A young man who chose not to give his name sizes-up an assault style rifle during the National Rifle Association's annual convention Friday, May 3, 2013 in Houston. (AP Photo/Steve Ueckert)
A young man who chose not to give his name sizes-up an assault style rifle during the National Rifle Association's annual convention Friday, May 3, 2013 in Houston. (AP Photo/Steve Ueckert)
Attendees applaud a speaker during the leadership forum at the National Rifle Association's annual convention Friday, May 3, 2013 in Houston. (AP Photo/Steve Ueckert)
Smith and Wesson pistols are on display during the National Rifle Association's annual convention Friday, May 3, 2013 in Houston. (AP Photo/Steve Ueckert)
A man wearing a t-shirt quoting Gen. George S. Patton attends the National Rifle Association's annual convention Friday, May 3, 2013 in Houston. (AP Photo/Steve Ueckert)
Attendees move throughout the exhibition hall in the George R. Brown Center during the National Rifle Association's annual convention Friday, May 3, 2013 in Houston. (AP Photo/Steve Ueckert)
HOUSTON (AP) ? The incoming leader of the National Rifle Association has a long history with the powerful gun rights lobby and a penchant for bold statements that are sure to enflame an already explosive national debate over gun control.
James Porter, an Alabama attorney and first vice president of the NRA, assumes the presidency on Monday after the group's national convention wraps up in Houston. He didn't wait until then to ignite a new furor over gun control, telling the NRA grass-roots organizers on Friday they are the front line of a "culture war" that goes beyond gun rights.
"(You) here in this room are the fighters for freedom. We are the protectors," Porter said.
Porter, 64, whose father was NRA president from 1959-1961, is part of the small, Birmingham, Ala., law firm of Porter, Porter & Hassinger. The firm's website notes its expertise in defending gun manufacturers in lawsuits.
Porter takes over the organization as the NRA finds itself in a national fight over gun control in Washington, D.C., and state capitols around the country. The NRA had a major victory regarding gun control with the defeat in the U.S. Senate of a bill that would have expanded background checks for gun sales. But it lost ground in some places as several states passed laws expanding background checks and banning large ammunition magazines after December's mass shooting at a Connecticut elementary school.
Glen Caroline, director of the NRA's grass-roots division, noted the coming fight over gun control in the 2014 elections. "Our senators are on record. They cannot hide from those votes," Caroline said.
As shown by his "culture war" comment Friday and others in his past, Porter's style is likely to be one that fans the flames of an emotionally combustible debate.
Porter has called President Barack Obama a "fake president," Attorney General Eric Holder "rabidly un-American" and the U.S. Civil War the "War of Northern Aggression." On Friday, he repeated his call for training every U.S. citizen in the use of standard military firearms, to allow them to defend themselves against tyranny.
Gun control advocates say Porter makes outgoing NRA President David Keene look like a moderate on gun issues, even though Keene had said the NRA would try to punish lawmakers who voted in favor of expanded background checks and other gun control measures.
Keene had worked to offer a softer, if equally staunch voice for the gun lobby's ideas when compared with Wayne LaPierre, the fiery executive vice president who remains the NRA's most prominent voice on the public stage.
Porter as president, "pulls (the NRA) more into the extremist camp," said Josh Horwitz, executive director of the Coalition to Stop Gun Violence. "With Jim Porter, they've gone full crazy."
But Porter was greeted with rousing applause at the grass-roots organizing meeting, and several in attendance called out, "Hey Big Jim!," as he walked through the crowd.
NRA officials did not respond to a request for comment about Porter taking over the organization. In an interview this week with the Washington Times, Keene called Porter "the perfect match for president" and noted his legal expertise.
Porter has served as a head of the NRA's legal affairs committee. His legal experience will be counted on to help the organization challenge some of the gun control laws passed in several states around the country in court, Keene told the Washington Times.
