Why many shooters will not be more popular then COD (one of many reasons.)

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Korten12

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Aug 26, 2009
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This is ONE REASON! Clearly people don't understand the concept of One. No COD doesn't rely only on customization, and is probably one of its less focused features but it is nice to have and it does give something that shooters rarely have (THEIR ARE SERIES WITH CUSTOMIZATION AS WELL.) THIS IS A SINGLE REASON! NOT THE WHOLE! Hope this made it a bit more clear. >.>

A lot of shooters come around and wish to be the next COD, and usualy this result in failure or a good game but still not as popular as COD and I think I understand why.

Lots of games that wish to do this have less customization options (one of the reasons, many more but it is also one reason), think about it, MOH wanted to take over COD, but if you look at the customization, its very very limited, so their is less personalization. (maybe becuase I only played the beta and even then though...)

Customization is one factor that helps make a good game, giving players choice allows more freedom and will make the play want to come back to unlock all of the extra stuff. Having good gameplay alone wont just make it popular.

In COD you have (now since Black Ops), you can pick the character you are, and the perks change the outfit, many gun attachments, customizable isignia that you can then put on your gun, lots of cameo's, perks, currency (not new, since Halo: Reach/MAG has it but still, rare in most games), and lots of game modes which isn't so much customization but allows for more choice as what you want to play.

You can't just become more popular due to gameplay, you need more features to complement it.

I think if any other series ever want to take over COD's position I think I really needs to step up in this area. Halo Reach is probably first with most customization to the character, with Lost Planet 2 also up there with customization of characters but thats not an FPS.

I believe having good customization got help a game a lot, or ruin it and make it worse. Sometimes it doesn't do much but in this case it seems to help a bit.

It doesn't matter what you think of the seires but you must admit, it has a bunch of customization, more then most shooters.

So what do you guys think?

Edit: I think some people are being mistaken and thinking this the ONLY reason, no this is one good reason. Their are many reasons, as been stated, marketing, and its fanbase but you can't deny that the customization isn't not appealing to some.
 

Korten12

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ciortas1 said:
Also, Lost Planet 2 is a terrible, terrible game and it boggles my mind as to why you even mentioned it here.

Other than that, well, yeah, I suppose you're right, but it's far from the only thing that made COD successful.
Becuase I enjoyed it? Just becuase you didn't like it, doesn't mean others also dont. >.>
 

Mr Pantomime

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I always thought it was stupid to try make a COD killer or a Halo killer. All they ever end up doing is make a similar game. Whos going to buy a game thats pretty much the same as the one they have?
 

ssgt splatter

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I buy that.
I haven't hit the MP yet, I'm still trying to get as many achievements from the SP first before I hit the MP.
 

Floppertje

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so if MoH would have more customization it would've outsold CoD? get real.
customization is a gimmick, not the core that decides how well a game sells.
what matters is having a loyal fanbase (which CoD has had since CoD2) and strong gameplay, which CoD also has. The reason you hear so much whiners is because there's a gazillion people playing it and a few are bound to be unsatisfied, and whiners yell more than the people who enjoy it.
 

Korten12

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ciortas1 said:
Korten12 said:
Lost planet 2, and correct me if I'm wrong, doesn't have almost anything in common with COD apart from the fact that you shoot things. They aren't geared towards the same audience, therefore, Lost Planet 2 is irrelevant here.
That wasn't the point I was making, it was customization. Not the fact that you shoot things, read better...
 

Korten12

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Ephraim J. Witchwood said:
I'd like to direct your attention to a VERY little known FPS called Blacklight: Tango Down. You could take a gun and COMPLETELY change the damn thing, to the point where it was an entirely different gun, just with the same function as the base. Honestly, I don't see why it got so much hate. It's great, it looks just fine for an XBLA/low price Steam/PSN game, people just DIDN'T BUY IT.
Played the demo, was truly a good game, if it goes on sale on PSN, I might get it. Sadily thought it didn't get much attention. :( Maybe Blacklight: Tango Down 2 will (apparently to be released summer 2011, hopefully the ps3 version this time will come out on time!)
 

AndyFromMonday

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It's not why Call of Duty is so popular. It's because of the amount of marketing money Activision puts into it. Hell, previous entries in the series had no customization and yet they were quite popular.
 

Korten12

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Floppertje said:
so if MoH would have more customization it would've outsold CoD? get real.
customization is a gimmick, not the core that decides how well a game sells.
what matters is having a loyal fanbase (which CoD has had since CoD2) and strong gameplay, which CoD also has. The reason you hear so much whiners is because there's a gazillion people playing it and a few are bound to be unsatisfied, and whiners yell more than the people who enjoy it.
No, having only customization won't sell but having it, side by side with good gameplay is good.

