Early copies of hotly-hyped Xbox 360 and PS3 title Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 have been released (and since pulled) by US retailer K-Mart ahead of its official launch next Tuesday. The leak has caused a bit of an uproar and Activision (by way of Microsoft) has issued a statement regarding the consequences of playing an early copy.
Microsoft had previously tweeted and told those playing a prematurely purchased copy of COD:MW3 that if “your copy is legit and obtained legitly, have fun. It’s a great game” but after consulting with publisher Activision the mood changed and Xbox LIVE’s Director of Policy and Enforcement, Stephen Toulouse’s statement became revised – “Mw3 pre-release play not authorised. So pls be patient. Playing early may impact your account.”
This comes after Toulouse had previously stated that games purchased early, but legitimately, were not affected by the policies, and that bootlegs were separately identified and dealt with severely. With this in mind, the COD:MW3 early sale would therefore be acceptable by Microsoft’s policy. There’s no word yet on how Sony PS3 and Playstation Network users might be affected.
What Activision want us to believe now is that US early-owners of the shooter, Modern Warfare 3, despite owning a real deal copy – and not a bootleg or leak (like the previous Gears of War 3 leak) – they could find themselves locked out of their Xbox LIVE account for a temporary period after accessing the online multiplayer aspect of the game.
K-Mart reports that they were instructed to sell copies immediately following the shipment’s arrival in store, so stocks went on sale yesterday 5 days ahead of schedule and many lucky buyers in New York and Florida, of course, grabbed this year’s must-have threequel. Unknowingly and completely void of fault, some gamers may find themselves unjustly affected by the store’s blunder.
Since the K-Mart error copies of Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 have been snapped up by impatient players on eBay for up to $200.
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