World of Warcraft is still the #1 MMO around the world, Modern Warfare 3 sold like freaking hotcakes and oh yeah — kids love Skylanders. See? Not really that surprising that they’re still printing money. Here’s a short recap of what was covered in their conference call today.

• Call of Duty Elite has over seven million subscribers.
• World of Warcraft has actually lost subscribers — going from 10.3 million to 10.2 million. Not a big loss, but one nonetheless.
• Speaking of WoW, we’ll get more information on the Mists of Pandaria expansion on March 19.
• A new Call of Duty is on the way (how not surprising!) with an Elite 2.0 to match.
• Diablo III is still coming this year — probably in Q2, if a slide from the publisher is to be believed (I think it is). That might not qualify as “early 2012″ to some people, so those people may think of it as a delay. In any case, we’re getting closer and closer to looting like mad — and WoW subscribers who took part in the Annual Pass program announced at BlizzCon 2011 are one step closer to a free copy of the game. (By the way, over one million people took part in that program.)
• Skylanders Spyro’s Adventure was the #1 kids’ title for the calendar year of 2011.
• A collection of all content available to current Call of Duty Elite members is on the way for Xbox 360. Really, you were probably better off just buying into Elite, but we won’t judge.

Not too much surprising stuff here. Are you looking forward to anything from Activision?

…yep.

“We’re geared up for an outrageous sea and land conflict with the all new BATTLESHIP videogame,” said David Oxford, Activision Publishing. “Inspired by the film’s exciting action and stunning backdrop, the game is next-gen naval warfare that thrusts players into the middle of humanity’s last stand against an unfamiliar menace.”

I…have never thought about next-gen naval warfare while trying to figure out which coordinates that stupid, tiny destroyer floated on. I also missed the part where the original Battleship had land warfare. I also always knew who I was making my last stand against. (It was my mother, and she had a knack for taking me down quickly.) I have also never put characters on my boats (mostly because they were too tiny and I didn’t miss the part where it was a board game). But this has not stopped Double Helix, who are developing the game for Activision.

In Battleship, you’ll play as demolitions specialist Cole Mathis (who, I’m betting, is going to sink a battleship! Teehee!), who is essentially stuck in a deserted land and sea area where his cell phone doesn’t work. Well, okay, it’s Hawaii. Also, considering that I once had a boyfriend call me from the top of a volcano in Hawaii, I’m not quite understanding this “dead zone” thing. But I’ll give him the benefit of the doubt. Maybe he has Sprint or something.

Anywho, the game somehow combines first-person shootery goodness with naval strategy simulation, so it’s Call of Duty meets…well, the board game. The key word is “somehow.” You’ll command frigates, cruisers, destroyers, submarines and…well, a very surprising last ship — the USS Missouri battleship.

Why so surprising? Well, the USS Missouri is a museum. So, I’d imagine that makes it very easy for the enemy to find — just go to Pearl Harbor. It’s kind of just…there. And it has a P.O. Box and everything. Easy!

Battleship arrives in Europe this April, followed by North America in May. It’ll be available for PS3 and Xbox 360 with special versions available for Wii, Nintendo DS and 3DS.

Here’s a trailer chock-full of “Not actual game footage.”

Activision Publishing is taking big to a whole new level. The successful Skylanders Spyro’s Adventure game featuring real life figurines is getting a sequel—Skylanders Giants.

Giants will feature eight new collectible figurines that are both grand in size and power. The new toys are more than twice the size of the original figures, and they pack more in-game punch to match. Some of the new toys will also have a light built-in to detect when they are near or on a ‘portal of power’.

The game will also feature eight new regular sized Skylanders, each with their own traits and powers.

Don’t worry about your old Skylanders, because they will work with the game with all levels and customizations still there.

Skylanders Giants will have updated arenas, gameplay options in battle mode and new hero challenges.

