Support NeoGAF

[Spinning Plates]

From the sounds of it by the time Respawn's debut is ready to drop it might as well be a next gen launch title. Perhaps they are working to that schedule.

 

[Nemo]

It's pretty amazing when you look at the list of people that left for Respawn. IW is really a shell of what they once were, so it's not surprising that they'd need a lot of help getting their next game out.

If there's still tons of money to be made from an empty (creative wise) IP I owned I'd put 10 teams on it

 

[TacticalFox88]

I know I'm completely alone on this, but I just want to see how the story plays out in the SP. MP will be garbage. *sigh*

 

[KingJ2002]

I know people are praying for Activisions downfall but let's be realistic. COD wont fizzle "at least" until the end of this generation.

COD was made for this gen... and the fans look to it as one of the games to have this gen... but how it will translate into the next one is up to the developers... and without the heads of the series who made it what it is... the next gen COD would most likely be this gens COD with next gen paint... which usually doesn't fly with gamers... see Quake 4

From the sounds of it by the time Respawn's debut is ready to drop it might as well be a next gen launch title. Perhaps they are working to that schedule.

i'm pretty sure they are... what better way to re-introduce yourself than by creating the must have game for next gen consoles... where people and gamers are more open to new things... and companies are playing the guessing game on what to put out

 

[Mr.Squirrel]

DOA.

COD players aren't as braindead as Activision would like to believe. Most Black Ops players know that it was made by the B studio and they'll know that MW3 is being made by some no name company this year. You can expect sales to be nowhere near Black Ops/MW2 levels.

People said the same thing About black ops and it sold like 6m in the first 24 hrs or some crazy shit. People love COD. it's the defining game of the gen and will always sell until the next big game comes to take it's throne.

 

[firehawk12]

Raven seems like the best choice, I suppose. It's not like Activision has anyone else to call on.

Still, this might be the tipping point for the franchise. It'll still be popular, but maybe not as relevant (ala Halo).

 

[LeMaximilian]

Raven's MP history is pretty good, but that history is old-days now. Hoping they can capture all the elements that made MW, W@W, MW2, and BO good into a new game, along with adding new content.

It's pretty hard to screw up the MP in a COD game. I only hope things like balancing and lag (especially lag) don't get even worse when these new guys take over. Seriously tho, BO is haunted as being an amazing COD MP experience with terrible connectivity/lag that didn't exist in previous titles.

I also wonder if they'll take the MW2 approach with MW3 and make the MP completely nuts. Because honestly, MW2's MP in comparison to all the other titles is crazy. And I don't mind crazy, MW2 is a great shooter plagued by a few issues.

 

[Corto]

It will sell shitloads.

 

[[Nintex]]

Uhh, will there even be a Respawn game? Because it sounds like the guys committed sabotage at Activision which damaged the company and the shareholders and may lead to some bad situations in court.


http://gamasutra.com/view/news/3255...sely_Delayed_Call_Of_Duty_Map_Pack_For_EA.php

EA is so fucking stupid. They hired West and Zampella in the least subtle way and now those e-mails. I want the lol smiley back lol

 

[J-Rzez]

This is my most "interested in" title of the year, bar none. Not dissing Uncharted 3, as I know it'll be GOTF 2.0 (surpassing U2), it's just that I'm really-really interested in seeing how the MW franchise turns out with all them cooks in the kitchen, and with key talent missing. Will there be sweeping changes to the series? Will they play it extremely safe? Will it's online be even worse performing than every CoD game to date (which includes MW2 and BO especially). Or will they think they have to go out of the way this time, polish the hell out of online, may give some solid servers and stress testing to boot?

 

[DMeisterJ]

I want to say I wont buy this, after MW2 and BO, but I probably will :/

 

[Basileus777]

COD is basically like a sports game now. It's going to keep selling extremely well on a yearly basis for the foreseeable future. Activision is actually handling the series right in terms of maximizing profits. People are going to buy a new shooter every holiday, why skip a year and cede that year to your competition?

