Tag: Modern Warfare 3

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Disputes National Arbitration Forum News Video Games

ModernWarfare3.com owner revealed, Go Daddy’s Privacy removed during UDRP

Modern Warfare 3 reveal trailer

The Battlefield 3 fanboy who has fueled the drama between Electronic Arts and Activision by re-directing ModernWarfare3.com to Battlefield.com has been officially revealed.

Originally hidden behind Go Daddy’s Domains By Proxy (DBP) service, it appears the registrar giant doesn’t want to get involved in the domain dispute recently filed under the UDRP by Activision against the owner of ModernWarfare3.com.

Today, Go Daddy’s DBP has removed the privacy service on the domain, revealing the identity of the ModernWarfare3.com owner who has entertained Call of Duty and Battlefield fans with his online antics for weeks.

So who is this person who got the attention of gaming publications, fans and of course, Activision?

The registrant is Anthony Abraham of Florida according to the latest Whois records furnished by DomainTools. 

Anthony, who has been hush hush since the beginning, will likely be receiving calls and e-mails from reporters over the next few days.

Now, if you’re wondering why the privacy service was removed all of the sudden, according to the Domains by Proxy website, cancelling the privacy service is just how it handles UDRP matters.

“DBP routinely receives notices from its affiliated registrars informing it of the filing of various administrative proceedings under the Policy.  Upon receipt of such notices, DBP cancels its privacy service for the domain name that is the subject of the Policy dispute and notifies its customer about the cancellation of service.”

Discussion: Kotaku, Joystiq, Game Rant and Machinima

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Disputes National Arbitration Forum News Video Games

Activision files complaint over ModernWarfare3.com, posted online

Modernwarfare3.com domain dispute

Breaking update July 19, 2011 04:57 AM EST:  The identity of ModernWarfare3.com has now been revealed.

**

Activision has had enough with ModernWarfare3.com.

The gaming company has filed its first domain name dispute with the National Arbitration Forum.

The complaint was filed today, July 15, a week after the mystery owner of the domain started re-directing the URL to EA’s Battlefield.com, sparking a flurry of news stories.

Although I track domain disputes filed with the National Arbitration Forum and the World Intellectual Property Organization, I didn’t find out about the dispute through their online databases, instead I found out about the dispute when I paid a visit to ModernWarfare3.com.

As of today, ModernWarfare3.com is back to its old format online, but with a twist.  Sitting on the home page is a copy of the complaint (read here) the owner received.

Now begins the UDRP (Uniform Domain Name Dispute Resolution Policy), which was adopted by ICANN in the late nineties.

The complaint cost Activision $2,600 USD to file for a three-member panel.

The 11-page document, includes among other things, reasons by Activision as to why the respondent has no right or legitimate interest to the name.

Activision states, “It appears that the Respondent supports the game Battlefield from the game developer Electronic Arts (“EA”).  EA is one of Complainant’s principal competitors in the video game industry, and Battlefield game competes in the marketplace with Complainant’s MODERN WARFARE games and its other military-themed shooter games in the CALL OF DUTY series.”

Discussion: Kotaku, gameinformer, Electronic Arts UK Community, Gaming Union, RipTen, GameSpot, Benzinga, Games On Net, GoNintendo, Joystiq, IGN, ars technica,  The Daily BLAM!, Game Rant, Digital Trends, VideoGamer, GameSpy, Kit Guru, MCV, The Inquirer, PCWorld, The Escapist, Facepunch, Gamasutra, VE3D, Lazygamer, The Morton Report, Spong, 1UP and bnet

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News Video Games

ModernWarfare3.com begins redirecting to EA’s Battlefield 3, more drama

Battlefield 3

Updated July 15, 2011:  The web address no longer re-directs.  Activision has filed a complaint over ModernWarfare3.com.  The domain dispute has been posted online.

**

The saga of the web address ModernWarfare3.com, which is not owned by Activision, has been a story filled with bizarre twists.

And if you thought the battle over first person shooters between Activision’s Modern Warfare 3 and EA’s Battlefield 3 was interesting, type ModernWarfare3.com into your web browser. 

As of today, the web address takes you to the official website of EA’s Battlefield 3, Activision’s rival.

Last week, I was able to piece together a storyline after keeping an eye on the domain name for months. 

What started as an unofficial fan site, quickly turned into an anti-Call of Duty site.

WARNING — THIS WEBSITE IS UNDER SEIGE, read a message at the top of the homepage up until days ago.

The anonymous owner of the web address ModernWarfare3.com, has taken their sense of humor and anger one step further, by re-directing the domain to battlefield.com/battlefied3.

The redirection started after the site was suspended yesterday by web hosting provider iPage.

It’s unknown why iPage suspended the website, but a Google search shows iPage has shutdown other sites in the past after receiving complaints.  It could also be that the website needed its own dedicated server due to internet traffic, something the owner may not have been willing to pay for.

Discussion: Kotaku, The Escapist, jeuxvideo.com, Videogameszone, PC Games, Games Aktuell and MeriStation

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News Video Games

Another twist in ModernWarfare3.com story, still not owned by Activision

Modern Warfare 3

The ModernWarfare3.com ‘not owned by Activision’ story took another twist today as the producer of the video displayed on the homepage of the now ‘anti Call of Duty’ website, posted a message on the YouTube video saying, “I did not create ModernWarfare3.com.”