Activision sent us Skylanders: Spyro’s Adventure to review. It was sitting in the box on my table when Jackson and his brother came over for a visit. They spotted the unopened box and ran for it. According to them, I was the luckiest girl on earth because I had Skylanders: Spyro’s Adventure. I sat on the couch with Jackson as he proceeded to walk me through the game, the figures and why it was so cool. He was so excited and obviously knew alot about the game already, that I couldn’t resist. I asked Jackson to play and review Skylanders: Spyro’s Adventure for us. Below are his thoughts:

Today we are reviewing “Skylanders: Spyro’s Adventure! So far, here are the ratings!
Graphics: 9/10
The moving graphic is at it’s best, but the talking animation is sometimes off sync. This is still one of the best definition non-FPS games i’ve ever seen! Overall, I give it a 9/10!
Plot:9/10
Controls: 7/10
Gameplay:10/10
Overall rating: 9/10

Great game, I like the idea of action figures coming alive on Xbox 360, Wii, Nintendo DS/3DS, and PlayStation 3! Some special areas require a certain type of “Skylander” to go to it. The Skylander types are Magic, Water, Tech, Life, Death, Earth, and Fire! The really cool part is the “Portal of Power”! If you put a “Skylander” on it, instantly it recognizes it! The places you go to are divided into chapters, and there are many chapters to explore. Also, the Skylanders aren’t JUST different types, they also have stats! Some Skylanders are based on speed, others on attack, and others on defense.

On to NPCs, you always have to have a nerd, a self-absorbed jock, and a female character. Hugo, Flynn, and Cali are this game’s main NPCs. There are also some that take you to places like Gillman and Arbo. Kaos is the game’s villain, but he’s the kind of goofball villain that makes him have so much character, but he also can be really annoying. You may recognize his voice as Richard Steven Horvitz who voiced Zim in Invader Zim. Kaos is confident in winning, although he only uses dark Skylanders and spells.

The controls on this game are great, except for no jumping. There are launch pads for jumps but I think that for the small ones the Skylanders can jump, and for the big leaps, they should use the launch pads. In my opinion, Great game, the enemies are a bit tough, but it’s still a good game. It appeals to kids a little more than adults, but it can be fun for the whole family!

Thank you Jackson for your review! Jackson plays many game genres and hopes to be a video game reviewer one day. I think he’s off to a good start!

I love the series of Call of Duty commercials that feature the average person in a simulated war. The marketing concept that “There is a Soldier in All of us” is genius. It’s also very welcoming of all types of gamers. I love the way that someone helps a n00b through the commercial until he (in the commercial it’s a dude) gets the hang of it and then starts to help others. Very inspiring.

At GamingAngels we know that this time of year is really tough for people to have money to a)buy the games they want and b) have the money to buy the games they want. So we have a special surprise for you. Leave a blog comment about your n00b moment in gaming. It can be about any game on any console. The prize is a copy of Call of Duty MW3 on Xbox 360. Enter the contest in the other ways mentioned below for extra chances. We’ll pull a winner next week! Good luck!

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 has managed to set some sales records again, selling over 6.5 million units in the U.S. and U.K. within the first 24 hours of its release. That means about $400 million sold, and the third consecutive year that a Call of Duty title has managed to break records.

That’s not all — two days after release, the number of people on Xbox LIVE playing simultaneously set a new all-time high.

“We believe the launch of Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 is the biggest entertainment launch of all time in any medium, and we achieved this record with sales from only two territories,” said Bobby Kotick, Activision’s CEO. “Other than Call of Duty, there has never been another entertainment franchise that has set opening day records three years in a row. Life-to-date sales for the Call of Duty franchise exceed worldwide theatrical box office for ‘Star Wars’ and ‘Lord of the Rings,’ two of the most successful entertainment franchises of all time.”

This Veterans Day, Activision also donated $3 million to their Call of Duty Endowment, which helps provide job placements and training for veterans.

