Premium Call of Duty Content "In the Pipeline"

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Tom Goldman

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Aug 17, 2009
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Premium Call of Duty Content "In the Pipeline"



Activision might not ever charge for Call of Duty multiplayer as it exists today, the company indicates it will charge for "premium" content.

After Activision CEO Bobby Kotick predictions [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/news/view/101503-Kotick-Wants-Call-of-Duty-Subscriptions-Tomorrow] of a "premium" Call of Duty tier may come true someday, as Activision statements at a recent conference indicate.

Activision COO Thomas Tippl spoke at the Deutsche Bank Securities Inc. Technology Conference last week and said that the company is always "looking to extend recurring revenue models." One such model is the release of a new Call of Duty game every year, which provides a constant stream of money coming from gamers mostly hungry for a new multiplayer experience.

Tippl also detailed Activision's ability to add to that revenue stream between releases through map packs [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/news/view/99811-Modern-Warfare-2-Players-Log-200-000-Gameplay-Years], but revealed that Activision doesn't want to stop there. "As we look into the future, there are new and innovative service offerings that could give players more choice," he said. "What we're not going to do is take anything away from players that they used to get today for the price they get it for today. I don't think that would be a good and smart business decision."

"But I think we have a lot in our pipeline that we believe will provide great value for our players," Tippl added. "So I think there's continued opportunity to expand the player base and to provide them with service offerings and products that can also enhance revenue growth."

This appears to be proof that Activision most definitely has plans to create a new revenue stream with a premium Call of Duty service that will somehow add to the multiplayer experience offered today. Simply guessing, this could have something to do with the future release of map packs, exclusive modes, or the addition of cosmetic features exclusive to subscribers.

We may get a taste of this when Call of Duty: Black Ops [http://www.amazon.com/Call-Duty-Black-Ops-Xbox-360/dp/B003JVKHEQ/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=videogames&qid=1285050650&sr=8-1] is released on November 9, or we may not, but until Activision releases its detailed plans we won't know exactly what it has in store. I'm sure that won't stop anybody from jumping to conclusions.

Source: CVG [http://www.computerandvideogames.com/article.php?id=265528]

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Arachon

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Jun 23, 2008
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Hey... If they want to charge for Map Packs and skins and stuff... Go ahead... I mean, as a PC player, I usually expect things such as Map Packs for free, but it seems as if that era is coming to an end.
 

Corpse XxX

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Jan 19, 2009
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I do not understand why people bother playing cod at all, pay to play for such an unbalanced gaming experience..

Have they not heard of Bad Company series?

But seriously, another day for Activision is another day for Kotick to make an ignorant statement..
 

Pandora92

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Apr 2, 2010
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It doesn't really matter what they say about "not taking away existing free features", I still love how their idea of "innovation" is charging people for things they've been getting included with the price of the game for years.

I mean the amount of DLC Valve have produced for TF2 dwarfs pretty much all of Activision's DLC put together (not counting Blizzard obviously), and how much of that have we had to pay for lol.
 

Rad Party God

Party like it's 2010!
Feb 23, 2010
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Dear Kot-dick and dear Activision (not counting Blizzard):

Please, for the love of everything good, please, stop being such jerks. I used to love your company, but ever since you released MW2, your face has changed completely from being a respectable company to a company that everyone loves to hate and ironically are still going to throw lots and lots of money at you, because you keep farting games with COD signals and Blizzard keeps bloating you with loads of money...

I know games ARE business, but if you keep your eyes opened with $$$ marks, everyone will still simply hate you. Why charging games at such ridiculous prices and treating your fans like they're a bunch of rabid retards (well, most 360 users are). Also charging $30 for maps that somebody in YOUR community would've done for free and way better than the original thing... that's just beyond wrong.

I can't keep on writing this without seeming like a troll of some sort... it just saddens me how my favorite hobby is becoming something dull just for the sake of milking money...

It's now as if everything is bussines, bussiness and more bussines... the insdustry has always been about money, but it was well obscured to the public eyes and most of the time we get a good game for a couple of dozens of hours for a reasonable price, not counting the PC games that used to be modded with content that even rivaled the original game. Now they keep everything locked up within the disk and makes you pay for something you already paid... sorry, I'm mixing entirely different things, and at least the only troll to blame here is Mr. Kock-dick and it behemoth of company, because Valve isn't doing any kind of that shit (for the PC) ever... I hope...

Heh, it's nice to let out a rant every once in a while =).
 

Wandrecanada

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Oct 3, 2008
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Friends don't let friends spend money on things that make them spend more money in the future. The whole ActiKotick model has been searching for ways to get consumers to pay for things that they already bought with a one time purchase before.

Easy to cite examples of this predatory practice are:

"New" MW2 map packs that feature recycled content from an older game;
A recent announcement that there are plans to sell cutscenes from SC2 as a package outside the game for $20-$30;
Now "premium" content for their Call of Duty franchise games.

It all boils down to one thing folks. If you buy what they shill it gives them license to continue the practice. Friends don't let friends pay for something that will cost everyone more in the future. Tell your friends to skip out on these "fantastic deals".
 

JokerboyJordan

New member
Sep 6, 2009
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I don't WANT a new COD every damn freakin' year.
I'm too poor for that.

But anyways Kotick is an attention seeking, power lusting, money grabbing whore. I sure as hell won't pay for a "premium" subscription.
 

Crowser

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Feb 13, 2009
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My prediction? 2/3rds of the guns will be unlocked by ranking up etc. (how they have always been unlocked) and the other 1/3rd will be "Premium content" that you can buy... that could kill the balance if one of the premium guns turns out to be OP...
 

Jared

The British Paladin
Jul 14, 2009
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jetsterjinx said:
One thing you gotta love about Activision - at least they're honest.
This is true - They arent beating around the bush - They want peoples monnies, and they aint afraid to say it out loud.

Still makes them complete tools though. I can understand wanting to be profitable, but, they are making themselves out to be mere money magnets...
 

MrGalactus

Elite Member
Sep 18, 2010
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So basically....Bobby Kotick is saying "you could play BF:BC, or the very promising-looking Brink online for absolutely free, OR you can play something WORSE instead, for only $9.99 a month and all your friends!!
BUT WAIT-THAT'S NOT ALL!!!! Now that we have Bungie, soon you can also play Halo, a very average PvP experience, for more money TOOO"

Oh where will the deals end, bobby?
 

ZippyDSMlee

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Sep 1, 2007
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just charge 2$ a month after the first 20 hours..... or don;t make a MP based game at all....
 

The Rockerfly

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Dec 31, 2008
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Yes do it, anyone who wants to play online has to pay £50 an hour, get rid of the frat boys, cheaters and morons. Cleans xbox live and force them all back to counter strike and gaming will be pure again

...

Okay maybe mines a wish but still...
 
Mar 30, 2010
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A month ago (when I was playing MW2 constantly) I would have been up in arms about this story. But now Reach is out and I'm finding it hard to care.

Also, I had a thought the other day. If Kotick posted these comments online (and anonymously) people would just respond with "Obvious troll is obvious" and not think any more of it. Does this guy just have a really twisted sense of humour and is simply releasing a new statement every week to see the gamers of the world panic?

Is Bobby Kotick in fact the UberTroll?