Call of Duty has become a phenomenon…a phenomenon that has a place alongside Facebook and texting.
Or so says Activision CEO Bobby Kotick. In speaking to CNN , the publishing boss says the franchise can "effectively adapt to changing communication habits." The latest installment, Call of Duty: Black Ops , has generated over $1 billion in sales after its November 9 release, and Activision reports that gamers have spent over 600 million hours playing. Due to such success, Kotick got to brag:
"More people play 'Black Ops' every day than watch Jay Leno, David Letterman and Jimmy Fallon, combined. The audience of 'Call of Duty' is probably greater in terms of size … than in any other interactive form of entertainment."
Unsurprisingly, Kotick explains that it's the game's multiplayer component that draws people; as of now, about 60% of all online traffic on Xbox Live is due to CoD players. In this regard, rather than opting to watch a movie, people will "huddle around the living room game console," which is starting to become a more accepted entertainment trend. The Activision boss then made the comparison to Facebook and texting:
"If you look at the 500 million people who are on Facebook and the way that people text each other and instant message and use video chat, there is now an evolution of media. Those are the characteristics and attributes that a generation and audiences feel are very important to their media and entertainment experiences. And we expect that."
'Call of Duty' delivers on that trend. These games can be as integral to the social lives of young people, especially males, as any other form of digital communication."
Well…all right. Even if that is true, we're not entirely sure we'd be bragging about that. But then again, people brag about how great Facebook and texting is all the time so perhaps Kotick – at least from a technical standpoint – is right.
it may be cocky but he does have a point, now if only they could fix all the bugs
I doubt they will. They sent out a patch and so far nothing has improved.
They have no motivation to fix it. People will buy every COD, year after year, no matter what is wrong with it. People still buy Bethesda games on day 1 and pretend its playable.
Bethesda games are just buggy, not broken, and there's no multiplayer to exploit the issues.
The best running game bethesda has released for CONSOLES was oblivion. Fallout 3 had terrible frame rate issues especially the DLC. New vegas ha the same problems. In fact i cant play for more than 10 min without expetiencing some sort of hiccup wether its frame rate or freezing.
But they make fantastic games. I will say that. And sometimes you can look past the hiccups because they are good. But that causes a bigger problem. I need Jawknee to back me up on this one too 😉 but a game shouldnt be released like that. And as an rpg it slows down the momentum.
In the case of cod its the same issue. And if the next installment isnt a great one those billion dollar numbers should start to decrease rapidly.
Last edited by bigrailer19 on 12/23/2010 1:31:32 PM
They've built a new engine now, so let's hope they hammer out those issues.
I played Oblivion for nearly 200 hours and, while it was never a technical powerhouse, I never had a problem worse than the extreme slowdown in the Fighters Guild HQ.
You want to see a game with technical issues, try playing Max Payne on PS2.
@ world-
Thats good news. Hopefully it runs very well cus i cant help but love theor games, regardless the issues. But it has tremendously cut down my playing time in new vegas! Shame!
Hmm, that's weird. I've never had an issue with Max Payne on PS2. Maybe because i never paid attention to the surroundings or something.
Sounds like he's moving toward putting adds or something in the Multiplayer. One day adds will become way more popular in video games. If publishers/developers are smart they will strike a deal to put adds in games eventually.
That's all we need is adds in the games..
adds and subtracts would both be bad.
Indeed World.
Not that it matters in the big picture, but he didn't get my money.
same here, my game library is COD-free
I only got Black Ops because my buddies play it, but I'm regretting even purchasing it, instead of rewarding the good players the bad players get rewarded, when they go into Second Chance, it's like they are in God Mode or some crap.
When you go to knife them it misses even though you aimed down at him when knifing, but you are away from him and he still manages to knife you? And the pistol is overpowered in Second Chance as well I'm putting a full clip in his face with the Commando (early version of the M4) and he's just sponging it and kills me.
Lag, even though everyone has a full connection so many issues it needs to be addressed.
Last edited by Clamedeus on 12/23/2010 11:35:52 AM
Clamedues –
I didn't even do that, even with family playing the game daily.
6 vs 6, small maps, host quits, etc.. No thanks.
I'm the kind of guy who likes to play games with buddies, so that's why i did it. I don't mind small maps with 6v6 but it's the problems within the game that kill it.
Guess which brand kotex gargles with after each of his oral times of the month…..
Massingill or Summers Eve?
Vagisil?
Preperation H!
He has all the rights to brag because his game is doing very, very good.
he acts like he made it.
"his game"
Only it isn't.
