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[VioletZer0]

http://www.escapistmagazine.com/news/view/101503-Kotick-Wants-Call-of-Duty-Subscriptions-Tomorrow

[EG NeoMorph]

He's talking MMOFPS rather than the current crop of shooters like Black Ops is... Maybe something on the style of MAG but making it an MMO.

[KronicMayhem]

As long as they follow suit with EA's pay to play online thing their bringing in and all new purchases are automatically in and second hand purchases must pay the extra fee i could care less, almost all my games i buy new and don't play the second hand games that i buy online.

[Keetmanshoop]

As long as they follow suit with EA's pay to play online thing their bringing in and all new purchases are automatically in and second hand purchases must pay the extra fee i could care less, almost all my games i buy new and don't play the second hand games that i buy online.

No, it's not in EA's fashion, he's talking about a subscription-based system where you pay monthly or yearly to get extra content or just in order to play it online. I think Neo is also right in the sense of it being like MAG, a persistent, massive world where actions in one part affect the balance of the game in other areas (like one team has to go in to destroy a SAM battery and if they fail then they and their allied teams don't get air support until or if they do).

It's just Activision taking more money from their customers. To anyone who bought the map packs, was it really worth the $30? Does it really change the gameplay and make it fresh? Or are you playing the same game you have been since November 2007? I don't want to be an ass about this but it's time to open your eyes, first-person shooter fans, the CoD series has been going downhill since after the release of CoD4. Nothing Activision can possibly do will top that game, even taking MAG's concept and expanding it won't revolutionize the series. Now comes the subscription fees and if it's not mandatory, prepare to get your ass kicked in every game you play because some kid half your age whined until his parents used their credit card to unlock everything. If it is mandatory, they're going to kill their fanbase (especially on Xbox 360) and their customers will move on to other, cheaper games. I don't see either side coming out ahead in this.

And then they'll blame piracy and a biased media for poor sales, just like with the Guitar Hero series when in reality if they didn't shove 5 titles in our faces in two years, we might have more incentive to spend our money on their products.

[Red Intensity]

I can already imagine people waking up and booting up their CoD titles and attempting to access the multiplayer, only to be redirected to a registration screen. Once people read it and see that Activision would be charging them to play, who in their right mind would agree to such a thing?

Even worse, Kotick didn't even say what was gonna be added if people were to subscribe. He just flat out wants to charge people just for the sake of corporate greed.

And then they'll blame piracy and a biased media for poor sales, just like with the Guitar Hero series when in reality if they didn't shove 5 titles in our faces in two years, we might have more incentive to spend our money on their products.

They'll primarily blame piracy, since it's the new scapegoat of 21st century gaming, only because a hell of a lot more people are aware of it. This reminds me of negligent parents blaming video games when their children become too dumb to live.

And yes, I'm gonna avoid all CoD titles, except the ones I own, like the plague. They just made Halo: Reach and Medal of Honor look great in my eyes, if they didn't before.

[SeeNoEyez]

This is stupid.

If it was where they were needing to improve on a game and required the money to stabilize themselves i would understand. These companies are not trying to keep a budget while PWNING with a game. There are no creative solutions, instead it's "WE WANT MONEY AND WE NEED IT PLEASE!"

Take a look at Valve. They are a solid company that works hard to put out a good game. Say what you will on your opinion of them, but PEOPLE LOVE THEIR GAMES. They seem to care about their community rather than make their community just care about them.

I think the problem is that companies are too worried about competing with each other in sales more than anything else. If COD was able to sell a shit ton and make millions of dollars they use that as their reasons the game is "the best". Nothing is to improve a game, its a way to make more money and keep people interested in it.

Bite me.

[Keetmanshoop]

This is stupid.

If it was where they were needing to improve on a game and required the money to stabilize themselves i would understand. These companies are not trying to keep a budget while PWNING with a game. There are no creative solutions, instead it's "WE WANT MONEY AND WE NEED IT PLEASE!"

That's exactly why Activision has released so many DLC sets for the GH series, I bet they'd do a tiered subscription service for X, Y, and Z amount of DLC every month if they could.