Who says guys can’t have a softer side? Industry Vets, Christopher Cherubini and David Chiapperino have created Jupiter Moon Studios. Christopher is from Activision/Infinity Ward as a Lead Artist for Call of Duty and the Modern Warfare series. David comes from Disney having worked on Pirates of the Caribbean and Toontown. They plan on creating their own IP.

Jupiter Moon’s first title will be for the iOS. Bunny Popper will be released this December. Bunny Popper was created with accessibility in mind. Basically gameplay can be done with one finger. Don’t let the cute look fool you, these bunnies are evil!
The premise of Bunny Popper is, “evil inflatable bunnies from outer space are invading a carrot farm. The carrots need you to stop the hoards of hares from taking them away!”

Mom’s don’t have to worry about passing their iPad or iTouch device to their kids to play. Bunny Popper’s target audience is moms and their kids. No worries about influences from Call of Duty here. There are 16 levels plus 4 bonus levels in the game and you get a bonus achievement for popping every bunny in the level.

Jupiter Moon is located in Los Angeles and while not hiring yet, but they expect to grow in 2012, so watch their Bunny Popper. Jupiter Moon plans on expanding to developing titles for a variety of platforms including console.

One thing Activision has learned from Blizzard is how to put on a great event focused entirely around one game. I attended one afternoon out of the two day Call of Duty XP.

The event was in a hanger space that was massive. Even though the space was huge, Activision managed to take up the entire space. As you walk up to the hangar, you see the large Modern Warfare 3 image which is actually the cover for the game.

The events outside were pretty amazing. First they had a real life Burger Town to order lunch from. The meals were pretty pricey though for a group of people that paid $150 to attend the con. A burger combination was $12. That didn’t seem to stop hungry gamers because Burger Town had lines the whole time.

Also outside was a zip line. The lines were long, but it seemed like fun. I took video of someone riding the line. The most amazing thing outside was the paintball field. It was set up like a map in Call of Duty. HUGE barrels and things for players to get cover in and under. It was very impressive. During the paintball round, music from Call of Duty was playing over the speakers and that really added to the feel of the event. I definitely think someone should open up paintball fields that reflect maps from shooters.

Inside, the hanger, it was all about the game. But expect to wait in a line. People were playing Zombie mode, old Call of Duty, Call of Duty Modern Warfare 3, and Spec Ops mode. There was a huge area dedicated to teams competing. Not just local teams, gamers came from around the world for this event.

What I loved was seeing how much passion people have for the Call of Duty franchise. Clans were wearing team shirts. Everywhere people had made a Call of Duty Modern Warfare shirt with their gamertag on it. Unfortunately, gamer funk was in full effect. The audience was about 95% male.

The one line I did wait in was to play a mode called Spec Ops. It’s akin to a horde mode where there are waves of hostiles that you have to take on. I had a BLAST playing this mode. I thought my partner would regret playing with me, but I picked up the controls quickly and was able to contribute right away. In the end we only made wave 8 (I think the high was 33). We needed to work on getting amo/guns. But this is a mode I can see playing with my husband often.

I didn’t stay for the concert (can’t stand for long periods of time). But I can say that Call of Duty XP is the best conference for fans of Call of Duty. You can tell Activision really invested in putting together an amazing event for their fans.

I have one Special Ops badge to giveaway for a lucky GamingAngels winner.

Perfect way to get the COD XP weekend off to a start, I suppose.

Guess which game is?

Valve confirmed today that Activision’s Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 will be on Steam and use Steamworks. Excited gamers can now also pre-purchase the title before its release on November 8. If you prefer to get a tangible copy of the game, that’s going to use Steam, too, meaning that Modern Warfare 3 gets the auto-updating and Steam Achievements that many Battlefield 3 hopefuls wanted.

Like I said, it’s another shot fired. And this is a war between war games that is getting increasingly dirty. Maybe stuff like Steam integration won’t make or break a title, but it sure does make some gamers think a little harder about which game they’ll purchase.