 

[DaBuddaDa]

I'm worried about Raven after this comes out. Lets say it's November 2011:

Treyarch is ready for their next Call of Duty in 2012.
Sledgehammer goes back to working on their spinoff.
Infinity Ward gets started on Call of Duty 2013.
Raven does.......what?

 

[Shotgun Kiss]

I hope people eventually get burned out on the CoD franchise, just as they did with Tony Hawks and Guitar Hero. Activision don't seem to know any way of maintaining a franchise other than milking it until it's udders look like little black stalagmites.

 

[kamspy]

This actually raises my expectations for the game.

Raven know how to make an FPS.

 

[DaBuddaDa]

Joystiq reports:

Activision issued a comment in response to the LAT piece, stating, "There's been much specultion recently. We look forward to releasing details for the next Call of Duty in the near future."

That's not exactly a denial. Usually companies say something like: "We don't comment on speculation or rumors."

 

[[Nintex]]

This is my most "interested in" title of the year, bar none. Not dissing Uncharted 3, as I know it'll be GOTF 2.0 (surpassing U2), it's just that I'm really-really interested in seeing how the MW franchise turns out with all them cooks in the kitchen, and with key talent missing. Will there be sweeping changes to the series? Will they play it extremely safe? Will it's online be even worse performing than every CoD game to date (which includes MW2 and BO especially). Or will they think they have to go out of the way this time, polish the hell out of online, may give some solid servers and stress testing to boot?

They probably just found out that development wasn't going so well with Robert Bowling at the helm and rounded up some demotivated people from Raven and Sledgehammer(who'd much rather work on their own projects) to salvage something for Q4 2011.

 

[DaBuddaDa]

They probably just found out that development wasn't going so well with Robert Bowling at the helm and rounded up some demotivated people from Raven and Sledgehammer(who'd much rather work on their own projects) to salvage something for Q4 2011.

Very few in the business would scoff at the opportunity to work on the biggest gaming franchise of all time. From Raven's point of view, after releasing numerous under-appreciated games, they're now guaranteed that their next game is going to be played by countless millions of people world wide. That's gotta be exciting.

 

[firehawk12]

They probably just found out that development wasn't going so well with Robert Bowling at the helm and rounded up some demotivated people from Raven and Sledgehammer(who'd much rather work on their own projects) to salvage something for Q4 2011.

I thought Bowling was just a community manager?

 

[Neuromancer]

I hope people eventually get burned out on the CoD franchise, just as they did with Tony Hawks and Guitar Hero. Activision don't seem to know any way of maintaining a franchise other than milking it until it's udders look like little black stalagmites.

I've been thinking about this and businesswise I don't necessarily think it's always a bad strategy. Make your money while the market is still hot.

Let's say Activision said, we're only going to put out one CoD game every three years, so consumers don't get tired of the brand as quickly. Does anyone realistically think they'd make more money that way?

 

[speculawyer]

Sounds like a clusterfuck.

If that CoD bombs, they might as well just rename the company Blizzard Entertainment.

 

[Lagspike_exe]

I thought Bowling was just a community manager?

Thatsthejoke.jpg

 

[Metal Gear?!]

Bet it uses the same creaky engine.

Who knew the Quake 3 engine would be Id's longest running engine?

 

[Baki]

Odd that a "B" studio out did the "A" studio in pretty much every facet of the MP.

Black Ops was a disappointment (technically) on the PS3. Plus MW2 definitely had some advantages when it came to multi player. So I definitely think that's going to blow back a bit on Activision and affect MW3 sales.

 

[Stallion Free]

If Raven drops some Jedi Knight 2/Academy level shit, this will be the best multiplayer game in years.

 

[LeMaximilian]

If Raven drops some Jedi Knight 2/Academy level shit, this will be the best multiplayer game in years.

When looking at their previous games list, this got me really excited. I pray some of the talent that made those awesome MP games still exists.

