Activision Looking For A New Direction?

[Mendon]

I read THIS ARTICLE on Kotaku.

 

A couple statements caught my eye:

 

"We've heard that 60 per cent of [Microsoft's] subscribers are principally on Live because of Call of Duty," Activision Blizzard honcho Robert Kotick says in a recent Financial Times interview. "We don't really participate financially in that income stream. We would really like to be able to provide much more value to those millions of players playing on Live, but it's not our network."

 

Really?? 60% of all XboxLive users are there mainly because of Call of Duty?? Halo, XboxLive Arcade, Netflix, and movies account for only 40% of online interest??

 

In 2008, Kotick poped this question to a group of investors: "What would be the natural evolution of a property like Call of Duty into a massively-multiplayer environment and how do you monetize that?"

 

Hmm... between the two quotes, sounds to me like Activision might be looking for not only its own server network (similar to EA, possibly) but branching the COD franchise into a Warcraft style online game.

 

I said in another thread that I thought that gaming is going to be changing more than any of us imagine and its comments like the above that make me believe in that theory more strongly.

 

 

 

Mendon

Edited July 6, 2010 by Mendon

[HammR25]

I've figured it was only a matter of time before they had subscription services for online play, especially since WoW has done so well.

[Karyyk]

It sounds like their "new direction" basically amounts to them gouging their customer base for content that's currently included with the buy price of the game. How exciting...

[xg4bx]

honestly, what could a subscription based call of duty possibly offer that compares to all the updates and whatnot that WoW players get? if this were to happen though, gamers need to put their priorities in order and look at the big picture. yea you may have fun with cod but paying will only lead to more games going this route. theres a 1001 free to play fps' out there, i'd hope gamers would be smart about it.

[HuckleCat]

Kotick is such a douchebag.

 

 

Let's see.. in a matter of months you have the new Medal of Honor being made by ex Infinity Ward people and DICE (Battlefield), and in September Halo: Reach drops with the best in-game mapmaker consoles have ever seen. Mix with this that Rock Band 3 adds even more to the music genre while Guitar Hero 142 adds nothing new.

 

2 of Activisions biggest franchises will be outdone by competitors. It happened with Tony Hawk. Mark my words, investors will lose faith, and by this time next year Activision will have a new CEO.

[Ryanw]

On the 360 it's really hard to distinguish all the online FPS games, so if COD went to a subscription, I could see players just going to other games. This Xbox Live game that just came out called Blacklight: Tango Down is only 15 bucks and from my time on the demo I think the game plays pretty good and the graphics are great, looks like a 60 dollar game.

 

 

theres a 1001 free to play fps' out there, i'd hope gamers would be smart about it.

 

 

But yeah you are right about all the free online FPS games out there. They can be a lot of fun. Some of the better ones I've played for years now are Urban Terror and Tremulous. Urban Terror is similar to the original Counter Strike and Tremulous is a totally unique game with a mix of FPS and RTS elements.

[xg4bx]

On the 360 it's really hard to distinguish all the online FPS games, so if COD went to a subscription, I could see players just going to other games. This Xbox Live game that just came out called Blacklight: Tango Down is only 15 bucks and from my time on the demo I think the game plays pretty good and the graphics are great, looks like a 60 dollar game.

 

 

theres a 1001 free to play fps' out there, i'd hope gamers would be smart about it.

 

 

 

 

But yeah you are right about all the free online FPS games out there. They can be a lot of fun. Some of the better ones I've played for years now are Urban Terror and Tremulous. Urban Terror is similar to the original Counter Strike and Tremulous is a totally unique game with a mix of FPS and RTS elements.

 

oh, by "free to play" i meant stuff like halo. no subscription fees.

[Hyper_Eye]

I read an article in OXM written by a "video game analyst" who said online gaming is going to move towards a per-game subscription format. He also basically said a lot of people wouldn't like what he was saying and they could kiss his ass. He really was that blunt. Throughout the whole article the guy came off as a major douche. The point that was pushed on COD having a subscription model was that Activision is basically selling a game with online play thrown in for free and that they were not taking advantage of the revenue stream produced by that online content. I say bullshit. The new COD games single-player campaigns are ridiculously short and not worth even near $60. The games are online games and every time someone plops down $60 it is because they want to play online. Otherwise they could simply rent the game over the weekend for less than $10 and be done with it. When Activision makes millions of dollars off of a COD game where the single-player campaign is 6 hours long when the player really paces themselves that is their online content revenue stream. Without the online content there wouldn't be a game worth buying. That is what that dumbass analyst in OXM doesn't get and that is what Activision doesn't get. The sad thing is that enough gamers will be willing to take it in the ass that, even with the loss of customers they will incur, they will see an increase in revenue and they will stick with the new formula.

 

Online gaming has driven success in the gaming industry in the last decade. Should this plan be put into practice it will be a big hit to an industry that is already facing tough challenges and a difficult future.

[Jess Ragan]

They're looking for a new direction, eh? I would suggest "under a bus."

 

I'm not sure how much more money they'll squeeze out of Call of Duty now that they've fired most of the team responsible for Modern Warfare and its sequel. You'd think they would have killed the goose that laid the golden egg with that move, especially since Infinity Ward (the parts of it that matter, I mean) left to work for Electronic Arts, its lead competitor.

[HuckleCat]

I read an article in OXM written by a "video game analyst" who said online gaming is going to move towards a per-game subscription format. He also basically said a lot of people wouldn't like what he was saying and they could kiss his ass.

 

Michael Pachter, another douchebag.

 

http://www.industrygamers.com/news/activision-must-start-charging-for-call-of-duty-online-play-says-pachter/

 

I don't understand how this asshole still has a job. He's always wrong. Seriously, He predicted that Red Dead Redemption would be an utter failure, and for 3 years has predicted the PS3 overtaking the 360 in North America.

 

No, really, go and google "Pachter wrong". Look at all the different articles you get. (Really! go do it now.. you'll see.)

Edited July 25, 2010 by HuckleCat

[Karyyk]

Corporate asshats actually believe that they're owed more than the purchase price of their product, the same way they believe that their employees should put the corporation at a higher priority than their families because they were gracious enough to provide them with employment. Ultimately, the customer decides what something is worth. I'd love to see Activision go ahead and get the infrastructure for their subscription model in place only for all of it to crash and burn when no one is willing to pony up a monthly fee for something that used to be included with the $60 purchase price of a game. I'm sure the stockholders will love that.

 

I hate corporate douches. They're the number one reason I'd love to find another job.