Now that Modern Warfare 2 is less than a week away, it seems the world is obsessing over any aspect of the game it can find. We’ve had offensive ads and offensive content, but that doesn’t seem to be stopping the masses of Call of Duty fans from flocking to stores to pre-order. Gamestop told Game Hunters that MW2 is now the most pre-ordered game it has ever sold.

Activision has really pulled out the stops to get people interested in the game. Sure Modern Warfare was great, but it’s more than just the game. Walmart, for example, will be selling copies of the game that have been autographed by the dev team to the first 20 people at each of its stores. Details like that really get the nerdy blood flowing, almost as much as the prospect of knife throw kills. If I had the chance at an autographed copy of the game if it meant cutting out the knife throw, you can bet I’d stick with the knife throw.

As the holidays inch ever closer it’s nice to be up on all the latest deals. Some of them are even good enough to get a little something for yourself.

For starters, Target is offering the buy-2-get-1 deal that’s been so popular lately on Wii games. Unfortunately it only applies to games (no accessories this time around) but it is for every game. Get yourself some Wii Sports Resort and throw the other two at your brother/son/roommate. No sense sending them out of the house, right? Sale starts tomorrow.

Steam’s offering a chance to play through COD4 before the release of Modern Warfare 2 drops. The old-school version is a whopping 40% off retail, down to $23.99, up until Monday. I think you’d be hard-pressed to find someone who hasn’t played the game, but if you lost your discs or something, at least Steam is here for you.

As the release date for Modern Warfare 2 creeps ever closer, gamers and game journalists (mostly the latter) are starting to wonder what Infinity Ward’s next game will be. The developer has made a killing out of killing in the Call of Duty franchise, and it doesn’t look like it’s ready to change.

When we feel like we can’t innovate any further in the Call of Duty franchise, then we’ll do something else. A lot of that mentality went into Modern Warfare 2. That’s why it’s Modern Warfare 2. It is Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2, but you’ll never see that in game. We never call it that. It’s because we think of this as a new IP. This is our Modern Warfare 2 game. So we are constantly doing new stuff.

That’s according to community manager Robert Bowling. I find the company’s stance pretty disappointing, especially considering the quality products it has turned out so far. Yes, Call of Duty is a lot of fun, but why not some new IP? Obviously the answer is in the numbers; as long as people keep buying the product, why change?

Loyalty to the consumer, that’s why. Consumers obviously buy franchise material, but the industry is mature enough to support growth for new IPs. The real reason behind these perpetual franchises is loyalty to the investor, a business model I wish someone in the industry were willing to abandon. I’m not saying developers shouldn’t make money, but that they should be willing to take more risks to make that money because the risk is actually fairly small.

And yes, I realize this is all very unrealistic. It doesn’t hurt to dream, though.