Take a look at Valve. They are a solid company that works hard to put out a good game. Say what you will on your opinion of them, but PEOPLE LOVE THEIR GAMES. They seem to care about their community rather than make their community just care about them.

It seems Valve and Activision have the opposite attitude towards games: Valve takes care of their customers and has all sorts of sales all the time (there's a Summer Sale right now that's going to last 13 days I think), they actually respond to their customers, and they continually support their products.

I think the problem is that companies are too worried about competing with each other in sales more than anything else. If COD was able to sell a shit ton and make millions of dollars they use that as their reasons the game is "the best". Nothing is to improve a game, its a way to make more money and keep people interested in it.

Bite me.

It's always about money, it's always about their stockholders, it's always about the $5 million bonus Bobby Kotick got in 2008. Gamers are their lowest priority because we've already seen that they'll release the product THEY want instead of what we want. They had the chance to do wonders with the Modern Warfare series and they blew it on the first sequel, unwilling to step outside their comfort zones again and revolutionize their game.

The only way to do something about this is to stop buying their products and inform your friends about why they shouldn't buy any CoD game in the future.

[SeeNoEyez]

Valve has done so much to try and let people REALIZE that their game is fun etc rather than MAKE people love it. The community is awesome because of it. I mean, there have been a lot of free games and updates from them. I don't know about you, but I am willing to try something out if it's free! haha. And, I am also willing to allow for a few bugs here and there. But it doesn't end there, Valve has the time to even fix those as soon as possible.

I just wish some game companies would(or could, since they can be controlled by a higherup) follow some of the same ideology. The dlc is tested not only by players but the team. It's not just "was this fun/look cool and do able", it's "how does this affect the game".
More Balance.
Cooler stuff( as it seems companies will stick closer to what already works than move away).

Ugh, companies focus on their successes rather than their improvements/their potential.
Like if this pay-to-play shit becomes the norm, (hypothetically), they will say "LOOK OMFG WE HAS 2MILLIONS PEOPLE PLAYING AND PAYING)". When in reality, they could have gotten millions more people with some tweaking.

[Keetmanshoop]

Valve has done so much to try and let people REALIZE that their game is fun etc rather than MAKE people love it. The community is awesome because of it. I mean, there have been a lot of free games and updates from them. I don't know about you, but I am willing to try something out if it's free! haha. And, I am also willing to allow for a few bugs here and there. But it doesn't end there, Valve has the time to even fix those as soon as possible.

I just wish some game companies would(or could, since they can be controlled by a higherup) follow some of the same ideology. The dlc is tested not only by players but the team. It's not just "was this fun/look cool and do able", it's "how does this affect the game".
More Balance.
Cooler stuff( as it seems companies will stick closer to what already works than move away).

When they are controlled by a guy who publicly said he'd like to remove fun from the process of making games, you know it's only about money and them trying everything they can to get away with your very last dollar. Steam, on the other hand, has so many sales and promos that buying new and old games does take your last dollar because they offer ridiculous prices most of the time. I know several people who are glad to buy through Steam because it's convenient and the price is normally right for them.

Ugh, companies focus on their successes rather than their improvements/their potential.
Like if this pay-to-play shit becomes the norm, (hypothetically), they will say "LOOK OMFG WE HAS 2MILLIONS PEOPLE PLAYING AND PAYING)". When in reality, they could have gotten millions more people with some tweaking.

You mean like World of Warcraft's ads, proudly shouting to everyone they have 11 million subscribers? What they don't want you to know is how they start and keep you addicted to their product. It'll be less about innovation in this next console generation and more about keeping you buying new DLC and lining their pockets.

[EG NeoMorph]

There is one thing I REALLY hate about Valve... and I mean REALLY FREAKIN HATE!!!

WHERE THE FRAK IS EPISODE THREE ??????

[Guyyug]

I'm with Neo, actually playing through Half-life 2 again at the moment.