Yes true, COD has a loyal fanbase, thats why it also sells well but you can't say you want to be better then COD but have less features.

Also why is customization a gimmick?
 

Korten12

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ciortas1 said:
Korten12 said:
Are you for real? Shitloads of games have customization, but few of them are competition to CoD because of the markets they're appealing to.
I think once more you are looking at more then just FPS.

A lot of RPGs have ton's and ton's of customization but for shooters, not so much. More shooters not in days, are simple, you rank up to get some gun. You do find some that have lots more customization, like Halo: Reach and BlackLight: Tango down. But for the most part, most shooters are limited in customization.

Also I think you should calm down.
 

Floppertje

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Korten12 said:
Floppertje said:
so if MoH would have more customization it would've outsold CoD? get real.
customization is a gimmick, not the core that decides how well a game sells.
what matters is having a loyal fanbase (which CoD has had since CoD2) and strong gameplay, which CoD also has. The reason you hear so much whiners is because there's a gazillion people playing it and a few are bound to be unsatisfied, and whiners yell more than the people who enjoy it.
No, having only customization won't sell but having it, side by side with good gameplay is good.

Yes true, COD has a loyal fanbase, thats why it also sells well but you can't say you want to be better then COD but have less features.

Also why is customization a gimmick?
maybe i used the wrong word... i mean it's a bonus, something extra that adds a little bit of fun and flexibility, but you really can't build the game on that.
 

Korten12

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Floppertje said:
Korten12 said:
Floppertje said:
so if MoH would have more customization it would've outsold CoD? get real.
customization is a gimmick, not the core that decides how well a game sells.
what matters is having a loyal fanbase (which CoD has had since CoD2) and strong gameplay, which CoD also has. The reason you hear so much whiners is because there's a gazillion people playing it and a few are bound to be unsatisfied, and whiners yell more than the people who enjoy it.
No, having only customization won't sell but having it, side by side with good gameplay is good.

Yes true, COD has a loyal fanbase, thats why it also sells well but you can't say you want to be better then COD but have less features.

Also why is customization a gimmick?
maybe i used the wrong word... i mean it's a bonus, something extra that adds a little bit of fun and flexibility, but you really can't build the game on that.
Well of course, you could have amazing customization but crap gameplay, such as APB, though I didn't mind so the gameplay in that...
 

teh_Canape

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ciortas1 said:
Also, Lost Planet 2 is a terrible, terrible game and it boggles my mind as to why you even mentioned it here.
I assume you havent played the PC version

it's a pretty lame optimized port (for example, it doesnt have an straight up "start campaign", just a start game and when you put it on you go to a lobby rather than starting straight up)

but it's got a lot of shit fixed, and really fun
 

The Arbiter of Cool

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I think the popularity has far more to do with the 'brand name' than anything else. If Black Ops was not preceded with 'Call of Duty,' I think it would have been written off as another generic shooter, as was Medal of Honor.

There are two games in particular that I think are leaps and bounds ahead of MW2 and Black Ops when it comes to the quality of multiplayer, and those games are Killzone 2 and Battlefield: Bad Company 2. But because those two games don't carry the 'Call of Duty' brand name, they will never be as popular. Which is sad because those two games are far better than the last two iterations of Call of Duty. (This is only my opinion, please don't flip out and nerd rage).

Please don't lump me in with the "let's hate on Call of Duty because it's popular" crowd. That's not the case. I bought Black Ops yesterday and while it's not great, it is enjoyable and I will continue to play it as long as my freinds continue to play it. In my opinion KZ2 and BFBC2 are just better games, but again since they don't carry the brand name they just will never be as popular. (my opinion).
 

Smooth Operator

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When you mention customization I think you are forgetting the core component of humanity:
1. we are lazy
2. we prefer to be dumb, because we are lazy

Laziness:
I have told just about anyone who has ever played Portal and loved the hell out of it about 2 expansion packs that add not just 60 extra levels, but whole new stories(the expansions actually last longer then the base game).
And even tho that shit is free and I provided them with a direct link to download the expansions not even 5% of those people actually checked it out, and the only work that needs to be done is click a couple of times.

Preference to ignorance:
As soon as you mention to someone they need to know a little extra to modify/play a game they start to pull back, or just switch to ignoring you because you mentioned new knowledge.
I always wanted my gaming friends to get into modding, but to no avail, they will play a game as it comes and never do anything with it, even getting them to try an expansion takes a heck of persistence to penetrate that veil of ignorance.