Modern Warfare 2 is no longer available in Russia for Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 owners, it seems, despite the game hitting store shelves as scheduled early last week. Noticed by fan site Hellforge on Friday, Russian game site GotPS3 claims Russian officials had threatened to ban the game, prompting retailers to yank copies from store shelves and distributors to shut down the outflow of new stock.

VGChartz can exclusively reveal that according to our preliminary data, Modern Warfare 2 sold around 9.4 million copies in week one (5 days on sale) worldwide. This equates to over $600 million in revenue, beating the previous record holder Grand Theft Auto IV which sold 5.9 million units in the same timeframe last year and generated around $450 million in revenue (at a higher average selling price).

So much for IWNet curbing cheating. One of the main excuses that developer Infinity Ward used to explain the lack of dedicated server support for the PC release of Call of Duty Modern Warfare 2 was that it would be able to curb the hacks and cheating with the new system. It would appear that although it was only released a couple of days ago, the first batch of hacks and cheats are already hitting the PC version of Call of Duty Modern Warfare 2.

Microsoft has banned more than a million players from its 20 million-strong Xbox Live gaming service. The move, which effects one in every 20 Windows Live users, comes about because Redmond is convinced the users have modified their consoles to play games illegally downloaded from file-sharing sites. In a statement Microsoft said that all consumers should know that piracy is illegal and that modifying their Xbox 360 console to play pirated discs violates the Xbox Live terms of use.

Those people who pre-ordered a copy of Modern Warfare 2 through Steam, will be miffed that they will have to wait a few days.

Yep while the game hit the shops unofficially several days ago, Steam which should have been able to release it straight away still hasn't. Valve has delayed the availability of the online-bought Steam version until tomorrow despite the fact that the retail versions available yesterday.

Microsoft has announced that the Xbox 360 Wireless N Networking Adapter revealed in September will hit North American shelves this week with a recommended price of $99.99.

The revision adds support for the 802.11n wireless protocol which Microsoft says will offer up to "two times the range and a speed seven times faster" than the previous adapter when used on an WiFi-n network.

Calling all gamers! In Win Development Inc., a manufacturer of chassis, power supply, and enclosure solutions; is bringing new meaning to the term LAN PARTY in Southern California. Joining forces with one of the most well known groups in the region, In Win is proud to present LANCryption 1.5! With over 24 straight hours of gaming, goodies, and giveaways, LANCryption 1.5 is sure to satisfy any and all gamer appetites.  

As you may be aware, our very own PST*Joker has made assertions on BASH that the MP AC130 and several other MW2 features were influenced (without any recognition) by him and other PC modders. A few hours ago, I saw a Tweet go out from a community member suggesting that Joker issue a takedown notice of Infinity Ward's AC130 MP vid on YouTube.

This video is no longer available due to a copyright claim by Sam Babbitt.

Few terms have been as simultaneously hyped and reviled as "cloud computing," but there's definitely more to the phenomenon than just a buzzword and some vague talk of "efficiencies" and "agility." We've put together this short, simple introduction to cloud computing that you can send to your CIO the next time you catch him abusing "the cloud" at a meeting. There's a kind of supply-and-demand dynamic that applies to technical terms—when a few knowledgeable insiders are hoarding a word, it maintains its meaning, but when the masses get hold of it and abuse it, it's quickly emptied of value.

Over the past twelve and a half years, Futuremark Corporation has undoubtedly proven itself a premium provider of benchmarking solutions for high-performance and extreme performance systems, not only targeting the demands of enthusiast communities like XtremeSystems, but also serving the demands of system builders, OEMs, professionals, and the republic of gamers worldwide.