Call of Duty "Pay-to-Play" in Talks...Again.
RangerXML brought us this article from Kotaku.com:
Call of Duty publisher Activision has been talking about new ways to make even more money from its shoot 'em up cashcow for years. A new report makes it sound like a new way to play Call of Duty online is imminent.
The analysts at Wedbush Securities believe that Activision is set to reveal a new "tier" of Call of Duty online multiplayer within the next three months. "Activision remains a top pick, primarily due to the company's potential to create and monetize a second tier of multiplayer online gaming for its Call of Duty franchise," Wedbush analysts write in their January 2011 newsletter. "We expect this to occur during the first quarter of 2011." Yes, that's pretty soon and, yes, they're being awfully specific.
If accurate, that new way to play Call of Duty in some capacity may represent Activision's desires to deliver that "high-margin digital online content and further the brand as the leading action entertainment franchise in new geographies, new genres and with new digital business models." That was the company's plan as of March 2010.
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 and Call of Duty: Black Ops still do big numbers in online multiplayer and big sales of retail copies. But Activision brass has bemoaned the limited number of ways they can sell goods to the Call of Duty-playing masses after they invest in the game, map packs notwithstanding.
Activision CEO Bobby Kotick has been thinking about "the natural evolution of a property like Call of Duty into a massively-multiplayer environment" for some time, taking cues from World of Warcraft makers Blizzard. The company may also see the ongoing success that developer Valve has had with games like Team Fortress 2, which recently began selling in-game goods to an audience willing to spend, and want some of those dollars.
The Call of Duty publisher (and its developers) claim the boxed, retail copies of games in the series will never carry a subscription fee to play their online components. Of course, there are many other options the company can pursue beyond the box.
Source
So once again there is discussion about some type of Call of Duty subscription service. These talks have come up a number of times and ends up creating rumors about the game that is currently being played becoming a subscription, which has been false every time.
=MNKY= Frosty posted up these comments just a few months ago from Kotick, himself:
A few months back, when asked what his one wish would be for his company, Activision Blizzard CEO Bobby Kotick said “I would have Call of Duty be an online subscription service tomorrow,” which understandably had gamers worried that Call of Duty’s multiplayer modes might come with an added monthly fee in future. Activision have spoken out today to firmly put an end to those rumours.
Speaking to IndustryGamers, Activision CEO Eric Hirshberg said “are we going to be charging for multiplayer? The answer is no,” adding that “the experience you have out of the box, connecting with the online community to play Call of Duty is absolutely integral to the experience and we’ll never charge for that. It’s not going to be something we’ll attempt to monetize; it’s part of the package.”
He continues, saying “there are certainly a lot of behavioral shifts towards long-standing online relationships… But at the end of the day, all I’m trying to get across is I can unequivocally say we will never, ever charge for the multiplayer.”
It would be hard for Activision to deny it more strongly than that.
Source
Seems like a strong denial and contradicts the first story. Does this mean that there is a CoD type game that will be created for this endevour or is this just more early talk that never goes anywhere? Will there be a new branch in the Call of Duty Series for this and a seperate "retail" universe that titles are in today?
Call of Duty publisher Activision has been talking about new ways to make even more money from its shoot 'em up cashcow for years. A new report makes it sound like a new way to play Call of Duty online is imminent.
The analysts at Wedbush Securities believe that Activision is set to reveal a new "tier" of Call of Duty online multiplayer within the next three months. "Activision remains a top pick, primarily due to the company's potential to create and monetize a second tier of multiplayer online gaming for its Call of Duty franchise," Wedbush analysts write in their January 2011 newsletter. "We expect this to occur during the first quarter of 2011." Yes, that's pretty soon and, yes, they're being awfully specific.
If accurate, that new way to play Call of Duty in some capacity may represent Activision's desires to deliver that "high-margin digital online content and further the brand as the leading action entertainment franchise in new geographies, new genres and with new digital business models." That was the company's plan as of March 2010.
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 and Call of Duty: Black Ops still do big numbers in online multiplayer and big sales of retail copies. But Activision brass has bemoaned the limited number of ways they can sell goods to the Call of Duty-playing masses after they invest in the game, map packs notwithstanding.
Activision CEO Bobby Kotick has been thinking about "the natural evolution of a property like Call of Duty into a massively-multiplayer environment" for some time, taking cues from World of Warcraft makers Blizzard. The company may also see the ongoing success that developer Valve has had with games like Team Fortress 2, which recently began selling in-game goods to an audience willing to spend, and want some of those dollars.
The Call of Duty publisher (and its developers) claim the boxed, retail copies of games in the series will never carry a subscription fee to play their online components. Of course, there are many other options the company can pursue beyond the box.
Source
So once again there is discussion about some type of Call of Duty subscription service. These talks have come up a number of times and ends up creating rumors about the game that is currently being played becoming a subscription, which has been false every time.
=MNKY= Frosty posted up these comments just a few months ago from Kotick, himself:
A few months back, when asked what his one wish would be for his company, Activision Blizzard CEO Bobby Kotick said “I would have Call of Duty be an online subscription service tomorrow,” which understandably had gamers worried that Call of Duty’s multiplayer modes might come with an added monthly fee in future. Activision have spoken out today to firmly put an end to those rumours.
Speaking to IndustryGamers, Activision CEO Eric Hirshberg said “are we going to be charging for multiplayer? The answer is no,” adding that “the experience you have out of the box, connecting with the online community to play Call of Duty is absolutely integral to the experience and we’ll never charge for that. It’s not going to be something we’ll attempt to monetize; it’s part of the package.”
He continues, saying “there are certainly a lot of behavioral shifts towards long-standing online relationships… But at the end of the day, all I’m trying to get across is I can unequivocally say we will never, ever charge for the multiplayer.”
It would be hard for Activision to deny it more strongly than that.
Source
Seems like a strong denial and contradicts the first story. Does this mean that there is a CoD type game that will be created for this endevour or is this just more early talk that never goes anywhere? Will there be a new branch in the Call of Duty Series for this and a seperate "retail" universe that titles are in today?
Comment