Former Panama dictator Manuel Noriega is suing Activision for putting him in Call of Duty

The studios behind the Call of Duty series may have garnered some extra sales by putting real people into their over-the-top shooters, but it looks like that strategy could land them in court. Former Panamanian dictator Manuel Noriega has sued the games’ publisher, Activision, for using his likeness in Call of Duty: Black Ops II without his permission. He argues that he’s entitled to damages because his presence both violated his publicity rights and helped “heighten realism,” leading to added profits that should have been his.

There’s no doubt that it’s Noriega in the game, but he may have a tougher time getting a check from game developers than, say, college football players. As attorney Jas Purewal tells the BBC, Noriega isn’t an American resident and might not even get his foot in the door. He’s also a historical persona, and a notorious one at that — we wouldn’t expect the courts to sympathize with his alleged plight as much as they would with an actor or star athlete that genuinely depends on his visage for a living. Activision isn’t commenting, but it may not have much reason to worry even if the lawsuit goes forward.

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Via: BBC

Source: Courthouse News Service

LeapTV combines Wii-style controls with educational games

Plopping kids down in front of the boob tube can be a great way for parents to snatch a few seconds of peace, but now kids can be entertained with LeapFrog’s LeapTV active video game console. The company’s been known for its educational tablets, but now there’s a bit more calorie burning involved. The LeapTV uses motion tracking and a unique controller to let kids jump, dance and generally wild out as they work through nearly 100 “educator-approved” games and videos. A TV-mountable camera captures movement for hands-free gameplay. Kids will be able to defend goals, scuba dive, run, hop and karate chop. There’s also a Bluetooth controller with a mini joystick and A/B buttons, which can also be transformed into a pointer for Wii-style control. Games come as proprietary cartridges or can be downloaded over WiFi, using the console’s 16GB of on-board storage. The system was designed for children ages three to eight and games adapt for each child’s level, with reading, math, science and problem solving challenges. The LeapTV will cost $150 and is scheduled to arrive in time for the holiday season, so you still have time to make space in that crowed media center.

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GameStop explains how it made $724 million selling digital games and add-ons

It turns out that when a GameStop exec opens their mouth, it doesn’t have to be controversial after all. Case in point: company president Tony Bartel recently broke down exactly how the brick-and-mortar retailer makes money selling digital goods in its physical stores; a figure to the tune of $724.4 million. Bartel tells GamesBeat that over 70 percent of the season passes for game developer-and-publisher Ubisoft came not from purchases made through each console’s respective marketplace like you’d imagine, but through retail stores. What’s more, he says that many customers actually like being up-sold (he describes it as “discoverability”) on future downloadable content (DLC) packs at the time of pre-order or purchase, and he has the numbers to back it up too — some 30 percent of all of Watch Dogs‘ catch-all DLC tickets were bought from his stores. If you notice the store’s clerks are a little more pushy than normal when you put a deposit down for Assassin’s Creed: Unity, well, now you’ll know why.

[Image credit: Moe_/Flickr]

Filed under: Gaming, Home Entertainment, HD

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Source: GamesBeat