Analyst: Call of Duty Players Don't Know Jack About Infinity Ward

[Greg Tito]

Analyst: Call of Duty Players Don't Know Jack About Infinity Ward

Most people who buy Black Ops don't know that it wasn't made by the same company as Modern Warfare 2 or about the controversy surrounding Infinity Ward.

It was a big deal for many gamers back in early 2010. then Activision came to town and ousted them [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/news/view/96054-Did-Modern-Warfare-2-Sell-7-Million-Copies-in-One-Day], leaving the Call of Duty series in jeopardy. But analyst Colin Sebastian from Lazard Capital Markets said that most people don't care about the controversy or whether this year's Black Ops was made by Treyarch or Infinity Ward. To the consumers who don't follow the videogame press, gameplay is king.

"I think unless you follow the play by play in this industry, you probably aren't even aware of the drama," says Sebastian. "You're more interested in the game experience, not whether a parent company is treating the people at a subsidiary well or not."

Sebastian then made sure that we weren't equated the videogame industry with third-world manufacturing. "This isn't a situation where it's a company employing children making shoes in Indonesia. It's about executives asking for millions of dollars. I don't know if there's any sympathy for Infinity Ward in terms of the mass market."

The success of Black Ops relative to MW2 is important for the future of the franchise. "Black Ops is a pretty critical test for Activision," Sebastian said. "What's more important for the game? Is it the franchise itself or is it the developer behind the game? If Treyarch can sell just as many units as Infinity Ward, then that would mean the franchise is more important."

While initial reports have been positive, Activision itself has been slow-playing the sales of Black Ops [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/news/view/105085-Analyst-Activision-Expects-Black-Ops-to-Sell-20-Less-Than-MW2]. The fact that there have been no official announcements that sales records have been broken or anything would lead me to believe that while Black Ops had a great launch, it is definitely no Modern Warfare 2.

Source: Gamasutra [http://www.gamasutra.com/view/news/31410/Analysis_What_Lies_Ahead_For_Call_of_Duty.php]

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[The Cheezy One]

That is a very short term view. Knowing the difference between developers is what gives you an automatic insight into how good the game is, and not caring about who designs what will lead to homogenous mass instead of good games. Valve does very well out of people knowing who they are.
Whatever Respawn comes up with, I'll buy, because the team have made some of my favourite FPSs ever: ModWar, ModWar2, and MoH:AA

 

[Danish rage]

Im aware of all the drama, and i still don´t care.

A great game is a great game, and Black ops is nothing less than fantastic.

 

[JourneyThroughHell]

I think it's right, and that's a shame.

It might be very difficult for Respawn to set up their own IP on a competitive level.

 

[David_G]

The only thing I'm disappointed in is that we probably won't get MW3. For all the hate it got, it ended on a cliffhanger ending and I wanna know what happens to Soap and Price dammit.

 

[thanatos465]

Who plays CoD for the story?

 

[Autofaux]

I hope Infinity Ward gets the Modern Warfare name and the money owed to them. I wouldn't trust Activision as far as I could throw them, seeing as they are lead by an unlikable tool who looks at game franchises like oil wells.

 

[masterkeaton]

I honestly hope that IW gets to make MW3 (or whatever its called).

Personally, I wont be buying Black Ops, because CoD games are getting boring to me now.

 

[Drops a Sweet Katana]

Who plays CoD for the story?

Wait... What? It has a story? I just went under the assumption that it was just a bunch of shootouts strung together with dental floss and a few clips of footage from the war in Iraq and a Cold War junkie's wet dream. I guess you learn something everyday!

 

[Flamezdudes]

If you saw all the jackasses at my school who only play Call of Duty or Halo games (I love the series) then you would understand. They don't care about the campaign, the industry or the company. They just want to blow shit up!

 

[MR T3D]

I hope Infinity Ward gets the Modern Warfare name and the money owed to them. I wouldn't trust Activision as far as I could throw them, seeing as they are lead by an unlikable tool who looks at game franchises like oil wells.

did you play the previous games and then MW2, because then, while I tend to try to understand opinions, you'd HAVE TO BE A TOTAL MORON to not realize IW were so stuck up with MW2 (look at their case, look at the game, specificially how CoD is relatively small print, MW2 is in larger font,the quotes saying, paraphrasing, "IW are teh bestest evar!!" (PC) IWnet (not CoDnet, IWnet, IW wanted that),

having the belief that they were developer GODS, after making such a disgrace, I thoroughly beleive its karma that they broke into pieces, and as such they got exactly what they deserved.

