Not everyone knows the exact URL of the website they're looking for, nor does everyone go right to a search engine when they don't know something. Someone looking for information on the next Call of Duty game, Modern Warfare 3, might simply try typing in ModernWarfare3.com to see where it takes them. As it turns out, Activision doesn't own the domain, and visiting the site redirects you to the official website of MW3's biggest competitor, Battlefield 3.
ModernWarfare3.com used to be home to a site that masqueraded as the official website for the game, except it contained negative descriptions of it. A partially broken Google cache version shows it hosted a YouTube video slamming MW3 for looking just like Modern Warfare 2, as well as the following description:
"Modern Warfare is crap. On November 8, 2011, the most over-hyped first-person action series of all-time returns with the copy and paste sequel to the lackluster Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2. Check out the E3 2011 gameplay demo featuring the Black Tuesday level for a look at the epic fail of the campaign. Pre-Order Call of Duty MW3 Today for Xbox 360, PS3, and PC to secure exclusive bonuses only available online for Modern Warfare 3 fanboys who don't know that Battlefield 3 is the better game."
Text at the bottom of the page makes it clear the website is a parody of the official one. It states, "The website ModernWarfare3.com is not associated, affiliated, endorsed or sponsored by the creators or publishers of the game (we like them a lot though.) Call of Duty and Modern Warfare are registered trademarks of Activision Publishing, Inc. All images are the property of their respective owners are creators."
It also had pages dedicated to the Call of Duty Elite beta and one describing MW3 as, among things, a "copy and paste experience that looks exactly like Modern Warfare 2."
The real Modern Warfare 3 website resides at CallofDuty.com/MW3. Other Modern Warfare 3 domains, such as CallofDutyModernWarfare3.com, are owned by domain squatters that host nothing but advertisements in an attempt to make money off of those who unintentionally visit it instead of the real deal.
A WHOIS search shows that ModernWarfare3.com was first registered on March 26, 2009, and will remain active until at least the same date in 2013. Owned by someone in Arizona, it was last updated yesterday, on July 10, 2011; presumably that's when it began redirecting to Battlefield 3's site. As far as we can tell, the domain isn't owned by EA and it had nothing to do with any of this. We've contacted EA to be sure.
Activision won't be pleased, particularly given the shots that have been taken back and forth between both it and EA as the two gear up to compete with their respective titles this fall. Battlefield 3 comes out on October 25, followed by Modern Warfare 3 on November 8.
Another game EA published this year, Bulletstorm, was promoted by taking aim at Call of Duty. A short parody game, Duty Calls, was released that attempted to highlight how allegedly boring Call of Duty is in comparison with the over-the-top Epic Games/People Can Fly shooter.
1UP has contacted Activision, which owns the Modern Warfare trademark, to see if it will attempt to acquire the domain or force the owner to change the redirect. We've yet to receive a response and will update if and when Activision comments on the situation.
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