 

[denomes]

Why are we excited that a gutted IW needs help to make their game? MW3 will come out in November, and I, like 8 million others, will buy it unless the multiplayer looks really, really shitty. How hard can it honestly be at this point to make a decent COD? All we basically want is new levels for multiplayer and maybe some tweaks.

This makes me sad because it's true.

 

[SapientWolf]

I've been thinking about this and businesswise I don't necessarily think it's always a bad strategy. Make your money while the market is still hot.

Let's say Activision said, we're only going to put out one CoD game every three years, so consumers don't get tired of the brand as quickly. Does anyone realistically think they'd make more money that way?

Depends on what other projects they created and how long they could stay in business. I'd honestly be surprised if the franchise survived the jump to next gen. Many devs are targeting their next engines for the PS4 and NextBox 720 but I don't even think Acti has planned ahead farther than the next CoD sequel.

 

[subversus]

If Raven drops some Jedi Knight 2/Academy level shit, this will be the best multiplayer game in years.

a lot of people were laid off, the level designer works at Bioware now.

 

[Commanche Raisin Toast]

I'm worried about Raven after this comes out. Lets say it's November 2011:

Treyarch is ready for their next Call of Duty in 2012.
Sledgehammer goes back to working on their spinoff.
Infinity Ward gets started on Call of Duty 2013.
Raven does.......what?

me too.

they have a history of getting scooped up by big names like id and tasked to work on really important titles, and then dumped like a one night stand as soon as they're done. sometimes they make it through a few other tasks, but usually not.

i got sent Singularity from GF even though i wanted something else in my queue. GOOD CALL, queue. turned out to be an amazing game. i can't believe nobody paid this game any attention when it launched. i wanna go high give everyone that made it, as well as the Darksiders team. (they're in austin, so that shouldn't be hard....... except for the asking to go into their offices for a round of fives...)

 

[ArjanN]

I wish they would have just renamed Infinity Ward something else, because every time I see the name now I'm reminded it's just someone else wearing their skin.

 

[Poimandres]

Why do people keep buying these games?

The two year development cycle on the third (well, 8th) game in a highly successful series with a fractured development team and super villains Activision publishing ensures a few things.

1) no great depatures from previous games (play it safe!)
2) no real advancements in tech
3) plenty of stale COD-isms
4) nothing tremendously grand in scope

But hey, all the pieces will be there and it's not going to be a disaster. It should sell well, and I have a soft spot for Raven. But I think we all know exactly what to expect from this one...

 

[Neuromancer]

I wish they would have just renamed Infinity Ward something else, because every time I see the name now I'm reminded it's just someone else wearing their skin.

Yeah half the time when I hear someone mention IW, in my head I'm thinking Respawn.

 

[webrunner]

I have to wonder if Activision isn't a house of cards at this point. really, they got where they are now on a few pillars:

1. Tony Hawk
2. Call of Duty
3. Guitar Hero
4. World of Warcraft.


1's dead, 3's dead, and 4.. well, here's how i see it:

Blizzard is, for whatever reason, given a lot more autonomy in Activision then most studios. They run everything themselves and ti's pretty much business as usual for them in terms of release schedules and whatnot. None of Blizzard's success has come from Activision, but Activision seems to want people to think that they're ersponsable, hense the name "Activision Blizzard" - it allows them to look at WoW's success and say "hey look at that that's us we're blizzard see activision blizzard it's right there"

That brings us to call of duty. The CoD empire was built on Infinity Ward. Yes, Black Ops sold well, but that's not sustainable without what made it huge in the first place, which wasn't just pumping out similar sequels.

If COD starts to fall like Guitar Hero without anything pushing it forward, and the Activision Shareholders look at that, and then realize that the Blizzard side has really nothing to do with Activision proper, what are they going to do?

 

[SonOfABeep]

So is this the new "B Tier" game now?

I actually feel good about Raven handling multiplayer, if they aren't just ticking off features from a list provided by activision.

