterans back into civilian life.

For those who wisely refuse to brave LA's weather and traffic, Activision assures there will be "a constant stream of high-production value videos" online and on television. There's no word yet on whether this will be free to watch or if a fee will be charged, like Activision subsidiary Blizzard does for its own BlizzCon.

"From the high production values of our live, immersive events--all the way to the smallest details in every design and activity--we're pulling out all the stops to make Call of Duty XP the ultimate gathering for the global community of Call of Duty fans," said Activision Publishing CEO Eric Hirshberg in the announcement. "The celebration will immerse attendees in a Call of Duty experience unlike anything they've ever seen before."

Considering how popular BlizzCon is as a community-strengthening tool and publicity platform for Blizzard's products--selling out within minutes every year--it's no surprise to see Activision follow suit with Call of Duty. It might only be a single franchise and arguably a single game, but it's just as beloved by its fans.

From The Chatty
  • reply
    June 30, 2011 6:00 AM

    Alice O'Connor posted a new article, Call of Duty XP 2011 convention announced.

    Call of Duty owner Activision is calling fans to Los Angeles this September for a two-day convention celebrating the FPS franchise. $150 will get you panels, playable MW3, paintball on a recreated CoD map, and more.

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      June 30, 2011 6:01 AM

      a Call of Duty-con? wut

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        June 30, 2011 6:02 AM

        [deleted]

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          June 30, 2011 6:19 AM

          It's actually a neat idea. I'm pleased to see Activision trying this out.
          Blizzcon is intensely fun for Blizzard fans. Lots of neat stuff gets revealed there.

          Companies trying unique outreach to their consumers should be encouraged. There's no reason to be snarky about it save hurr activision hurr.

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      June 30, 2011 6:01 AM

      Holy fuck, 150$ US for a Call of Duty convention? Someone please let them all in, seal the doors and gas them.

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        June 30, 2011 6:17 AM

        stop being a douche abrasion

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          June 30, 2011 6:19 AM

          Sorry, you're confusing me with one of the people attending that convention.

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            June 30, 2011 6:20 AM

            yea your lack of tolerance for others likes definitely excludes you from the douche crowd.

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              June 30, 2011 6:21 AM

              Dravenport on a scale of 1 to 10 just how much sand is in your vagina right now?

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                June 30, 2011 6:45 AM

                [deleted]

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                  June 30, 2011 6:48 AM

                  He's taking me far too seriously.

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                    June 30, 2011 7:00 AM

                    It's like people don't even know who you are anymore.

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                      June 30, 2011 7:27 AM

                      I leave for a few months and people think I'm like some new guy? :( DP why? :(

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                        June 30, 2011 7:36 AM

                        Too much pho?

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                        June 30, 2011 7:40 AM

                        no profiles.

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                          June 30, 2011 7:50 AM

                          I miss them.
                          I've been off my game in my diet this past 8 weeks, surprise surprise - my shackpost count has gone up. I should not be posting this much.

                          • reply
                            June 30, 2011 10:20 AM

                            You should post more about how little you're posting.

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                    June 30, 2011 7:03 AM

                    abrasion i know we're bffs but i still want to punch you in the throat for this

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                  June 30, 2011 6:54 AM

                  sounds more like he is shitting on people who are going to pay 150 for a convention.... not people who play a game.

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                  June 30, 2011 8:05 AM

                  I'm in the audience for this videogame, and I think this idea is stupid. This isn't WoW, or even Quake. This reeks of "let's make as much money as possible from this IP, and get people to think about Activision = CoD", more than it seems to be something for the fans.

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        June 30, 2011 6:20 AM

        really? because that's appropriate to say about any group of people? you are an ignorant asshole.

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          June 30, 2011 6:21 AM

          I dunno, it sounds like a really good COD level. At the end of it you get shot in the head though.

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        June 30, 2011 7:11 AM

        You mean like the scene in rainbow six: vegas 2? That would be ironic.

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        June 30, 2011 7:55 AM

        [deleted]

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        June 30, 2011 8:10 AM

        wow abrasion thread shitting on a game he doesn't like? i thought we got over this with DNF.

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          June 30, 2011 1:51 PM

          Man you guys are going full derplord on me. I don't even mind COD, - I liked 1, 2 was ... ridiculous but not bad.

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        June 30, 2011 10:12 AM

        Many could say the same about Blizzcon.

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          June 30, 2011 10:23 AM

          There's more of a mythos around blizzard IPs... not the same with CoD.

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        June 30, 2011 3:30 PM

        Haha. I love you abrasion. Never leave again.

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      June 30, 2011 6:12 AM

      PAX is cheaper, gets you a longer convention with more stuff for everyone, AND gets you into the Halo thing for free.

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        June 30, 2011 6:54 AM

        [deleted]

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          June 30, 2011 7:01 AM

          Good luck going to any remotely popular con that doesn't involve at least a little waiting in line. At least PAX has such an incredible variety of things to do that you can get variety and find some things that aren't jam packed.

          That being said, after going 4 times in the past 4 years, I think I'm ready to give it a break for a while.

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            June 30, 2011 7:05 AM

            [deleted]

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              June 30, 2011 9:27 AM

              I think they the right idea with the paintball, but like I posted below they shouldn't have picked paintball and should go with airsoft instead.

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            June 30, 2011 9:40 AM

            You guys understamd that why there's allthe freeplay rooms, right. If you don't want to wait in line to play games you go there.

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      June 30, 2011 6:21 AM

      and for $200, Bobby Kotick's personal masseuse will give you the handjob of your life.

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        June 30, 2011 6:52 AM

        Actually it only gets you lube and the first 30 seconds of effort. Every additional 30 seconds is 1200 MS points.

