The first gameplay trailer for Modern Warfare 3, the next installment in the mega-hit Call of Duty franchise, has found its way online.

Some people seem to be growing tired of the games, especially after the drama that ended in Activision strong-arming out many of their Infinity Ward employees, but for everyone who impatiently waits to see each year’s new title, you should be Christmas Morning-happy with what you’re about to see.

The first gameplay trailer shows off something teased in the very first trailer released for the game: that it would take place (at least partially) in New York City — a familiar location to all of us. But that won’t be the only location (though can you imagine a multiplayer map in the middle of Time Square, kids?); other places you’ll throw down with enemies include England, Paris, and Germany.

You can see the trailer by clicking on over to the other side now.

A couple of significant bombs were dropped earlier today during Activision’s quarterly financial conference, where reports swirled that massive layoffs at multiple divisions were handed out and that some of the company’s bigger titles were being ended.

As popularity in the music video games genre has slowly diminished, the studio has decided to shut down two of their popular titles including DJ Hero and the juggernaut that once was Guitar Hero, which had a new installment planned for 2011. At the moment Rock Band is the top title in said genre, so it only made sense for Activision to pull the plug and move on. And if the decline in popularity continues, the same fate is likely not too far off for Rock Band as well.

Back in March of 2010, a strange string of events unfolded when news broke that a group of what was described as “bouncer-type” security guards entered the offices of Infinity Ward, the video game developers behind the popular Modern Warfare games in the Call of Duty franchise.

Ultimately it was revealed that two of the founders and current heads of Infinity Ward, Jason West and Vince Zampella, were fired by parent company Activision for “breaches of contract and insubordination,” leaving the future of the Modern Warfare series in question.

While many lawsuits have come of that mess, Activision has re-staffed all of the vacant positions at Infinity Ward and — even though the game hasn’t been officially announced — they have been working on Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 ever since, with full expectations to meet their normal November release date…until now. It’s being reported by The LA Times that Activision has brought in a new team to help develop the third installment, which means things might not be going so smoothly.

Call of Duty: Black Ops
PLATFORMS: PS3/Xbox 360/Wii/PC
DEVELOPER: Treyarch
PUBLISHER: Activision
RELEASE DATE: November 9, 2010

When reviewing a game like Call of Duty: Black Ops, one would assume the reviewer has probably played other Call of Duty games into the ground, but this is not the case at all.

I entered Black Ops as a complete noob, really. I’ve toyed around with previous installments — mostly playing with family in co-op modes — and even have Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare waiting for me to finally try it out. But technically, I’ve never really taken one of these games head-on.

This, I would have to say, was a good thing. I entered the game knowing what to expect but not exactly how well I would do or progress — especially when it comes to online multiplayer matches, which I’ve always been undeniably bad at and wanted to see if with enough practice and virtual death, this humble gamer could eventually hang with the big boys.

Activision, the publisher behind the Call of Duty franchise, has released sales data for the newest entry in the series, Call of Duty: Black Ops, which was released on November 9, 2010.

This sales data covers the first 24 hours that Call of Duty: Black Ops was on sale, and only in North America and the United Kingdom. In 24 hours, in just those two areas, this game sold 5.6 million copies, earning about $360 million in profit for the developers.

To put it in context, last year, when Modern Warfare 2 was released, Activision made a huge deal about its sales numbers. Black Ops sold almost a million more units on day one. These are astounding figures, and I can’t wait to see the first week’s numbers, which should come out on Monday.