The DP2 Merrill ($999 direct) is one of a trio of fixed-lens cameras?offered by Sigma. They all share the same image sensor, but the focal length of their f/2.8 lenses varies. The DP2 features a lens that produces a standard-angle field of view, perfect for shooters who eschew wide angles. The APS-C Foveon image sensor is a unique design that captures an incredible amount of detail, but requires special software for Raw processing. We liked it a bit better than the DP1 Merrill and DP3 Merrill. Its JPG engine outclasses the DP1 and it's speedier to focus than the DP3, which is slowed by its macro lens. The DP2 will reward you if you work within its limits, and it's the only camera of its type with a standard-angle lens. It doesn't oust the Ricoh GR as our Editors' Choice for prime lens compact cameras. Photos taken with the pocketable GR don't require any special processing, but the lens captures a very different wide-angle field of view that isn't for everyone.
Foveon Image Sensor, Design, and Features Much like the Sigma DP1 Merrill, the DP2 uses a Foveon X3 image sensor. This design uses three layers to record information,?each one sensitive to a different color channel. Traditional digital cameras use a single-layer sensor with a Bayer overlay, which has grids of red, blue, and green pixels to create a color image. Each layer of the DP2's sensor boasts a 15.4-megapixel resolution?because of this, Sigma advertises it as a 46-megapixel camera, even though the resulting, printable images are limited to 15.4 megapixels in size.
The sensor design omits the low-pass filter, which is a trend on higher-end cameras. But because of its design, which by its nature omits the Bayer color-array filter, there's no danger of moir? entering into your shots. The downside to the unique design is that there's no support for the DP2's Raw format in Lightroom or similar software programs?you'll have to use Sigma's Raw software to process photos. The software leaves a lot to be desired, but you can use it as a basic converter to convert the Raw images into TIFF format, which can then be imported into Lightroom or the workflow application of your choice.
In terms of design, the DP2 is essentially a brick with a lens, measuring 2.6 by 4.8 by 2.3 inches, and weighing in at 11.6 ounces. It's not that far off in size and weight from the 2.7-by-4.9-by-2 inch, 11.2-ounce Leica X2, which has a wider 36mm-equivalent lens. The X2 supports an add-on EVF, which is an option that is not available on the DP2. There is a hot shoe directly above the lens, so using a fixed optical finder that matches its field of view and trusting its autofocus system is an option.
The lens is a 30mm focal length, which translates into 45mm in terms of full-frame photography. It has a maximum aperture of f/2.8, which is a little slow for a standard-angle design. The full-frame Sony Cyber-shot DSC-RX1 has a faster, wider 35mm f/2 lens, but costs nearly three times as much as the Sigma. If you're looking for zoom, look elsewhere, but for those of us who see the world in that focal length, the DP2 is a welcoming camera.
Pleasingly minimal, the camera's color scheme is flat black, with a metal chassis that is cool to the touch. Buttons are labeled in white for shooting functions, and red for playback functions. On top you'll find the Power button, Mode button, a control wheel, and the shutter. The rear houses the Auto Exposure lock, a four-way controller with a center select button (the up direction lets you select the focus mode, the bottom the focus point), an image playback button, a button to control the amount of information shown on the rear display, the menu button, and the QS button.
The QS (Quick Set) button grants access to seven quick shooting controls. Press it once and you can adjust the ISO, exposure compensation, drive mode, and image format settings. Press it a second time and the menu switches to white balance, image compression, color balance, and image format (in the same place as the first menu) settings. It's a well-designed interface, and lets you adjust settings without diving into the menu system.
The 3-inch rear display packs a 920k-dot resolution. It's sharp and gives you a good idea about the quality of the images you are capturing. The display is just as sharp as the 1.2-million-dot display on the Ricoh GR, but it's not as bright; that camera has an extra layer of white pixels that make it possible to view on even the brightest days.
Microsoft is plumbing the depths of cloud computing yet again with the development of what could be a pay-per-use desktop virtualization service called Mohoro. According to ZDNet's Mary Jo Foley, Mohoro is essentially Azure's answer to Remote Desktop, but as a hosted service. Intended for "companies who want thin clients or to run legacy apps on new PCs," her source states that, "With Mohoro, you click a few buttons, deploy your apps, use Intune to push out configuration to all of your company's devices, and you're done," thus skipping the need for server infrastructure. As Foley points out, however, Azure-hosted virtual machines aren't currently set up to run Windows clients under Microsoft's licensing terms. What's more, Mohoro development is reportedly in its early days, and as such, Foley speculates that it won't be a reality until much later -- she's guessing the latter half of 2014.
