After some exciting meetings in late October here at Stack HQ we’d been wracking our brains to figure out a way to capture and amplify the excitement we’ve seen from past game releases on gaming.stackexchange.com. And then, like an alchemical reaction, or a flashbang sent from the Military Gods, it hit us: Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 was coming out the same week as Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim! Two epic games coming out a couple of weeks before Thanksgiving – one with a history of popularity on our site, and one promising to be one of the largest media releases of all time.

The ideas bubbled like molten armor-grade steel after that–a contest pitting these two titans of gaming against one another! Plus a launch party! Here, at our swank-esque New York office! 30-inch monitors! 7 Xboxes! Projector screens! Beer! Film ourselves getting the games at midnight release events! Food! A DJ! Livestream it! Professional comedians providing color commentary! Invite bloggers, podcasters and users! Create a custom landing page to compile page views, questions asked and a real time Awesometer to measure which game was winning! More beer! Oh, and do it all in a week and a half. Ruroh…

But we did it! And it was fun! I’ll tell you all about the work we did in meat space to prepare and throw this event without a hitch, but if you just want to hear about the ether-space stuff, skip to the last paragraphs like a Special Forces operative on a pointstreak (you know… quickly).

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Skyrim has taken over the site. At 350+ questions and 500,000 views, it’s now the third biggest game on the site…ever. And it’s only been four days!

With so many questions, you might have missed some of the real gems in there. So here are my favorite Skyrim questions that you might have missed:

5. How to get the people of a village like me again after killing their livestock?

Once upon a time, Zelda taught us not to kill chickens, but in games since then that lesson seems to have been lost. Well, Bethesda knows how to add the little touches, and apparently killing people’s livestock can be enough to turn an entire village against you. Fortunately, they also have short memories.

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Modern Warfare 3 had its three-day head start. And, to their credit, they racked up a decent 60+ questions and 10k+ views. Not bad. But now it’s time for Skyrim to join the contest, and I think we all know what’s going to happen.

In case you’re coming late to the party, we’re hosting a contest between Skyrim and Modern Warfare 3. Each game gets 7 days to get as many views on its questions as it can. Everyone who contributed an a question or answer to the winning game is eligible to win the Grand Prize: a free console or graphics card. We also have a free game (your choice!) for the top question and answer about each game.

Livestream Launch Party

To kick off a weekend of gaming, we’re hosting a live party at Stack Exchange HQ in New York. We’ll be live streaming the party and gameplay at skyrimvsmw3.com starting at 4pm EST. You won’t want to miss it. We’ll be featuring:

• 10 gaming systems, including 2 projectors
• Live color commentary & interviews by a pair of comedians
• Music, food, and beverage (not included in livestream)

If you’re in New York and want to drop by, shoot us an email at team+gaming@stackexchange.com. Otherwise, tune in to the livestream at skyrimvsmw3.com starting at 4pm.

Skeptical of our comedic abilities? Check out this video some of our CHAOSers shot at the midnight launch of Modern Warfare 3 to promote the contest:

At Stack HQ this week, we’re ramping up for the massive showdown between The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim and Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3. The Awesometer is greased up and ready to start counting views on the Modern Warfare 3 tag starting tonight when the game hits. MW3 gets a few days’ head start, so Skyrim fans can size up the competition before the showdown begins in earnest in the wee hours of Friday morning. The Awesometer will tell us once and for all: which game is more awesome?

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Everyone has been talking about Battlefield vs. Modern Warfare 3, but in all the commotion we’re missing a much bigger problem looming on the horizon. Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 launches next week on Tuesday, Nov. 8, and a mere three days later The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim launches on Friday, Nov. 11. This means that heading into the weekend, millions of gamers will be in the difficult position of deciding which game to play.

Now, I can tell you which one I think is more exciting, but we’d rather settle this thing once and for all. That’s why we’re proposing a friendly little competition on the site:

Here’s how it’s going to work: each game will get seven days from when it launches to ask and answer questions about the game.  The winning criteria will be the total number of views the questions get over the course of the week.  We’ll stop the clock after seven days and declare a winner on Friday, November 18.

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