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[Biff]

I think people are misinterpreting his quote (or maybe just me, lol)...

By "subscription service" he doesn't mean that he wishes he could charge a monthly fee for COD4 or MW2 (although I'm sure he would love that too), he means he wishes COD was available in an MMO, WoW-style open world subscription-based service...

Just think about it: WoW with soldiers. You group with a bunch of buddies to take out the leader of a terrorist organization. You then get to loot his stash for funds and experimental, rare weapons.... Which you then sell on ebay for hundreds of dollars.

I can't believe it hasn't happened yet, to be honest. There is no way this isn't in development now.

Not saying I'd play it. Not saying it's a good idea. But with the right marketing, it's very easy to see how this could be a hit.

 

[Cornbread78]

An ineffective mechanism. A small group of people not buying the game is barely noticeable. Enough people would buy it, and they'd make so much money of it, that it's nearly inevitable.

At least, in their heads.

It's like with lots of Newspaper websites going pay-for-content. Even if you loose 90% of your readers, the money you make from the 10% is easily enough to cover your costs and to make you some money.

If there are alternatives out there, people will look around for the better deal. I never bought the DLC for the last 2 CoDs, so I certainly won't pay a subscription fee to play the game itself.

He's thinking CoD is as big as WoW... Good way to make money, but I'll pass, thanks..

 

[Plywood]

Subscription service? Call of Duty: Heroes

 

[Danthrax]

http://www.abjecthubris.com/images/fuckmw2.jpg

Yes yes, we're all hypocrites, fuck off.

oh snapplecakes

The cartoon villain comment was particularly apt, I think. Bobby needs a handlebar mustache and a monocle.

 

[blame space]

Call of Duty: Duty Calls

 

[INTERNET]

I think people are misinterpreting his quote (or maybe just me, lol)...

By "subscription service" he doesn't mean that he wishes he could charge a monthly fee for COD4 or MW2 (although I'm sure he would love that too), he means he wishes COD was available in an MMO, WoW-style open world subscription-based service...

Just think about it: WoW with soldiers. You group with a bunch of buddies to take out the leader of a terrorist organization. You then get to loot his stash for funds and experimental, rare weapons.... Which you then sell on ebay for hundreds of dollars.

I can't believe it hasn't happened yet, to be honest. There is no way this isn't in development now.

Not saying I'd play it. Not saying it's a good idea. But with the right marketing, it's very easy to see how this could be a hit.

.

"Call of Duty" here is just a placeholder for "Bungie's next IP" fyi

 

[OgTheClever]

Its so hard to believe that one guy can be this dumb...but here he is again reconfirming it. :lol

Except, in a way, he's a genius because people keep buying the stuff at whatever rediculous prices they're forced to pay.

 

[McLovin]

As much as I hate what that guy stands for I can see his point. They will make a shit tone of money of they do that. But I'm not gonna lie.. if it failed hard it would make me happy.

 

[subversus]

I'd pay 10 bucks a month if the game is decent and on PC. By decent I mean online only and with 30 maps at least + like 100 weapons. No way I'm paying monthly fee for Black Ops or something like that.

 

[freddy]

Sounds like a good idea for all those fans who want to play the same game forever.

I do think however that this type of thinking, if adopted by everyone, will have the industry at the point where only the big guys will make money and innovation and fresh ideas will go out the window...wait..

 

[Jex]

If there are alternatives out there, people will look around for the better deal. I never bought the DLC for the last 2 CoDs, so I certainly won't pay a subscription fee to play the game itself.

He's thinking CoD is as big as WoW... Good way to make money, but I'll pass, thanks..

CoD is huge, with a ridiculous amount of sales. People want to play CoD because that's "their game". That's why they managed to sell so many maps.

Sure, many people will also move on to other games given the option.

But you don't need to have as large a playerbase to make the same amount of money, if all those players are paying a monthly fee.

Plenty of people are really into CoD. They play it every day, for months on end. They're the same people who snapped up the maps, and potentially the kind of people who would pay for a subscription CoD.