The Chief Content Officer of streaming giant Netflix claims the modern trend for easily streaming legal content is impacting on the more hardcore Bittorrent scene, with pirate traffic dropping in countries when Netflix switches on its servers.
According to Netflix?s Ted Sarandos, this is because ??people are mostly honest.? Sarandos went on to tell Stuff that: ?The best way to combat piracy isn?t legislatively or criminally but by giving good options. One of the side effects of growth of content is an expectation to have access to it. You can?t use the internet as a marketing vehicle and then not as a delivery vehicle.?
Meanwhile, those hoping the streaming services will offer an early look at high-res 4K content are going to be a little disappointed. There?s no firm commitment to supporting the emerging ultra-high definition format from Netflix yet, with Sarandos saying that ?If it evolves as a streaming only format it?ll be very interesting? but the media company?s only watching to see how it unfolds right now. [Stuff via Techradar]
Satellite instrument package to assess space weather ready for delivery by CU-BoulderPublic release date: 2-May-2013 [ | E-mail | Share ]
Contact: Frank Eparvier frank.eparvier@colorado.edu 303-492-4546 University of Colorado at Boulder
A multimillion dollar University of Colorado Boulder instrument package to study space weather has passed its pre-installation testing and is ready to be incorporated onto a National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration satellite for a 2015 launch.
Designed and built by CU's Laboratory for Atmospheric and Space Physics, the instrument suite known as the Extreme Ultraviolet and X-ray Irradiance Sensors, or EXIS, is the first of four identical packages that will fly on four NOAA weather satellites slated for launch beginning in 2015. CU-Boulder's EXIS will measure energy output from the sun that can affect satellite operations, telecommunications, GPS navigation and power grids on Earth as part of NOAA's next generation Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellites, or GOES-R.
NASA issued the contract with CU-Boulder on behalf of NOAA to design, build, test, deliver and scientifically support the four instrument packages for roughly $95 million, said LASP Senior Research Scientist Frank Eparvier, principal investigator on the project. The EXIS instrument package will be delivered to Lockheed Martin Space Systems Co. in Littleton, Colo., for installation on the spacecraft in the coming months.
"We are excited because we developed and built all new technology for the EXIS instrument package for the GOES-R satellite," said Eparvier. "We already have a close working relationship with NOAA's Space Weather Prediction Center in Boulder, and these extremely sensitive instruments should help scientists better understand solar events and help to mitigate the effects of space weather on Earth."
EXIS consists of two LASP instruments, including XRS, an X-ray sensor that can determine the strength of solar flares and provide rapid alerts to scientists, said Eparvier. Large solar flares, equivalent to the explosion of millions of atomic bombs, can trigger "proton events" that send charged atomic particles flying off the sun and into Earth's atmosphere in just minutes. They can damage satellites, trigger radio blackouts and even threaten the health of astronauts by penetrating spacecraft shielding, he said.
"The XRS gives the first alert that a solar flare is occurring, providing NOAA with details on its timing, magnitude and direction within seconds," said Eparvier. "We call it the 'money' instrument." The newest version of the XRS designed and built by LASP for the GOES-R satellite program has a larger range of sensitivity than previous GOES X-ray sensors, he said.
The second EXIS instrument, EUVS, will monitor solar output in the extreme ultraviolet portion of the electromagnetic spectrum, which is completely absorbed by Earth's upper atmosphere, said Eparvier. When the extreme UV light wavelengths penetrate the upper atmosphere during active periods on the sun, they can break apart, ionize and heat the molecules in the upper atmosphere, changing the property of the atmosphere through which satellites fly and radio waves propagate, he said.
