Sales Mean Nothing: Has Call of Duty Gone Stale?

Dethred said:
Never underestimate the stupidity of consumers, especially video game consumers. They will be on Black Ops 4 before sales drop in any significant way. If you have a captive audience of total fucking retards, why not milk them for every possible dime?
Click to expand...

It doesn't seem overly retarded to want more of the same game with a slight refresh every year. It's unfortunate, but it's not really retarded.
 
Battlefield* > COD* next bf will be that nail in the coffin
However if anyone would just release public mapmaking tools TAKE MY MONEY!
 
kidstechno said:
Unfortunately, if you look at the video game industry in the past maybe 5 years, US/Europe in recession/rebuilding, $60 is a lot to stomach for a new game. This means less people willing to buy new IPs out of fear it might suck. We've seen countless studios go under or be bought out and tons of games costing millions to produce and market only to flop. Over this period, mobile games like Angry Birds and other iOS/Android took front seat because these could be taken with you with little to no money invested. A person is much more likely to spend $.99-$5.00 on a game that might be meh rather than $60.

Now big development studios are just looking to push sequels to their AAA titles, cause their brands already exist and people have shown interest for them in the past. Why do people keep buying Nintendo? Franchises like Mario, Metroid, Zelda, etc. Call of Duty is one of those cash cow franchises. A FPS game set for gamers of any skill level who just want to play shoot-em-up. Heck, I remember putting way too many hours into CoD1 and 2 (the golden age IMO) but when I picked up MW2.. I felt it just wasn't for me. However, it is for millions of other gamers who continue to be brand loyal and buy the same crap over and over. And that's fine. If you enjoy something, by all means enjoy it.

But this creates a success vortex, where in Company A says "Hey, people like this game, so let's make a game that mimics that success." Copy cat games do not grow an industry, innovation does. There's still innovation in the game industry, but it's slowing at a very quick pace. Even the new Hitman game borrows the QTE style that for some reason has grown popular and from early reviews has abandoned it's unique stealth mechanic gameplay for more third person shooter action. Same with RE5/6 which has abandoned its survival horror gameplay for more third person shooter action. Developers are trying to mimic success of other game genres while alienating the fan base that made those games popular.

The question is, where do we go from here? Game companies are a business. And if a business doesn't turn a profit, it ultimately fails. This becomes the industry see-saw.. copy and at least get gauranteed sales, or innovate and risk it all?
Click to expand...

Why do people still buy Nintendo? Cause casual gaming is bigger market than hardcore gaming.
 
I guess I'm in the minority here, I really liked the campaign in BLOPS2. I thought the voice acting was excellent, the story had compelling characters and the end was impressive and so very dark. I've never been big into the multiplayer on this game, I'm more of a CS:GO kind of guy. I'm not sure what most of you expect from a game these days. The graphics are good, but its an aging engine on a 7 year old platform. It seems to me like the only thing more popular than BLOPS2 is hating on it. If you don't like the game, by all means play whatever suits you. I bought it, I enjoy it and I plan on playing through it again on veteran. I think it's head and shoulders better than MW3. Looking back on this console generation can anyone argue that it has not been totally defined by this game series?
 
I would also like to say that I really hope Treyarch calls the next one "COD: Postmodern Warfare 64"
 
Sometimes I wonder how closely packed you could make new releases for a franchise like this without destroying it...

New Call of Duty every 3 months? :eek::p
 
I love the WWII themed COD's.......cod3 shame it never made it to pc.....cod w@w is imo simply the best online shooter.....I seem to enjoy treyarchs offerings the most....not so keen on bops2 though.....prefer the grittier feel of WWII titles.

As regards comparing battlefield and cod.....no doubt BF3 has substantially better graphics....although that isn't too important for multiplayer....it also has deeper gameplay and larger maps, but to my mind that is a negative in terms of what I use multiplayer for.
I go online for quick non taxing fun, yomping across a map for several minutes to get to the action to be shot by a sniper hidden in undergrowth a mile away then having to yomp again doesn't do it for me.

If your looking for a simulation the order goes

ARMA > BF3 > COD

If your looking for fun its reversed

COD > BF3 > ARMA
 
Zorlag said:
Sometimes I wonder how closely packed you could make new releases for a franchise like this without destroying it...

New Call of Duty every 3 months? :eek::p
Click to expand...

Lots of gamers these days seem to prefer games that are new. This strategy seems to be working. Especially in this age of pre-order exclusive bonuses.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top