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Does Call Of Duty Deserve To Be #1 For 7 Years In A Row?

So, it's official: Another Call of Duty game is the best-selling game of the year in the U.S.

And Activision claims this is the seventh consecutive year that a CoD title has topped the domestic charts (with the lone exception of GTAV in 2013).

So, the question should be obvious: Does this IP deserve such ridiculous success? Well, the simple and logical answer would be "yes," as it's obviously what the market wants and demands. Gamers can whine about it all they want; doesn't seem to hurt the franchise's popularity in the slightest, does it? Of course CoD "deserves" to win; the fans make it win, as they respond year in and year out.

Of course, you could go deeper than that and question whether or not this industry, like all the other entertainment venues these days, has become depressingly one-dimensional. Genres are blending into genres, it seems like every last game in existence is either an open-world adventure of some kind or a multiplayer-centric shooter of another kind. The days of strict platformers, stealth, adventure, and even traditional RPGs are well behind us, and almost every new game is either "action/adventure" or "FPS." RPG is holding strong but all of those are basically open-world action-based now, anyway.

And yeah, the same titles are starting to dominate the charts. It's no surprise to anyone that Madden is always on there, nor is it any surprise to see Grand Theft Auto in the mix whenever it's available. Then big-name sequels, like 2015's Fallout 4 , are predictably giant. Rehashed but flashier, predictable but familiar, fewer chances taken in order to appease the masses and casuals, etc, etc, etc. Sounds familiar; it's what happens when any industry goes mainstream. Even so, if we're just talking about "deserving," than CoD has to win because…well, everyone says it deserves to win. Their wallets say so.

Right?

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bigrailer19
bigrailer19
8 years ago

As long as the games are quality it doesn't bother me. I will add though that this is on the developers and publishers. They are those choosing to try and recreate CoD. Instead of sticking to what they know and are good at, they all want to try and emulate those sales. Can't blame the consumer.

ethird1
ethird1
8 years ago

Ben!

I can feel your anger. Give in to your desire and play First Person Shooters like you KNOW you want to. I can feel your desire to shoot stuff and blow stuff up. Let your anger flow and become a true power in the gaming world.

Hokey rpg stories and ancient swords are no match for a good blaster, kid.

End of line.

LimitedVertigo
LimitedVertigo
8 years ago

I don't think anyone is bashing the FPS genre. It's just that the COD franchise is a mediocre experience compared to other far superior quality FPS games. And its success has resulted in a surplus of copycat games that offer very little innovation or depth. It's not surprising to me that the people I know that regularly play the COD franchise are tools that think they're actually talented in things they actually are rather average at.

Ben Dutka PSXE
Ben Dutka PSXE
8 years ago

Probably been playing shooters since before you were alive. Almost certainly have played more in all. Just because I don't like to play online doesn't mean I don't enjoy the FPS genre…no idea where you even got that idea.

Corvo
Corvo
8 years ago

Back in the day, I was against CoD because it has, and will continue to shape and change games the way we like them. However, since I bought Black Ops 3 I have found the reason why people play it.

Its mindless, without any real goals. After a long day at work, instead of trying to stealth kill clickers or trying to race some other professional racers, all you do is aim and shoot stuff, while getting shot as well. Anyone can relax and play CoD and thats why its so successful. People need CoD, while gamers need better games.

ethird1
ethird1
8 years ago

Very good post. But CoD players are gamers. Remember the game called Pacman? How about Astroids or Centepede? Frogger or Galaga ring a bell? These are some of the original games that started the gaming craze. They are short but sweet games to play. I loved everyone of them.

There are all sorts of games for all sorts of people. It is why I love gaming so much. I pick on rpgers. But I am one of the biggest rpg players on the planet, and I have played them all from Adventure, dragon warrior(DQuest), and FF's and blah blah.

It truly is a fantastic time to be a gamer. The only problem we have now are these scientific studies showing us to be bad for society.

ethird1
ethird1
8 years ago

I was responding to Corvo btw. 🙂

Underdog15
Underdog15
8 years ago

Not really the point.

Underdog15
Underdog15
8 years ago

The reason it sells so well is because it creates thousands of micro-communities. Very few people buy it just for themselves, I think. I believe it's far more likely people buy it along with a group of friends for the easy access shared experience.

It's not just me deciding to buy a game. It's my group of 6-8 friends that decide together to get it.

That's the secret to their sales. Not the gameplay or anything.

LimitedVertigo
LimitedVertigo
8 years ago

From my own personal experience I've noticed it provides a rather simple gameplay that doesn't require much thought or time to excel at. People like to be good at something, even if that something is below average. Why invest the time and effort in something like CSS or TF2 when you can jump right into CoD and "own" people right away.

It's sad, in my opinion.

Godslim
Godslim
8 years ago

yeh was the same for me I had a bunch of friends who got so I did too, but this goes back a while ago I soon stopped when i realised it was just S.S.D.D! Which was ofc a real shame because if they didnt jump on the milk for money train imagine how different the series would be right now. Cod4 was amazing and shows they really could have created something amazing with the series but money is good too ya know.

I dunno about that vertigo alot of games are simple but you get players who have very varied levels of skill. Even in a game like cod it does take skill and understanding to be good.


Last edited by Godslim on 1/15/2016 7:06:04 AM

CrusaderForever
CrusaderForever
8 years ago

Yes, I love BO3!! Amazing game! Definitely not great for 7 years in a row though. I hated Ghosts.

TrueAssassin86x
TrueAssassin86x
8 years ago

Has iit been 7 years ? Dang when will Call of duty just die

Godslim
Godslim
8 years ago

ha!

bigrailer19
bigrailer19
8 years ago

When people stop supporting it.

Hexen
Hexen
8 years ago

I know right,why can cod and assasins creed just die already :p

Godslim
Godslim
8 years ago

Games like cod and assassins creed are what is wrong with the industry atm. Money talks!

Underdog15
Underdog15
8 years ago

I disagree. I don't think they are the reason for any kind of downfall. Just remember, even if they sold 10 million copies on PS3, that's still only 17% of PS3 owners that bought it.

I think it comes with risk, absolutely, but both of this year's editions of CoD and AC were well done.

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