Not only can rapid fluctuations in extreme UV wavelengths from the sun ionize the upper atmosphere and interfere with communications like cell phones and GPS signals, they can create satellite drag, causing spacecraft to slowly fall out of orbit and burn up months or years before such events are anticipated, said Eparvier.
"Modern technology has made us vulnerable to extreme variations in space weather that can have significant effects on Earth communications," he said. "Extreme solar activity can cause problems for power companies all around the world, for example, in part because they all are interconnected."
NOAA's GOES satellites are a series of weather satellites that help scientists make timely and accurate weather forecasts. Two GOES satellites are now in geostationary orbit at a height of about 22,000 miles, with one focusing on the east part of the Americas overlapping with another focusing on the west. NOAA also keeps a third, spare GOES in the same orbit in the event of a satellite failure. Satellites in geostationary orbits complete one revolution in the same amount of time it takes for the Earth to rotate once on its polar axis, allowing them to "stare" at a portion of Earth.
In addition to the GOES contract, LASP is receiving $18 million from NASA for instruments and electronics flying aboard the Van Allen Probes mission launched in 2012 to study Earth's radiation belts. LASP also designed and built a $32 million instrument for NASA's Solar Dynamics Observatory that launched in 2010, and designed, built and operates the $100 million SORCE solar satellite from campus.
"LASP is the one-stop shop for all solar irradiation instruments and measurements," said Eparvier.
CU-Boulder is the first university to contract with NOAA on a GOES satellite mission. More than 100 LASP personnel ranging from scientists and engineers to technicians, programmers and students have worked on the EXIS program since 2006. CU-Boulder's LASP will support EXIS on the four NOAA GOES satellite missions through spacecraft integration, testing, launch and commissioning, said Eparvier.
"One of the biggest challenges for us was to design and build the EXIS instruments for longevity," said Eparvier. "Each has to be built to withstand five years of storage on Earth, five years of 'on orbit' storage and 10 years of operation. These instruments have to meet performance requirements 20 years after delivery."
Each instrument package which is roughly the size of a large microwave oven and weighs 66 pounds is about three times heavier than normal due to extra shielding that protects them from high-energy particle penetration, said Eparvier. Rather than build the instrument suites individually, the specific parts for each are built at the same time to save money. LASP's Mike Anfinson is the project manager for EXIS.
NOAA manages the GOES-R Series Program which consists of the GOES-R, GOES-S, GOES-T and GOES-U satellites through an integrated NOAA-NASA program office that is staffed with personnel from NOAA and NASA.
###
Contact:
Frank Eparvier
Jim Scott, CU-Boulder media relations 303-492-3114
Jim.Scott@colorado.edu
[ | E-mail | Share ]
?
AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert! system.
Satellite instrument package to assess space weather ready for delivery by CU-BoulderPublic release date: 2-May-2013 [ | E-mail | Share ]
Contact: Frank Eparvier frank.eparvier@colorado.edu 303-492-4546 University of Colorado at Boulder
A multimillion dollar University of Colorado Boulder instrument package to study space weather has passed its pre-installation testing and is ready to be incorporated onto a National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration satellite for a 2015 launch.
Designed and built by CU's Laboratory for Atmospheric and Space Physics, the instrument suite known as the Extreme Ultraviolet and X-ray Irradiance Sensors, or EXIS, is the first of four identical packages that will fly on four NOAA weather satellites slated for launch beginning in 2015. CU-Boulder's EXIS will measure energy output from the sun that can affect satellite operations, telecommunications, GPS navigation and power grids on Earth as part of NOAA's next generation Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellites, or GOES-R.
NASA issued the contract with CU-Boulder on behalf of NOAA to design, build, test, deliver and scientifically support the four instrument packages for roughly $95 million, said LASP Senior Research Scientist Frank Eparvier, principal investigator on the project. The EXIS instrument package will be delivered to Lockheed Martin Space Systems Co. in Littleton, Colo., for installation on the spacecraft in the coming months.
"We are excited because we developed and built all new technology for the EXIS instrument package for the GOES-R satellite," said Eparvier. "We already have a close working relationship with NOAA's Space Weather Prediction Center in Boulder, and these extremely sensitive instruments should help scientists better understand solar events and help to mitigate the effects of space weather on Earth."