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          June 30, 2011 7:00 AM

          They'd make it some jack off number like 699 MS points so I still had an uneven amount left over

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      June 30, 2011 6:26 AM

      Take THAT, QuakeCon

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      June 30, 2011 6:48 AM

      Paintball on a recreated CoD map would be pretty cool for fans I guess.

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        June 30, 2011 6:51 AM

        agree, sounds like a great idea to me

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        June 30, 2011 7:05 AM

        Yeah that would be badass.

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        June 30, 2011 7:09 AM

        [deleted]

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        June 30, 2011 8:12 AM

        However they should change it to airsoft weapons instead of paintball. More realistic weapons and pretty much every weapon in CoD has an airsoft variation so people would be able to use their favorite CoD loadout in real life.

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        June 30, 2011 8:25 AM

        I wonder if they'll ban teabagging your kills.

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        June 30, 2011 8:50 AM

        I hope you get to unleash real dogs at them

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        June 30, 2011 9:25 AM

        They need knife throwing.

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        June 30, 2011 9:40 AM

        [deleted]

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        June 30, 2011 10:06 AM

        This will likely be a huge blow to the epeens of everyone involved. Running and gunning ain't easy in real life.

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        June 30, 2011 10:16 AM

        Nah, they'll just get dropped from the party and lobby before it starts.

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        June 30, 2011 2:10 PM

        So the start of every game will everyone be throwing a tomahawk only to find out they really can't throw it across the map?

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      June 30, 2011 7:13 AM

      [deleted]

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      June 30, 2011 8:11 AM

      How much just for paintball? I would love to shoot the shit out of these nerds IRL

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      June 30, 2011 8:15 AM

      lol which CoD? I mean it could be a Call of Duty 1 map for all anyone knows.

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      June 30, 2011 9:21 AM

      100% of the ticket sales goes to charity

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        June 30, 2011 9:24 AM

        which, coincidentally, happens to be the name of Kotick's secretary.

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      June 30, 2011 9:37 AM

      this is so ridiculous, it's a single game, which isn't much different than the one from last year, and it's a fucking SHOOTER that lasts 5-6 hours! For all that is holy i hope this fails miserably

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        June 30, 2011 9:45 AM

        Quake Con started the same. There are Star Trek, Star Wars, even fucking Doctor Who conventions. There is easily a large enough crowd to justify a con for the Call of Duty franchise, and no reason the fans should be deprived of actual community events.

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          June 30, 2011 10:41 AM

          I guess the difference is that with quake con and blizzcon people are not only fans of the games but also fans of the developers. COD has no single developer, it just gets passed around now and cranked out by many studios. If you are a fan of blizzard or id there might be people who worked on those games you want to talk or hear talk on a panel but can you even think of a name of someone who works on the COD games?

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            June 30, 2011 10:47 AM

            Maybe they're fans of Activision.

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            June 30, 2011 10:55 AM

            That's a fair point. Only thing I can say in response is a lot of people that go to BlizzCon probably can't name designers at Blizzard either. That doesn't disprove your point, but I guess points out it's not a deal breaker.

            I still don't think it's unreasonable to have a con for Call of Duty, though. The fact that it's this nomadic franchise that so many devs have touched I think would make interesting panels (that may not actually be there). And I can think of two people that should DEFINITELY but won't have a panel: Jason West and Vince Zampella!

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            June 30, 2011 10:55 AM

            [deleted]

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            June 30, 2011 11:02 AM

            [deleted]

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              June 30, 2011 11:06 AM

              [deleted]

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              June 30, 2011 11:40 AM

              A huge number of us go to see the panels. There are more than 15,000 people who pay for an online feed (no free stuff) just so they can watch.

              Blizzard has a great relationship and involvement with their community.

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              June 30, 2011 2:12 PM

              Oh shit, a Demon's Souls Con would be awesome!

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        June 30, 2011 10:02 AM

        [deleted]

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      June 30, 2011 10:20 AM

      I'm gonna have to get a press pass to this so I can just see the crowd. Never before has the word "bro" been uttered so many times in one location.

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        June 30, 2011 10:25 AM

        Also, I'll make sure to give you guys a writeup on their multiple workshops. I'm looking forward to the one that teaches new ways to call someone gay/black/Jewish.

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        June 30, 2011 10:57 AM

        damn those people, they are infringing on our right to be nerds in a BRO FREE environment!!

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          June 30, 2011 11:33 AM

          It is kinda funny to me how much nerd culture and bro culture have intersected over the past few years due to gaming. I have a few brosiff friends who think gaming is a waste of time, but still buy a console just for Madden and COD games. Personally, I can't imagine putting out that much money just for one or two franchises, but it makes them happy so I guess I can't judge.

          Now if you'll excuse me, I'm going to retreat to my basement and play JRPGS.

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      June 30, 2011 10:33 AM

      The teets on this cow are blood red now. How much more milk can be squeezed out of it?

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      June 30, 2011 10:35 AM

      Deathrace 2011. AKA Commuting to Los Angeles.

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      June 30, 2011 10:42 AM

      at least the money is going to something decent

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      June 30, 2011 11:23 AM

      Imagining kids playing this paintball thing and being upset about their limited sprint ability and the game's general imbalance toward physically fit perk.

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      June 30, 2011 11:57 AM

      Blizzcon - Check. CoD Con - Check, Gutiar Hero C ... oh damn our third pillar! TBA: Kotick Con - all particpants can brown nose for free.

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      June 30, 2011 12:19 PM

      [deleted]

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      July 1, 2011 9:08 AM

      Can't wait to meet some of those little trash talkers in real time !!! ;)

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