A subscription-based CoD wouldn't be designed for you or I, but for those already deeply addicted to the franchise. Especially if it game with a month or two free time, so that people could get hooked without spending any cash straight away.

Frankly, I'd be surprised if Activision didn't capitalise on it, while the brand still has credibility. The only question would be : do they have the talent and resources to produce enough content that such a subscription would be justified? Difficult to say.

 

[Rollo Lawson]

Its so hard to believe that one guy can be this dumb...but here he is again reconfirming it. :lol

hes not dumb, he just thinks consumers are. sadly, hes mostly right...

 

[FoneBone]

marry me Bobby

 

[poppabk]

By "subscription service" he doesn't mean that he wishes he could charge a monthly fee for COD4 or MW2 (although I'm sure he would love that too), he means he wishes COD was available in an MMO, WoW-style open world subscription-based service...

Just think about it: WoW with soldiers. You group with a bunch of buddies to take out the leader of a terrorist organization. You then get to loot his stash for funds and experimental, rare weapons.... Which you then sell on ebay for hundreds of dollars.

It's hard to see how it would work though. CoD is all about competitive multiplayer with twitch shooting, WoW is all about leveling up and large scale co-op and tactical item/ability use. Its not really possible to meld the two without alienating the audience. Who really wants to play an FPS where your level 2 MP5 can't even damage the guy wearing level 80 armor? Co-op is not the main draw of FPS's like MW, I would imagine even if the campaign in MW2 was co-op the majority of players would barely bother to complete it.

 

[-PXG-]

Do it please. The sooner you do, the sooner you kill this fucking franchise. Sure, there will be (too many) people would actually pay for it, but not enough to keep it going for a long period of time.

As much as I hate him and his company, makes me wish I invested in Activision a lot sooner.

 

[shintoki]

I'd love to hear what he has to say when the well will finally run dry.:lol

Dude already sold off the bulk of his shares. Basically now he seems to be solely working on bonuses and such, so if he can keep propelling the company to higher revenue. He probably gets a larger bonus.

In which case how he is gutting the company keeps making sense if he only has short term goal in his mind like a few more years.

 

[KittyKittyBangBang]

"Mr. Kotick: I think our audiences are clamoring for it"

Fuck off

more like Kotick is clamoring to grab every customer by the ankles and shake the loose change out of them

God this assclown repulses me

 

[Danielsan]

"Mr. Kotick: I think our audiences are clamoring for it"

Fuck off

more like Kotick is clamoring to grab every customer by the ankles and shake the loose change out of them

God this assclown repulses me

The guy knows how to create revenue though.
Modern Warfare 2 made a shit load of money and I'm not just talking about the retail product.
Those map packs did extremely well.

If you can get your customers taking $15 map packs up the ass you might as well take it a step further. :lol

 

[FlawlessCowboy]

$15 a month to play Call of Duty? :lol

 

[KevinCow]

My favorite part is how he tries to frame it as him trying to provide a better experience for the consumer.

 

[jufonuk]

World of Call of Duty incoming!

ahah just thinking that.. if It goes to this route my responses would be

"thank you and Goodnight!" hmm being a Wii owner as well doubt they would do CoD online

 

[shintoki]

Call of Duty players pay $15 for fucking map packs. Yes, CoD customers have more than proven that they want to pay more money for Call of Duty.

If gamers have proven one thing this entire generation, its that you want to pay MORE for gaming. You paid $10 MORE per title. You paid $50 MORE just to play online. You paid $15 MORE just for maps. You paid MORE for DLC. You paid MORE for the hardware and you paid for it over and over and over again (those customers who bought replacement 360 after replacement 360 when they red ringed).

Gamers have paid more for less and any business man would be foolish not to make them do it again and again and again.

It's kind of funny to see how gamers fold time and time again to the hype.