EXIS consists of two LASP instruments, including XRS, an X-ray sensor that can determine the strength of solar flares and provide rapid alerts to scientists, said Eparvier. Large solar flares, equivalent to the explosion of millions of atomic bombs, can trigger "proton events" that send charged atomic particles flying off the sun and into Earth's atmosphere in just minutes. They can damage satellites, trigger radio blackouts and even threaten the health of astronauts by penetrating spacecraft shielding, he said.
"The XRS gives the first alert that a solar flare is occurring, providing NOAA with details on its timing, magnitude and direction within seconds," said Eparvier. "We call it the 'money' instrument." The newest version of the XRS designed and built by LASP for the GOES-R satellite program has a larger range of sensitivity than previous GOES X-ray sensors, he said.
The second EXIS instrument, EUVS, will monitor solar output in the extreme ultraviolet portion of the electromagnetic spectrum, which is completely absorbed by Earth's upper atmosphere, said Eparvier. When the extreme UV light wavelengths penetrate the upper atmosphere during active periods on the sun, they can break apart, ionize and heat the molecules in the upper atmosphere, changing the property of the atmosphere through which satellites fly and radio waves propagate, he said.
Not only can rapid fluctuations in extreme UV wavelengths from the sun ionize the upper atmosphere and interfere with communications like cell phones and GPS signals, they can create satellite drag, causing spacecraft to slowly fall out of orbit and burn up months or years before such events are anticipated, said Eparvier.
"Modern technology has made us vulnerable to extreme variations in space weather that can have significant effects on Earth communications," he said. "Extreme solar activity can cause problems for power companies all around the world, for example, in part because they all are interconnected."
NOAA's GOES satellites are a series of weather satellites that help scientists make timely and accurate weather forecasts. Two GOES satellites are now in geostationary orbit at a height of about 22,000 miles, with one focusing on the east part of the Americas overlapping with another focusing on the west. NOAA also keeps a third, spare GOES in the same orbit in the event of a satellite failure. Satellites in geostationary orbits complete one revolution in the same amount of time it takes for the Earth to rotate once on its polar axis, allowing them to "stare" at a portion of Earth.
In addition to the GOES contract, LASP is receiving $18 million from NASA for instruments and electronics flying aboard the Van Allen Probes mission launched in 2012 to study Earth's radiation belts. LASP also designed and built a $32 million instrument for NASA's Solar Dynamics Observatory that launched in 2010, and designed, built and operates the $100 million SORCE solar satellite from campus.
"LASP is the one-stop shop for all solar irradiation instruments and measurements," said Eparvier.
CU-Boulder is the first university to contract with NOAA on a GOES satellite mission. More than 100 LASP personnel ranging from scientists and engineers to technicians, programmers and students have worked on the EXIS program since 2006. CU-Boulder's LASP will support EXIS on the four NOAA GOES satellite missions through spacecraft integration, testing, launch and commissioning, said Eparvier.
"One of the biggest challenges for us was to design and build the EXIS instruments for longevity," said Eparvier. "Each has to be built to withstand five years of storage on Earth, five years of 'on orbit' storage and 10 years of operation. These instruments have to meet performance requirements 20 years after delivery."
Each instrument package which is roughly the size of a large microwave oven and weighs 66 pounds is about three times heavier than normal due to extra shielding that protects them from high-energy particle penetration, said Eparvier. Rather than build the instrument suites individually, the specific parts for each are built at the same time to save money. LASP's Mike Anfinson is the project manager for EXIS.
NOAA manages the GOES-R Series Program which consists of the GOES-R, GOES-S, GOES-T and GOES-U satellites through an integrated NOAA-NASA program office that is staffed with personnel from NOAA and NASA.
###
Contact:
Frank Eparvier
Jim Scott, CU-Boulder media relations 303-492-3114
Jim.Scott@colorado.edu
[ | E-mail | Share ]
?
AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert! system.
