Tag: activision

BlackOps.com no longer shows company website, displays youth baseball page

Post author By J.B.
Post date October 7, 2012
2 Comments on BlackOps.com no longer shows company website, displays youth baseball page

It appears video game developer Black Ops Entertainment has taken down their company website at www.BlackOps.com in favor of putting up a web page that displays a broken photo album from a church’s baseball team in San Francisco, California.

The change occurred within the last week and comes as the release date nears for Black Ops 2, the sequel to Call of Duty: Black Ops, which became the best-selling game in U.S. history.

St. Anne Athletics — Screenshot of BlackOps.com on Oct. 7, 2012

You can look at past internet statistics to see that traffic to the popular web address (not owned by Activision) will be increasing as fans type the domain name into their browser, expecting to find more information about the video game.

In the months building up to the game’s initial launch in 2010, traffic went from nearly zero to thousands.

The reasons for the website change now all of the sudden are unknown, though theories are plentiful.

Black Ops Entertainment hasn’t developed a console game in years, the last one apparently being AND 1 Streetball in 2006, which was released on the Playstation 2 and Xbox. In recent years, it appears the company has been focused on developing apps for the iPad like iTraderPro, which has nothing to do with video games.

Is it possible the company has no more plans to develop video games and is planning to rebrand itself?

The domain name itself is a hot commodity.

Could Activision be negotiating a deal to acquire the name? The timing certainly seems right.

Or, could it be nothing more than a webmaster error? Other links on the site work such as www.blackops.com/press.html, just not the home page.

As reported here last January, Activision secretly acquired BlackOps2.com for an undisclosed amount.

I’ve reached out to Black Ops Entertainment for comment and will update this story if I hear back.

Tags activision, Black Ops 2, Black Ops Entertainment, BlackOps.com, John Botti

News Video Games

Activision hints at new Call of Duty gaming glasses via domain names

Post author By J.B.
Post date October 6, 2012

It looks like Activision may be marketing some new glasses with its upcoming launch of Call of Duty: Black Ops 2, which is slated to be released on November 18, 2012 in the USA.

The speculation comes way of several domain names that were privately registered back in July 2012 according to Whois historical records: CallofDuty3Dglasses.com, CallofDutyeyewear.com, CallofDutygamingglasses.com, CallofDutyGlasses.com and CallofDutysunglasses.com.

This week, all of the privacy details were removed on the names, officially revealing Activision as the owner.

In 2010, when the Black Ops video game was first published, an $80 a pair of Call of Duty: Black Ops-themed gaming glasses were also released.

As of right now, none of the domain names resolve to a web page, and from what I can tell, Activision hasn’t made any official announcement. So, for now, the roll out of new Call of Duty glasses will have to remain speculation.

(Image of Quadrotor Overwatch via CallofDuty.com)

Tags activision, call of duty, Call of Duty 3d glasses, Call of Duty Black Ops 2, Call of Duty eyewear, Call of Duty gaming glasses, Call of Duty glasses, Call of Duty sunglasses

News Trademarks Video Games

Activision Publishing reapplies for ‘Sing Hero’ trademark with the USPTO

Post author By J.B.
Post date October 2, 2012

Hinting that a possible karaoke title is on the horizon, Activision Publishing has reapplied for its trademark on ‘Sing Hero’, a trademark it first filed back in 2009.

Unlike the old trademark, the new trademark (Serial Number: 85740335) covers computer game software for use on, “mobile and cellular phones, personal digital assistants, electronic organizers and electronic notepads, handheld computers, and portable and handheld digital electronic devices”.

The revived trademark comes at a time when popular singing shows like X Factor and The Voice compete for viewers. NBC’s The Sing-Off was cancelled earlier this year after three seasons.

Activision has not said anything official about Sing Hero.

The company’s trademarks on Keyboard Hero and Drum Hero were declared “Dead” in 2010 and 2011, respectively.

A quick search across major domain names shows that only the .com and .net have been registered at the time of this story. Whereas domains for its once popular Guitar Hero title are all taken from GuitarHero.com to GuitarHero.de. Neither the .com nor the .net appear to be registered by Activision.

The Facebook and Twitter vanity URLs are also taken, but appear unrelated and have little or no information.

Talking about this story: Gameranx and NowGamer

(Image of France MW3 launch via Activision.com)

Tags activision, Activision Publishing, featured, Sing Hero, united states patent and trademark office

News Trademarks Video Games

Activision files ‘Laser Blast’ trademark, Atari 2600 game first published in 1981

Post author By J.B.
Post date September 18, 2012

Activision has submitted a new trademark application with the United States Patent and Trademark Office that hints that an Atari 2600 classic video game is getting remade.

On September 13, 2012, the video game company filed a trademark (Serial Number: 85728268) for “Laser Blast”.

The goods and services in the application cover, “Computer game software; computer game software for use on mobile and cellular phones, handheld computers, and portable and handheld digital electronic devices.”

Laser Blast was originally released in 1981 for the Atari 2600 video game system.

The game was designed by David Crane, one of Activision’s co-founders, who left the company in 1986. In Laser Blast, “you are a spaceship blasting away at enemy bases, which appear in intervals of three, while they blast right back at you.”

Activision also has a trademark for “Laser Blast” for video game cartridges, that dates back to April 1981.

In July, it was announced that Activision Leeds, the newly-founded UK studio, was revamping Activision’s first major game Pitfall.

So far Activision has made no announcement as to a remake, but this has all the signs of another Activision Leeds project.

Tags activision, Atari 2600, David Crane, Laser Blast, Mary Tuck

News Trademarks Video Games

Activision applies for ‘The Roman Numeral II’, other Black Ops 2 trademarks

Post author By J.B.
Post date July 15, 2012

Activision applied for several U.S. trademarks this past week related to Call of Duty: Black Ops II which is scheduled to be released this November. The trademark applications include “The Roman Numeral II”, “The Future is Black” and “There’s a Soldier in All of Us”.

Activision submitted two trademark applications (85673176, 85673166) for “The Roman Numeral II” which, of course, can be seen in the cover-art for the video game in a solid orange color.

“The Future is Black” is a tagline for the game and was used in the official reveal trailer that was published back in the beginning of May. The filing (Serial Number: 85673145) like the others in the batch, covers computer game software and entertainment services.

The company looks to be protecting its IP as it ramps up marketing ahead of the game’s release.

“There’s a soldier in all of us” has been a tagline for Black Ops since the first game released worldwide in November 2010. The trademark application (Serial Number: 85673131) was filed along with the others on July 10.

If you haven’t seen the official reveal trailer, you can watch it below.

Tags activision, Activision trademarks, Black Ops 2, call of duty, Call of Duty: Black Ops II, The Roman Numeral II