-How many gamers bought a 500/600$ PS3. Argued how it only does everything, how any decent game proves it was worth 600$. How they seem to constantly keep removing features and their excuse? Well you could have bought it for 600$ when it came out like I did.
-Or 360 and the RROD. Well, I already bought it once and invested so much in games. Guess I'll just have to buy another one! How many shitty add on do I also need for the system? Wifi, XBL Gold, Charge packs, and more.
-And with Wii, Didn't Nintendo say they were making nearly a 100$ profit right out of the gate? Follow it up with 60$ controllers, untransferable VC, and a slew of other shit.
-EA was being praised a few months back for turning a new leaf. Now having codes to lock out content, codes needed to play online, talking about charging a premium for 3D games, all with a shit load of day 1 DLC and console exclusive deals.
-Activisions 15$ map packs, originally Halo 2 setting the standard for the 10$ map packs. Showing how gamers will continually pay for their must have games.
-Starcraft II, Even one of the fan favorites for PC gutted quite a few features while preaching how it conflicts with "Design". Design that has been the standard for PC titles for a decade. And the excuse from gamers? But it's Starcraft II!

I am being a bit unfair and generalizing. It is only a single 600$ invest, to how much money did a person already invest into a system prior to it breaking, and what if it is the only game they will buy over the year. Everyone has the individual reason, but the cumulative effect has been shit.

 

[dimb]

The guy knows how to create revenue though.

Yeah?

How's that Guitar Hero franchise going?
How's that Tony Hawk franchise going?
How did MUA 2 do?

Look at their "big" franchises. Crash, Spider-Man, James Bond, and Spyro. Has-been after has-been.

Kotick wants CoD to be an online subscription because that is literally all they have. That's why they're pushing to have so many teams working on that franchise. Their company would be a joke right now if they didn't buy up Infinity Ward, and now they've gutted the company. Sounds like a surefire revenue stream.

 

[subversus]

Yeah?

yeah. You forgot about Bungie and Blizzard.

 

[-COOLIO-]

:lol He's like a cartoon villain.

it's scary true

 

[watervengeance]

World of Duty

 

[-COOLIO-]

honestly, despite the fact that mw2 is crack to a lot of 14 year olds. i think most of them would just go to moh or killzone for their fix. it's not like their really providing a service that they couldnt get elsewhere. also, no one wants to explain to their mom that their live fee essentially went up 200%

 

[kevm3]

I'm definitely skipping out on the next COD. I refuse to give this company money, especially after seeing their intense greed and coupled with the fact that they keep reusing the same engine over and over.. This corporatist attitude towards gaming is what's going to have us ending up as creatively bankrupt as the movie and music industry.

 

[lsslave]

When will Activision fire this guy? I want Transformers War for Cybertron & Goldeneye 007 but I refuse to touch their products until this guy no longer exists in any affiliation to the company.

 

[poppabk]

When will Activision fire this guy?

When he finally runs the current franchise into the ground and there isn't another to step up to the plate. With Bungie linking up, this might take a while.

 

[Alucrid]

When will Activision fire this guy? I want Transformers War for Cybertron & Goldeneye 007 but I refuse to touch their products until this guy no longer exists in any affiliation to the company.

Well he is the CEO. He is making the company money. I don't see the board getting rid of him soon.

 

[Vinci]

He's so completely on-target. He really, really understands his product's audience.

 

[Boney]

I'm just going to put this here

[Franchise fatigue] is something that I have not bought into. I think it’s an excuse for lack of innovation. If you have a great franchise and you stop innovating, then yes, you will lose your fan base. If you think about it, if you have a large fanbase around the property, [it gives you the opportunity] to communicate directly with them, to really understand what they love about the game and what they’d like to see in the game,” said Tippl. “You can market it much more strongly than new IP.

 

[Kaako]

Don't give a fuck anymore...that franchise is pretty much dead to me.

 

[Eteric Rice]

Kotick please go.

 

[lsslave]

Well he is the CEO. He is making the company money. I don't see the board getting rid of him soon.