Chicago Bulls forward Carlos Boozer, left, defends against Brooklyn Nets forward Reggie Evans during the first half in Game 6 of their first-round NBA basketball playoff series in Chicago, Thursday, May 2, 2013. (AP Photo/Nam Y. Huh)
Chicago Bulls forward Carlos Boozer, left, defends against Brooklyn Nets forward Reggie Evans during the first half in Game 6 of their first-round NBA basketball playoff series in Chicago, Thursday, May 2, 2013. (AP Photo/Nam Y. Huh)
Chicago Bulls center Joakim Noah defends against a shot by Brooklyn Nets center Brook Lopez (11) during the first half in Game 6 of their first-round NBA basketball playoff series in Chicago, Thursday, May 2, 2013. (AP Photo/Nam Y. Huh)
Chicago Bulls center Joakim Noah reacts after scoring a basket and a free throw during the first half in Game 6 of their first-round NBA basketball playoff series against the Brooklyn Nets in Chicago, Thursday, May 2, 2013. (AP Photo/Nam Y. Huh)
Brooklyn Nets interim head coach P.J. Carlesimo reacts as he watches his team during the first half in Game 6 of their first-round NBA basketball playoff series against the Chicago Bulls in Chicago, Thursday, May 2, 2013. (AP Photo/Nam Y. Huh)
CHICAGO (AP) ? Deron Williams, Brook Lopez and Joe Johnson each scored 17 points, and the Brooklyn Nets again avoided elimination, beating the short-handed Chicago Bulls 95-92 Thursday to tie their first-round series at 3.
The series goes back to Brooklyn for Game 7 on Saturday. The winner gets Miami in the second round.
The Bulls hung in until the end even though they were missing Luol Deng and Kirk Hinrich.
A layup by Nazr Mohammed cut the Nets' lead to 93-92 with 25.2 seconds remaining.
Nate Robinson then fouled Andray Blatche, who had missed a free throw only moments earlier. This time, he hit both to make it a three-point game with 19.2 seconds left.
The Bulls had a chance to tie it, but Marco Belinelli missed a 3-pointer and Joakim Noah stepped out of bounds with about six seconds left.
Chicago still had a chance, though.
Noah tied up Williams after the inbounds, resulting in a jump ball with 3.6 seconds left.
Johnson controlled the ball, and the Nets hung on.
Gerald Wallace added 15 points as Brooklyn won its second straight.
Only eight NBA teams have come back from a 3-1 deficit to win a best-of-7 series, but the Nets are in position to do just that.
It helped that Hinrich missed his second straight game with a bruised left calf and that Deng was sidelined with flu-like symptoms, forcing the Bulls to shuffle their lineup.
Belinelli started at shooting guard with Jimmy Butler moving to small forward and scored 22 points. Robinson started his second straight game with Hinrich injured and finished with 18 points. Butler had 17 points, seven rebounds and six assists.
Noah added 14 points and 15 rebounds. Carlos Boozer scored 14 and grabbed 13 boards.
The Nets were leading 81-73 early in the fourth after 3-pointers by Wallace and C.J. Watson.
Robinson wowed the crowd when he faked picking up his dribble for a jumper and drove past a leaping Kris Humphries for a layup that made it 83-79 with about 7:30 remaining.
Noah scored on a tip-in that made it 87-85 with four minutes left. Then, after Lopez dunked, he rotated over for a huge block of Lopez, delighting the crowd.
The fans were really screaming when Belinelli made a 3 to pull Chicago within 90-88 with 2:19 remaining.
Blatche then banked in a fadeaway with 1:15 remaining, but Robinson quickly answered with just over a minute left.
He also missed a driving layup with 32 seconds to play. Boozer got called for a loose ball foul on the play, and Blatche hit the second free throw to make it 93-90.
Note: Nets coach P.J. Carlesimo had this to say about facing a short-handed Bulls team: "Starting with Derrick, their franchise player hasn't played. It seems almost every time we play them, it's a different roster."
