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Thousands of UK gamers queued into the night |
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for the launch of what may be the world’s most anticipated video game. |
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Video game retailers opened at midnight to sell the first copies of |
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Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2, |
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a game which is widely expected to shatter sales records. |
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The latest instalment in the Call of Duty franchise |
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was officially launched in the UK |
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at a cinema in Leicester Square in the heart of London’s West End, |
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a site usually reserved for the premiere of Hollywood blockbusters. |
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Actors dressed as soldiers patrolled the square |
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while British celebrities joined gamers |
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to take part in multiplayer sessions of the game. |
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The game, which is tipped to sell more than a million copies in the UK |
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in its first week of release, |
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features astonishing graphics and exciting gameplay |
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as the player takes on a group of ultra-nationalist Russian terrorists. |
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Predictably, the game has provoked a certain amount of criticism |
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as it is extremely violent and features a controversial scene |
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in which civilians are killed at an airport. |
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One British MP has attacked the game in the press, |
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describing his "absolute shock" at the violence portrayed in the game. |
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However, another MP has defended the game |
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by setting up a group on a social-networking website |
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which describes itself as "unashamedly pro-video games" |
| [01:29.08] |
and which aims to "discuss how UK video gamers |
| [01:32.84] |
can find their voice in newspapers and government". |
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More cynical observers have said that the game’s developers |
| [01:39.46] |
deliberately included the scene in which civilians are massacred |
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in order to stir up controversy, |
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knowing that this will generate a huge amount of free publicity. |
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Whatever people’s views on violence in computer games, |
| [01:52.83] |
the game is flying off the shelves around the UK |
| [01:56.63] |
and is expected to generate $400m globally for its publishers. |