He is burning bridges with the gaming community, ruining high selling franchises (not just quality, the sales. See: Tony Hawk series / Guitar Hero series)

Why does Activision have this "lets destroy our franchises so they are worthless" mentality? I know EA used to but they learned quick after they took such a huge PR hit last generation and Ubi / Activ didn't learn from this?

Edit: Not to mention companies still go TO Activision? They aren't the most popular group in gaming and some of their actions are well known throughout the industry, even GAF hears about the dick moves. I can't figure out why after the IW fiasco Bungie went to them...

 

[Vinci]

He is burning bridges with the gaming community, ruining high selling franchises (not just quality, the sales. See: Tony Hawk series / Guitar Hero series)

Why does Activision have this "lets destroy our franchises so they are worthless" mentality? I know EA used to but they learned quick after they took such a huge PR hit last generation and Ubi / Activ didn't learn from this?

As long as the company is making money, he is not going anywhere. I mean, I guess he could kill someone and get arrested, but short of that he's pretty much where he's supposed to be.

 

[Retro]

Haven't seen this mentioned yet, so I'll just drop this off in here and let it do its work:

http://www.teamliquid.net/forum/viewmessage.php?topic_id=128252

Actual Quote:

"With respect to the franchises that don’t have the potential to be exploited every year across every platform, with clear sequel potential that can meet our objectives of, over time, becoming $100 million-plus franchises, that’s a strategy that has worked very well for us,"

 

[Wazzim]

This guy is out of his mind.

 

[Jackl]

Still haven't bought MW2. I consider it a badge of fuckin honor. That and BC2 saved my ass from boredom.

Honestly though, was this comment before or after the Infinity Ward walk out? The whole milk EVERYTHING model is self destructive.

I can't figure out why after the IW fiasco Bungie went to them...

Battered Wife syndrome, and maybe they get better terms under their agreement.

 

[J-Rzez]

$10-15/mo, with monthly/bi-monthly new map packs and weapons included free of course, and we'll talk. Throw in non-shitty net-coding with solid lag-free servers too. Until then, no thanks.

 

[otake]

Wouldn't be a bad idea. It would have to have dedicated servers, map packs included and every sequel must be priced lower, as if it were an expansion.

I see value in this.

 

[JesseZao]

:lol He's like a cartoon villain.

Spot on! I got the same vibe :lol

 

[Snuggles]

It will happen sooner or later, no doubt. I don't really play COD online or any Activision games for that matter, so unless other publishers steal the idea it won't effect me.

I can see something like this being OK, though. It wouldn't happen but I would be down with a subscription service for a MP game if it was a premium, like dedicated servers and all that and free access to any DLC that comes out for it.

 

[Mystery-white-boy]

WSJ: If you could snap your fingers, and instantly make one change in your company, what would it be, and why?

Had he been given a little longer to think about it, I've no doubt that his answer would have been employees who don't require salaries.

 

[lsslave]

As long as the company is making money, he is not going anywhere. I mean, I guess he could kill someone and get arrested, but short of that he's pretty much where he's supposed to be.

Yeah Well, my brother will get Goldeneye so I guess I'll get to play that still. No Transformers but, ah well... I'll live.

 

[DonMigs85]

Spot on! I got the same vibe :lol

 

[speculawyer]

Why didn't he just cut to the chase and say "I WANT MORE MONEY!"?



Jeez . . . what a stupid thing to say. We know you want more money but you just shit on your customers by basically saying you want more money from them. At least act like you want to provide them with a better product. Sheesh.

 

[firehawk12]

Hey, if people are up for paying 15 bucks every three months for map packs, why not just charge them 15 dollars every month?

People are whores for this game, just like the WoW addicts. It'd be stupid not to gouge them.

 

[speculawyer]

Haven't seen this mentioned yet, so I'll just drop this off in here and let it do its work:

http://www.teamliquid.net/forum/viewmessage.php?topic_id=128252

Annual basis is no longer sufficient. He wants MONTHLY basis now.

Actual Quote:

I think you need some context for that . . . that is just a phrase.