Today in gaming - Dec 15

Here's a roundup of today's news found elsewhere on the internet:

Infinity Ward teases PC Modern Warfare 2 mod tools (GameSpot) - It initially appeared as if Infinity Ward had tripped a claymore among the PC community with the release of Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2.

Just a few weeks before launch, the Activision-owned studio announced a console-esque online multiplayer matchmaking service for the PC edition, one that denied desktop gamers the ability to operate dedicated servers or create custom mods.

And while desktop gamers vehemently voiced their opposition to the move, the PC edition of Modern Warfare 2 went on to sell more during its opening week than the original Modern Warfare did on the same platform in total. Still, Infinity Ward appears to be taking steps to appease PC gamers still irate over the issue.

In a post to his Twitter feed, Infinity Ward director of communications Robert Bowling said that while player-run servers are still out, information concerning official mod tools may be forthcoming. "Nothing on dedicated servers, but there may be some mod tools news coming in the future, I'll pass it along once I have it," he wrote.

Modern Warfare 2 tops US yearly sales (gamesindustry.biz) - New data from research firm NPD shows that the best-selling videogame title in America so far this year has been the Xbox 360 version of Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2, with 4.2 million units sold to the end of November.

In information released to website IndustryGamers the rest of the top ten for the year so far was dominated by Nintendo titles, with six first party titles performing strongly - representing more than 50 per cent of sales in the top ten.

The second biggest seller of the year has been 2008's Wii Fit with 3.5 million unit sales, followed by new title Wii Sports Resort on 2.4 million. Also originally released in 2008, Mario Kart Wii was still the fourth biggest seller of the year on 2.2 million units, followed by hardware bundle Wii Play on 2.1 million.

Gerhard Florin to leave EA in 2010 (gamesindustry.biz) - GamesIndustry.biz has learned that Gerhard Florin, long-standing executive at Electronic Arts and current general manager of international publishing, is to leave the company at the end of its financial year.

The move comes at a time when the publisher is undergoing significant changes to deal with a shifting business environment, with studios and staff cutbacks set against the US$300 million acquisition of social network developer Playfish.

Florin has been with the publisher since 1996 when he was appointed MD of the German-speaking territories, and was promoted in 2001 to company VP and MD for Europe.

- Gameplanet.co.nz