Call of Duty Titles Have Year-Round Activity, No “Signs of Slowing” – Eric

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Activision Publishing CEO, Eric Hirshberg, discusses the annual release philosophy as opposed to year round activity that the Call of Duty franchise is seeing.

“There’s a unique behavior for gamers related to that game [Call of Duty]… it has this incredibly long tail and people play it all year round and that has forced, or enabled, the company to change the way we look at it because, to our players, it’s not an annual retail release,” Hirshberg stated in a Games Industry interview.

“It’s a year-round activity. So, if you look at it like an annual retail release, by those standards, it’s easy to get nervous.” Then, he went on to liken the Call of Duty franchise to how the NFL operates. He stated, “but if you look at it through a different lens; if you look at it like, the NFL happens every year and people like it every year and they obsess over it every year and they come back for more every year and I think that it’s an entertainment relationship that’s pretty unique in the gaming space.”

On the subject of whether the franchise is inching closer to its peak, which the latest NPD numbers suggested and Hirshberg refuted, he noted, “let me also say that you can’t find a metric that would indicate that it’s fatiguing or that there are signs of slowing.” He continued, “the concurrency of players is higher than ever and not only that, it’s across several games. I think that the top three most played games on Xbox Live are the last three Call of Duty games.” The latest Call of Duty numbers suggested over 40 million active monthly users across all titles.

“It’s just not reflective of what our gamers clearly want. If you start from that place, of looking at what gamers want and what their behavior would suggest – they want more DLC, they want more new gameplay experiences. And so, we’re starting with that and building it out. We’re not starting with the conventional wisdom of the industry and going in,” Hirshberg added regarding how the industry paints annual releases in negative light.

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Source: http://mp1st.com/2012/03/03/call-of-duty-titles-have-year-round-activity-no-signs-of-slowing-eric-hirshberg/#comments

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"Call of Duty Titles Have Year-Round Activity, No “Signs of Slowing” – Eric" :: Login/Create an Account :: 52 comments

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ActPosted:

I'm going to do what I do with sports games to Call of Duty games. Buy one every 2-3 years. I doubt they will change much anyway.

AAmbitionsIsBackPosted:

ConnorHamilton
AAmbitionsIsBack Lol. Why would they take their time when EverY year they release a COD and they sale thousands of more copies compared to the year before. That said, obviously they are making more and moore money every year. Plus, look at the Stats. Cod is still the most played game every day.

Actually, When Halo 3 was out, it was most played for over a year straight. Then when Halo:Reach came out it topped the chart as well. Cod isn't the only game people play.


Never said Cod was the only game. It's the most played though.

HerpedthenDerpedPosted:

Sales may increase every year, but the quality of these games decrease. I just hope the little kids buying this garbage year after year grow up soon and stop wasting their money on crap!

-Robin-Posted:

ConnorHamilton
AAmbitionsIsBack Lol. Why would they take their time when EverY year they release a COD and they sale thousands of more copies compared to the year before. That said, obviously they are making more and moore money every year. Plus, look at the Stats. Cod is still the most played game every day.

Actually, When Halo 3 was out, it was most played for over a year straight. Then when Halo:Reach came out it topped the chart as well. Cod isn't the only game people play.

This is very True. Honestly, if i was making that much money every year, i would do the same thing.
Now along the lines with what Connor, M60, & Ska said- I agree also, They really need to take their time on the CoD series, but you must remember that each game is made by one of Two companies so as it seems they make a CoD every year, really the Co. made it in Two years. (And in that case it's even more Sad because then it should be even better) but Like GTA, they take their time to come out with the next one but when it is out, its exceeds anybody's expectations and proves itself one of the best which is what i think CoD should do.

DeadlyDasherPosted:

ConnorHamilton
AAmbitionsIsBack Lol. Why would they take their time when EverY year they release a COD and they sale thousands of more copies compared to the year before. That said, obviously they are making more and moore money every year. Plus, look at the Stats. Cod is still the most played game every day.

Actually, When Halo 3 was out, it was most played for over a year straight. Then when Halo:Reach came out it topped the chart as well. Cod isn't the only game people play.


Actually, you're wrong

Xbox Live Activity January 14th 2008

1 Call of Duty 4
2 Halo 3
3 Guitar Hero III
4 Gears of War
5 Rock Band
6 Madden NFL 08
7 Assassins Creed
8 Mass Effect
9 FIFA 08
10 Forza Motorsport 2

DeadlyDasherPosted:

ConnorHamilton Maybe if they spent more time creating something different then it might bring back the thrill and excitement of a new title.


It's kind of hard to innovate an war style fps game. This isn't Halo or Gears of War where you can create all these futuristic alien shit.

What do you want them to change? Do you want it to be "Call of Duty: Alien Warfare" where they go to space and fight aliens? I keep seeing people say they need to change something, but they never say what they should change.

ConnorHamiltonPosted:

AAmbitionsIsBack Lol. Why would they take their time when EverY year they release a COD and they sale thousands of more copies compared to the year before. That said, obviously they are making more and moore money every year. Plus, look at the Stats. Cod is still the most played game every day.

Actually, When Halo 3 was out, it was most played for over a year straight. Then when Halo:Reach came out it topped the chart as well. Cod isn't the only game people play.

AAmbitionsIsBackPosted:

Lol. Why would they take their time when EverY year they release a COD and they sale thousands of more copies compared to the year before. That said, obviously they are making more and moore money every year. Plus, look at the Stats. Cod is still the most played game every day.

joejoker94Posted:

GTA 5 > better than any game to come out this year (if it does come out this year)

SkaPosted:

M60
ConnorHamilton Maybe if they spent more time creating something different then it might bring back the thrill and excitement of a new title.
yes, it's just like the iPhone, there is a new one every year. If they spent more time on the CoD Games then maybe they would actually be good


For example, look at Rockstar Games. They bring out a new grand theft auto around every 4 years. They are not in any rush to get their games out and every year the new installment is always fresh and new.


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