 

[ismaboof]

So is this the new "B Tier" game now?

I actually feel good about Raven handling multiplayer, if they aren't just ticking off features from a list provided by activision.

Don't expect MW3 multiplayer to be any degree of different.

 

[Blast Processing]

If that CoD bombs, they might as well just rename the company Blizzard Entertainment.

I would buy games from Blizzard Entertainment. As long as they were Warcraft, Starcraft, Diablo, or "titan" games.

 

[Sheppard]

Raven's MP history is pretty good, but that history is old-days now. Hoping they can capture all the elements that made MW, W@W, MW2, and BO good into a new game, along with adding new content.

It's pretty hard to screw up the MP in a COD game. I only hope things like balancing and lag (especially lag) don't get even worse when these new guys take over. Seriously tho, BO is haunted as being an amazing COD MP experience with terrible connectivity/lag that didn't exist in previous titles.

I also wonder if they'll take the MW2 approach with MW3 and make the MP completely nuts. Because honestly, MW2's MP in comparison to all the other titles is crazy. And I don't mind crazy, MW2 is a great shooter plagued by a few issues.

Max you silly goose. I remember at your wedding everyone said that game was an unbalanced pos.

 

[maximum360]

Odd that a "B" studio out did the "A" studio in pretty much every facet of the MP.

To each his own I guess. MW2 with its flaws was just overall a more fun experience. Black Ops is worse in the graphics and audio department and the multiplayer experience is just lacking. I had a bunch of friends always online playing MW2 and were extremely hyped for Black Ops. After playing it they realized that it's the modern warfare short bus version. They rarely play it as much and when they do it's the butt of jokes most of the time.

It's a shame what happened with Inifity Ward. Why ruin a good thing? The next game would have absolutely destroyed sales records for a long time to come but now like with Black Ops, after the hype is gone, if the game isn't stellar it will be put in the same category as all the other fair to subpar shooters.

 

[op_ivy]

doesnt sound good for MW3... which is fine by me. this annual update shit can go to hell

 

[Eliciel]

seriously who ever is going to buy that has serious brain damage...these are just depressingly bad news for the gaming industry.

 

[Freedom = $1.05]

Between wolfenstein and singularity Raven has developed some great fps recently. Their involvement might be for the best, really

 

[Tron 2.0]

I have to wonder if Activision isn't a house of cards at this point. really, they got where they are now on a few pillars:...

You're describing the entire video game industry, not just Activision.

All of the major studios have one or two large franchises that keep them afloat. If one of those tanks, they're screwed.

Name one major publisher that is actually diversified.

 

[cuyahoga]

Oh man I was really hoping Sledgehammer was going to be working on some kind of Space Call of Duty. =(

I heard this is more or less what Neversoft are doing.

 

[SapientWolf]

You're describing the entire video game industry, not just Activision.

All of the major studios have one or two large franchises that keep them afloat. If one of those tanks, they're screwed.

Name one major publisher that is actually diversified.

Outside of first parties, I would say Capcom.

 

[Lich_King]

Raven doing online components? First Call of Duty I'm interested in!

 

[TemplaerDude]

From the sounds of it by the time Respawn's debut is ready to drop it might as well be a next gen launch title. Perhaps they are working to that schedule.

Just how soon do you think this next generation of consoles is going to roll out?

 

[-PXG-]

Bioshock 2 turned out fine with multiple devs.

Fine, not great. The sequel no one wanted.

And no matter how good or bad MW3 is, people will buy it in droves. HOORAY!

 

[hamchan]

As long as you aren't playing BO on the PS3 or PC.

Black Ops PC is pretty much fixed for me after the first patch. Unfortunate if it isn't for you but I can only speak from my perspective and Black Ops PC shits on MW2 PC

 

[Tron 2.0]

Outside of first parties, I would say Capcom.

That's probably true.

I was thinking of Western developers, but Capcom does seem to be well diversified.