 

[Woodsey]

Agreed.

The majority of CoD players are what I have donned "CoD and Fifa gamers" - they a 360 (possibly a PS3, but less likely) and are probably unlikely to know little more about any games outside of those 2 series.

And thank fuck this wasn't taken from Michael Pachter - although even this is probably too insightful for him to manage.

 

[Blind Sight]

If you saw all the jackasses at my school who only play Call of Duty or Halo games (I love the series) then you would understand. They don't care about the campaign, the industry or the company. They just want to blow shit up!

This guy's got a good point, no offense to a lot of you Call of Duty or Halo players, but let's be honest, a lot of the people who play those games religiously aren't exactly...intellectual. I had one of my roommates (a Call of Duty fanatic) say that all RPGs suck because 'there's too much talking, not enough combat, and you never shoot a gun.' *facepalm*

 

[CheckD3]

Why would we not care about IW? Sure, they are asking for millions of dollars, but they did earn it. Also, yes we want good games, but there's a letter in there that makes more than just MW what we would want. GameS means that we want more and more. If you have food that tastes good, you want more of it, you don't want to eat it once and never get anything else delicious again, same with IW, we want more good games, not just one. Whoever this is sounds like they're trying to downplay the entire situation that happened, because most gamers have at least heard something about this by now I'd assume, whether just a passing something and not knowing the entirety of it

 

[The_root_of_all_evil]

Of course they don't know. Most "players" just know it's got guns and is the "MUST HAVE" thing.

That's why all the cliches still exist in the gaming fraternity, because the bottom line is always the common denominator. And they just buy what they're told.

 

[mattttherman3]

I would say black ops sold over 2.5 million(last time I was online the number was around that) on the 360 alone, and thats not even counting people who don't have the internet. Add to that the PS3 and PC and thats also alot of people.

 

[Tharticus]

Of course. Why would anyone care about the Infinity Ward incident. As long as the gaming industry pumps out realistic shooters, not hearing about incidents or what's happening in the company, not much change.

 

[Atmos Duality]

I think it's right, and that's a shame.

It might be very difficult for Respawn to set up their own IP on a competitive level.

That assumes they want to compete directly with Call of Duty.
Besides, I already knew Black Ops would sell like hotcakes; it's the same game as CoD4 after all, and that's a proven winner.

 

[Autofaux]

I hope Infinity Ward gets the Modern Warfare name and the money owed to them. I wouldn't trust Activision as far as I could throw them, seeing as they are lead by an unlikable tool who looks at game franchises like oil wells.

did you play the previous games and then MW2, because then, while I tend to try to understand opinions, you'd HAVE TO BE A TOTAL MORON to not realize IW were so stuck up with MW2 (look at their case, look at the game, specificially how CoD is relatively small print, MW2 is in larger font,the quotes saying, paraphrasing, "IW are teh bestest evar!!" (PC) IWnet (not CoDnet, IWnet, IW wanted that),

having the belief that they were developer GODS, after making such a disgrace, I thoroughly beleive its karma that they broke into pieces, and as such they got exactly what they deserved.

That's a lot of speculation there. There's also a lot of hate for one game.

MW2 may have been a broken, unpatched mess, but IW had maintained a foundation of quality prior to it. MW2 is one game, and its arguably the reason why Black Ops is doing so well, because rain or shine, Treyarch builds off the backs of IW. Not only did they fix the bugs (mostly, Treyarch is still Treyarch after all) but they kept things like the Pro effect for perks, Akimbo, as well as many perks that were added in MW2.

And in a world were publishers push around their subsidiary developers, IW decided to take charge of its creation, and it had every right.

Respawn deserves the Modern Warfare name, and has every right to it; they made it special, they made it solid and Activision are trying to take what doesn't belong to them.

And no karma, of ANY kind, means that people have to lose their jobs..