I agree that he has bragging rights. (The man's rich.)
I hate Kobe Briant, but he has every right to brag about his abilities. I also hate Alex Rodriguez, but he too has a right to brag. I hate Bobby Kotick, but unfortunately, he also has the right to brag. (Of course, I at least have respect for the former two.)
I just wish they would take some pride in their product. The main bugs and issues are really minor from a programming perspective. They just don't seem to be willing to change it. Problem is, most people just dismiss it as something that can't be changed. (Despite how un-true that statement is!)
Last edited by Underdog15 on 12/23/2010 6:43:34 PM
What's with all those thumbs down?
The guy speaks the truth.
As much as every fibre of my being hates to admit it, you're right Snaaaaaake.
Lol, it's like he reckons CoD is a new social medium…or something. Eh, I don't think so..
No it is a social medium… for little kids cussing at each other.
Haha.
But seriously, I hope the next cod falls flat on it face. I just do. The sooner we wipe that smile of his face, the better.
At least he's modest…
let's be honest here. he's a douche. and his biggest franchise is a piece of crap
So now CoD is as big as Farmville, and just as "important" to communication between, well face it, 14 year old boys!
Maybe Kotick should buy Neverland Ranch and teach kids how to become zombie slaves to his mediocre games!
I'm still playing the online in Uncharted 2. That is probably my favoirte part of the game. Maybe it's because i am actually good at that game…
Only, people use Facebook to interact on a personal level with another human being where as Call of Duty your just playing a game. So it's not really the same thing. I would argue sitting in from of the TV and playing something as mindless as Call of Duty as much as some(i know people who have called in sick to work just to play)people do is more of a net negative than a positive.
@ Kevinator – I'm still playing UC2 too. I'm a level 56. Its so fun. I wonder how it compares to COD games multiplayer. The guy at gamestop says the COD multplayer is much faster. Is that true?
This would have been the perfect opportunity to try out that Reply button. 😉
It depends on the peoples play style, it can go slow or fast. But i much prefer UC2's MP over Black Ops.
The multiplayer in cod is more…twitchy. Thats the best way to describe it. The faster your reaction time, the better you will do (normally). It is insanely addictive if you manage to get a good game. The problem is that there are way too many people that devote every min of free time they have to it so they get really good and know the maps like the back of their hand. So when you get a casual cod player like me who plays once a week, you get your ass kicked. And that just isnt fun for me.
Last edited by kevinater321 on 12/23/2010 9:27:57 PM
The comparison is ridiculous, this man is ridiculous. This doesn't help his image as KoDick.
Facebook and texting are here to stay, CoD will fade as it is milked.
Facebook will go the way of Myspace and whatever that thing was before it when the next fad hits.
That's why they had to rush The Social Network to movie screens. In five years, people will be saying "Face-what?".
p.s. I use none of the things mentioned in Kotick's comments, though I might use Skype if Sony would finally put it on the PS3.
Last edited by Fane1024 on 12/23/2010 6:01:56 PM
You hear that ladies? Kotick thinks you're second tier gamers. Why don't you turn your mics on when you're shooting people so he knows you're there.
Of course they're second-tier gamers. They're second-tier citiz-
….
……..
…………….
'runs away'
…(a JOKE, obviously)…
LOL
You're asking for trouble.
Why oh Why Sony can't you market Killzone 3 like these guys .Please do so because Killzone 3 will kick call of duty in every way possible!
I hope Killzone 3 will atleast sell 5 mil!
So over 60% of 360 players are playing CoD? I think that says more about what kind of ppl own 360's than it does about Call of Duty.
Yeah it does. 360 is for casual gamers..
But man, I can't WAIT to see what happens in 2011. Maybe sony sees a huge spike in PS3 sales, or maybe uncharted really does turn out to be the best game ever (besides MGS4 ofcouse), or maybe it'll mark the year microsoft scrap or sell the xbox brand to apple or something. Seems only good things can happen to sony/us next year.
Oh & sorry for going off-topic s'much, its a bad habit xD
Last edited by Ludicrous_Liam on 12/23/2010 7:14:51 PM
Wow, as integral as texting? Seriously?
How about calling CoD a necessity? Like electricity, or maybe CoD should be a basic human right. Somebody call the UN! We need the declaration adjusted!
i agree with kotick here
i play cod with my mates and we organise events with each other through private chat, even if we arent playing we just sit on the XMB and chat, its like free calls
Not interested in FPS, ever!
Shower the world with JRPGs…
Last edited by BigBoss4ever on 12/23/2010 8:04:42 PM