I’ve been following the story of ModernWarfare3.com even before it was officially revealed that Activision was planning to launch its next Call of Duty Modern Warfare game called Modern Warfare 3.

Way back in January, rumors were already circulating that the next Call of Duty game title would be Modern Warfare 3.  But as I wrote back then, Activision didn’t own ModernWarfare3.com.

By mid May, information and dates were leaked on Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 to online gaming magazine, Kotaku.  It was announced that Activision was developing what could turn out to be its biggest installment of a Call of Duty game to date, but surprisingly, it didn’t even own the matching domain name.

Days after news hit the internet, the owner of ModernWarfare3.com had a website online with thousands of Facebook fans.

Activision then announced plans for Call of Duty Elite, to coincide with the release of Modern Warfare 3. 

As news outlets ate the stories up about Modern Warfare 3 and Call of Duty Elite, ModernWarfare3.com went offline for days, in what appeared to be a response to Activision’s lawyers.

At the same time, the battle between EA’s Battlefield 3 and Activision’s ModernWarfare 3 heated up.   But online, EA had already positioned itself with a website on Battlefield.com and Battlefield3.com, while Activision owned neither ModerWarfare.com nor ModernWarfare3.com.  In fact, during this time in mid June, EA acquired Battlefield.net.

Then, just over a week ago, ModernWarfare3.com came back online, but instead of being a fan site, the owner launched a revamped website lashing out at Activision, in a series of statements and videos, throwing support instead to Electronic Arts’ Battlefield 3.

The site, which claims to be “Under Seige”, still doesn’t belong to Activision.

Now today it appears the producer of the YouTube video posted on the homepage of ModernWarfare3.com who goes by RoboJules, never endorsed the website.  

Titled “Modern Warfare 3 sucks”, a message has been overlayed on the the video (screen shot below).

Modern Warfare 3 Sucks

I’ve reached out the owner of ModernWarfare3.com (who also owns the .net) for comment, and will update this post if I hear back.

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News Video Games

ModernWarfare3.com owner lashes out at Activision, voices online support for EA’s Battlefield 3 with parody site

Modern Warfare 3

The owner of ModernWarfare3.com is lashing out at Activision, the publisher of Call of Duty Modern Warfare 3, in a series of statements and videos that appear on the ModernWarfare3.com website, and throwing support instead to Electronic Arts’ Battlefield 3 due out two weeks before the release of Modern Warfare 3 this fall.

Up until yesterday the site had been taken offline.  Before going offline the website was anything but negative about Call of Duty Modern Warfare 3, racking up over 7,000 “Likes” on Facebook, as the owner looked to be building out a massive online fan website, albeit a site that was confusingly similar to Activision’s own MW3 site.

Now the tone on the website has changed.  In what seems to have been prompted by Activision’s lawyers. 

WARNING — THIS WEBSITE IS UNDER SEIGE, reads a message at the top of the homepage.  Instead of an official trailer video, a video called “Modern Warfare 3” sucks runs on the homepage.

The site’s owner has also updated the disclaimer at the bottom of the site to say, “Modern Warfare 3 .com is a 100% unofficial fan site dedicated to the Modern Warfare series.   IF you haven’t figured it out yet, this site is a parody of Modern Warfare 3. Call of Duty official site.  Modern Warfare is crap. On November 8, 2011, the most over-hyped first-person action series of all-time returns with the copy and paste sequel to the lackluster Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2.  Check out the E3 2011 gameplay demo featuring the Black Tuesday level for a look at the epic fail of the campaign.  Pre-Order Call of Duty MW3 Today for Xbox 360, PS3, and PC to secure exclusive bonuses only available online for Modern Warfare 3 fanboys who don’t know that Battlefield 3 is the better game.”

Click on other links on the site such as Media, and additional YouTube videos explaining why Modern Warfare 3 will suck are posted.

The Intel page is much of the same, with testimonials that say things like, “Been there , done that. NEXT! The new kid on the block Battlefield 3.”

I’ve reached out to the site’s owner for comment and will update this post if I hear back.

As far as the dramatic change to a parody site showing support for EA’s Battlefield 3, the only conclusion that I can reach is that Activision has contacted the owner about the domain name and website.  While that’s clearly speculation, if they weren’t in touch before, they might be in touch soon.

EA may win the battle when it comes to intellectual property online.  The company already owns and operates Battlefield.com and recently acquired Battlefield.net.  It also owns Battlefield3.com.

Activision, as I’ve pointed out before, doesn’t own ModernWarfare.com or ModernWarfare3.com.  One can only imagine the online games that would be played if Activision decides to release a Modern Warfare 4 in the future.  As I’ve noted in the past, ModernWarfare4.com is one of the most interesting domain registrations by far.  It’s yet another domain not owned by Activision, but in this case, the owners made news headlines when they threatened to hurt a clown if the game development studio behind Modern Warfare, Infinity Ward, didn’t play ball with their demands.

According to the latest Compete statistics released for May, the “rough” estimated traffic to ModernWarfare3.com was over 20,000 unique visitors.

Here’s a link to the Modern Warfare 3 Sucks video, in case the website goes offline again.  WARNING: Language is strong.