Activision on Wednesday announced that the latest installment of its best-selling Call of Duty franchise, called Call of Duty: Ghost, will launch later this year on the Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, PC and ?next generation platforms.? The latest Call of Duty game is being developed by Infinity Ward, the studio behind the original Call of Duty and the critically acclaimed Call of Duty: Modern Warfare series. Activision?s first-person shooter has consistently shattered game sale records year after year and its latest installment is expected to continue this trend. Call of Duty: Ghost is scheduled to be released on November 5th. Starting today, fans can pre-order the game at retail stores. Activision?s press release follows below.
ACTIVISION ANNOUNCES THE NEXT GENERATION OF CALL OF DUTY? WITH CALL OF DUTY?: GHOSTS
[More from BGR: HTC One seen holding its own against Galaxy S4 marketing barrage]
Call of Duty: Ghosts will set a new Benchmark for the Next Generation
All-New World, Story, Characters and Experience, All Powered by New, Next Gen Call of Duty Engine from the Developer that started it all, Infinity Ward
For an Exclusive First Look at the Game, Tune in to Xbox: The New Generation Revealed, May 21 at 10AM PDT on Xbox.com, Xbox Live or SPIKE TV
Groundbreaking Title Lands on November 5
Santa Monica, CA ? May 1, 2013 ? Prepare for the next generation of Call of Duty?. The franchise that has defined a generation of gaming is set to raise the bar once again with the all-new Call of Duty?: Ghosts. Published by Activision Publishing, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Activision Blizzard (Nasdaq: ATVI), and developed by Infinity Ward, the studio that created the original Call of Duty and the seminal Call of Duty?: Modern Warfare? series, Call of Duty: Ghosts ushers in the next generation of the franchise. The new title delivers a riveting all-new gameplay experience built on an entirely new story, setting and cast of characters, all powered by a new, next generation Call of Duty engine that redefines the series for the next generation.
?Infinity Ward set the gold standard for first-person action for a generation, and they?re going to do it again with Call of Duty: Ghosts,? said Eric Hirshberg, CEO of Activision Publishing, Inc. ?Ghosts delivers an all-new story, all-new characters, an all-new Call of Duty world, all powered by a next generation Call of Duty engine, which is a leap forward for the franchise. Infinity Ward is going all-in to create the next generation of Call of Duty worthy of the world?s greatest fans.?
?Everyone was expecting us to make Modern Warfare 4, which would have been the safe thing to do. But we?re not resting on our laurels,? said Mark Rubin, executive producer of developer Infinity Ward. ?We saw the console transition as the perfect opportunity to start a new chapter for Call of Duty. So we?re building a new sub-brand, a new engine, and a lot of new ideas and experiences for our players. We can?t wait to share them with our community.?
To see an exclusive first look at Call of Duty: Ghosts tune in to Xbox: the Next Generation Revealed on May 21 at 10AM PDT on Xbox.com, Xbox LIVE or SPIKE TV for the debut of the all-new game from Infinity Ward.
?We are consistently thrilled with the overwhelming response received from critics and consumers alike to the Call of Duty series, which has firmly established its home on the Xbox 360 with the game?s largest and most engaged community,? said Don Mattrick, president of the interactive entertainment business at Microsoft. ?With Call of Duty: Ghosts, we have no doubt that our longtime partners, Activision and Infinity Ward, will raise the bar higher than ever before for this incredible franchise.?
Starting today, fans can begin pre-ordering their copy of Call of Duty: Ghosts at retail outlets worldwide.
?There?s no other video game property like Call of Duty. It?s the biggest game franchise on the planet that has had some of the biggest game entertainment launches in history,? said Tony Bartel, president of GameStop. ?We are very excited for the launch of Call of Duty: Ghosts, as we transition to next generation consoles.?
Call of Duty: Ghosts will release on Xbox 360? video game and entertainment system from Microsoft, PlayStation?3 computer entertainment system and PC on November 5. Call of Duty: Ghosts will also be available for next generation platforms. For the latest intel, check out: http://www.callofduty.com/ghosts, http://www.facebook.com/CODGhosts, or follow on Twitter @InfinityWard. Call of Duty: Ghosts is not yet rated.
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Public release date: 2-May-2013
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