Call of Duty 最新作、PS3 / Xbox 360 でYouTubeライブ配信に対応。Wii U は非対応(検討中)
eスポーツと呼ばれる競技的プレイが盛んなジャンルのゲームでは、プロ選手による試合の様子が公式に中継されるのはもちろん、個人レベルでもプレイ内容のインターネット配信がコミュニティの重要な要素です。しかし配信にはPCで配信用の機能やソフトを使ったり、ゲーム機の場合は映像出力を別のハードウェアでキャプチャしてPC経由でアップロードするといった環境が必要でした。
発表によると、配信に対応するのはマルチプレーヤーのリーグプレイゲーム。ゲームの様子のほか、ゲーム機に接続したウェブカメラやマイクによるプレーヤーの映像・音声も同時に配信できます。配信側に必要なのは確認済みのYouTube アカウント。視聴は YouTube が見られる環境ならば、PCのブラウザでもタブレットやスマートフォンでも可能になるとのこと。
いわゆるゲーム配信は競技系ゲームだけのものというわけではなく、ゲーム好きのあいだではUstream やニコニコといったサービスや各種アプリを使った「直接遊ぶだけではないゲームの楽しみかた」として古くからおこなわれてきました。しかし、特にゲーム機からの配信はキャプチャ用ハードウェアの購入やセットアップなど敷居が高く、ゲームを遊んでいる人なら誰でもすぐできるというわけではありません。
数百万本どころか1000万本台も売れる人気ゲームシリーズの Call of Duty が公式に対応したことで、直接遊ぶだけでなく発信する・見る・語るといった楽しみかたの広がりを考えたゲームが増えることに期待したいものです。
なお、CoD:Black Ops II は PC / PS3 / Xbox 360 に加えて任天堂の次世代機 Wii U でも発売されるマルチプラットフォームタイトルですが、なぜか Wii U だけは YouTube ライブ配信に発売時点で対応せず、「今後のアップデートでの対応について検討」とされています。ハードウェア的には現行世代のHDゲーム機を圧倒する性能を備え、またシステムレベルでゲームプレイ体験の共有・共感をサポートするソーシャルなゲーム機である Wii U なのに残念な話です。
Call of Duty: Black Ops II は海外では11月22日から発売。国内では字幕版が11月22日、吹き替え版が年内発売予定です。
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CALL OF DUTY(R): BLACK OPS II TEAMS WITH YOUTUBE
TO DELIVER IN-GAME LIVE STREAMING
Treyarch's Innovative New Live Streaming Functionality
Marks Historic First for Video Games
New Pillar for eSports Competition Elevates Gameplay to a Sporting Event
Santa Monica, CA - November 8, 2012 - Activision Publishing, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Activision Blizzard, Inc. (Nasdaq: ATVI), today announced that Call of Duty: Black Ops II's new live streaming feature, available when the game launches on November 13th, will let players live stream gameplay on YouTube directly from the Xbox 360(R) and PlayStation(R)3 game consoles. The first of its kind innovation coming from Activision and the game's developer, award-winning studio Treyarch, will allow players to live stream Call of Duty: Black Ops II multiplayer League Play games, as well as the player's webcam and audio commentary while playing.
Call of Duty Elite takes the live streaming experience even further, letting viewers on Elite see the player card of the user that is streaming. With just a couple clicks, viewers can dig deeper to see such information as class loadouts, recent match data, as well as career stats across supported Call of Duty(R) games on Elite.
Call of Duty: Black Ops II player live streams will be viewable on YouTube via web browsers, mobile and tablets through Call of Duty Elite as well as individual YouTube user channels.
"From the beginning of development with Call of Duty: Black Ops II, the team has been pushing boundaries on every front to offer Call of Duty fans things that they haven't been able to do before," said Mark Lamia, studio head of Treyarch. "With our competitive play and eSports initiatives, we wanted to deliver live streaming capabilities built right into Call of Duty: Black Ops II, because Call of Duty is not only fun and exciting to play, but we believe it will be just as exciting to watch. By making the capability of live streaming as accessible as possible to our fans, straight from a player's console without the need for any additional hardware or sophisticated setups, we are empowering our fans to share their multiplayer experiences."
"Our partners are using YouTube Live to bring entertainment, must-see moments and more to millions of people around the world. With Call of Duty: Black Ops II, people can live stream their gameplay directly from the game or watch the best players live on YouTube, which is an awesome next step for the eSports community," said Sang Kim, Head of Game Partnerships.
A verified YouTube account is required to live stream. A valid Call of Duty Elite registration is necessary to view the streams and related information inside Call of Duty Elite. Call of Duty: Black Ops II player live streams will be subject to limitations and restrictions. Additional Call of Duty: Black Ops II live stream destinations will be announced in the future.
Call of Duty: Black Ops II launches worldwide on November 13, 2012, on the Xbox(R) 360 video game and entertainment system from Microsoft, PlayStation(R)3 computer entertainment system, and Windows PC. The title is also expected to be released in North America on November 18, 2012, for the new Wii U[TM] game system from Nintendo. Call of Duty: Black Ops II is rated "M" (Mature - Blood and Gore, Intense Violence Strong Language, Suggestive Themes, Use of Drugs - content suitable for persons ages 18 and older) by the ESRB. More information on Call of Duty: Black Ops II can be found at http://www.callofduty.com/blackops2 or on www.facebook.com/codblackops. Fans can also follow @Treyarch on Twitter.
About Treyarch
Treyarch is an industry-leading game developer, wholly owned by Activision Publishing, Inc. whose previous game Call of Duty: Black Ops set an entertainment launch opening record upon its release in 2010 and continues to be one of the best-selling games of all time, according to NPD and GfK Chart-Track.
About Activision Publishing, Inc.
Headquartered in Santa Monica, California, Activision Publishing, Inc. is a leading worldwide developer, publisher and distributor of interactive entertainment and leisure products.
Activision maintains operations in the U.S., Canada, Brazil, Mexico, the United Kingdom, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Sweden, Spain, Norway, Denmark, the Netherlands, Australia, South Korea, mainland China and the region of Taiwan. More information about Activision and its products can be found on the company's website, www.activision.com.
Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-looking Statements: Information in this press release that involves Activision Publishing's expectations, plans, intentions or strategies regarding the future, including statements about the expected release date of November 13, 2012, are forward-looking statements that are not facts and involve a number of risks and uncertainties. Factors that could cause Activision Publishing's actual future results to differ materially from those expressed in the forward-looking statements set forth in this release include unanticipated product delays and other factors identified in the risk factors sections of Activision Blizzard's most recent annual report on Form 10-K and any subsequent quarterly reports on Form 10-Q. The forward-looking statements in this release are based upon information available to Activision Publishing and Activision Blizzard as of the date of this release, and neither Activision Publishing nor Activision Blizzard assumes any obligation to update any such forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements believed to be true when made may ultimately prove to be incorrect. These statements are not guarantees of the future performance of Activision Publishing or Activision Blizzard and are subject to risks, uncertainties and other factors, some of which are beyond its control and may cause actual results to differ materially from current expectations.
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ACTIVISION, CALL OF DUTY, and CALL OF DUTY BLACK OPS are trademarks of Activision Publishing, Inc. All other trademarks and trade names are the properties of their respective owners.
Microsoft, Windows, Xbox, Xbox 360 and Xbox LIVE are either registered trademarks or trademarks of Microsoft Corporation. "PlayStation" is a registered trademark of Sony Computer Entertainment Inc. Wii U is a trademark of Nintendo.
