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What happened to a delivery truck carrying a videogame shipment in France over the weekend was so brazen and wild that it could have qualified as a game level. In this case, the action was real as a truck traveling in Créteil, south Paris, was rammed by a car on Saturday as part of an organized accident that involved masked men, tear gas, and the theft of 6,000 copies of Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3.
As DailyTech tells it, two masked men emerged from the scene and used tear gas on the truck drivers. The looters then proceeded to swipe thousands of copies of MW3 reportedly worth around 400,000 Euros.
Before the Hollywood-style heist, Director of Policy and Enforcement for Xbox Live Stephen Tolouse posted on Twitter that he "dblchk'd with Activision. MW3 pre-release play not authorized. So pls be patient. Playing early may impact your account!."
That didn't sit well with fans, and not long after, Infinity Ward Creative Strategist Robert Bowling assured gamers via Twitter that there are "No plans to ban legit fans, but try to wait til midnight launch on Tuesday to play #MW3. Can't wait to jump online with everyone then!"
MW3 is set to launch tonight at midnight.
Comments are closed on this article
h e x e n
November 08, 2011 at 12:01am
I'm calling bullshit on this one. Did the hijackers drive black Honda Civics with green ground effects?
If it is legit, it's one of the most asinine things I think I've ever heard of. And living in this day and age, that's saying a lot. I mean, MW3? That's the part I don't buy. I could see if it was a decent title like Batman, Skyrim or BF3. But to risk it all for another reskin of CoD4?
Absurd.
orca11
November 07, 2011 at 1:24pm
I guess piracy on the console titles will look a little different from piracy on the PC.
Peanut Fox
November 07, 2011 at 10:05am
This sounds like a publicity stunt. It's so over the top. Were the games the only things in the truck, or was there anything else aboard?
acidic
November 07, 2011 at 10:44am
i believe you are correct. they have seen how well battlefield 3 has been doing and are getting nervous that their cash cow is running dry, so they had to fabricate a highly unlikely story that sounds like a mission from one of their games to try to draw attention away from battlefield
TommM
November 07, 2011 at 9:18am
LOL...how the hell you going to unload 6,000 copies of a game? Put it on e-bay for the next 3 years? I'm guessing the average age of the people conducting the heist is probably around 15 years old. :p
Supall
November 07, 2011 at 9:10am
Hopefully this means that online play in Battlefield 3 will improve a little since the kiddies will go to MW3 (most likely not going to happen, but I can dream).
Brad Nimbus
November 07, 2011 at 9:20am
I can't believe this happens to a game with 5 hours of gameplay or so. I swear to god if this doesnt happen to Skyrim I'm losing faith in humanity. JK
Seriously though how about you fill us in on the status of the truck drivers. DUH
* Sorry for that, didn't mean to seem like an arsehole. I didn't have to add in the "DUH" but I do think the welfare of the truck drivers was important to report*
Paul_Lilly
November 07, 2011 at 9:53am
Information is sketchy, but reading through translated reports (here and here), it appears the truck drivers were tear gassed after they stepped out to inspect the damage, at which point the robbers hopped in the truck and and drove away with the merchandise. Being out the open and with no mention of anyone being stabbed (the robbers were also wielding knives), it would appear the drivers were largely unharmed.
AntonioGarrison
November 07, 2011 at 10:41am
Must have had:
Marathon Pro
Cold Blooded Pro
Ninja Pro
equipped to make this happen.