[yeehz]

On the fact of the companies making money, I just purchased a new MW2 because mine just went unreadable after 2 weeks of trying to get it to work. Heh, they built this game cheap as well. My WaW disc at x4 as many scratches as MW2 and it still works fine, PLUS the fact that MW2 was downloaded to my hard drive.

[EG NeoMorph]

Don't you install your games to the hard drive to stop the DVD drive from spinning. It would stop instances of disc scarring I would have thought...

[Guyyug]

I actually found installing games to the HDD made it more difficult for it to read. Happened everytime on my FO3, disc unreadable in paradise fall. Deleted the installation and the game ran fine.

The disc still spins though, considered that a slight knock can even knock a disc out of the tray still causes problems. My xbox was done it to three of my discs and once I didn't even touch the xbox, I think my dog knocked the unit it was on, that is all.

[EG NeoMorph]

I think you might have a dodgy hard drive if that is happening... I've never, ever had a problem with FO3 being installed on the hard drive. Not once!

[BAB3r]

I actually found installing games to the HDD made it more difficult for it to read. Happened everytime on my FO3, disc unreadable in paradise fall. Deleted the installation and the game ran fine.

The disc still spins though, considered that a slight knock can even knock a disc out of the tray still causes problems. My xbox was done it to three of my discs and once I didn't even touch the xbox, I think my dog knocked the unit it was on, that is all.

what kind of dog you have?

[EG NeoMorph]

Dogs knocking the 360 while it is on will DEFINITELY kill the DVD by scarring. Any movement of the box might even cause problems with the hard drive too which is probably why you have failures with your hard drive installs. Basically you killed a sector on the platters of the hard drive.

That explains everything... Good excuse to get a new 250gb 360 eh?

[Guyyug]

I'm most likely just going to get a 60gb HDD at somepoint, but I can't afford a new xbox. A 20gb one I've had for more then three years, though I have very little space in it. Namely because I play alot of RPGs and they all have good DLC for it.

And BAB3r my dog is a Cavalier King Charles, turns three next week.

[EG NeoMorph]

Get a 250GB one... but make it yourself by using the info in the 360 forum. Mine is ticking along quite merrily...

This is the tutorial I used to make it...

http://digiex.net/computing-section/guides-tutorials/consoles/3152-xbox-360-how-hack-250gb-sata-drive-work-360-a.html#post21373

The hard drive itself would cost you £34.05 + shipping

http://www.cclonline.com/product-info.asp?product_id=26914

[Guyyug]

I don't pratically want to go through all that, the idea of taking part my xbox HDD doesn't appeal to me that much, just incase I break something.

[EG NeoMorph]

Dude... it's not the Xbox you take apart! It's just the hard drive which is removable remember.

It's only a few security screws... I wonder how much a 250GB official drive would cost? (answer: £90 for an official one... )

[Guyyug]

Read again, I was talking about my HDD. 

[EG NeoMorph]

Ahh... I flubbed that one up lol... I must have gone word blind and missed the HDD bit lol.

  <-------- ME

[VioletZer0]

http://www.mcvuk.com/news/39863/Kotick-irritated-by-Xbox-Live

Before clicking on the link, I want you to guess why he is irritated. Go on, just guess and see if you are right.

[Guyyug]

So let me get this straight, the guy wants to see xbox live subscription drop because most players are CoD players, but wait, he wants to add a subscription to games like CoD. Umm.

Seems that activision and GAME are having a bit of a fall out as well. Activision isn't doing to well. Glad sega started to publish the total war games awhile, imagine what would happen if activision was still on board, they would ruin my favorite RTS games.

[VioletZer0]

So let me get this straight, the guy wants to see xbox live subscription drop because most players are CoD players, but wait, he wants to add a subscription to games like CoD. Umm.

Seems that activision and GAME are having a bit of a fall out as well. Activision isn't doing to well. Glad sega started to publish the total war games awhile, imagine what would happen if activision was still on board, they would ruin my favorite RTS games.

Basically, he just wants the money from it like what he is getting from World of Warcraft. Since Modern Warfare 2 follows similar fundamentals of being about instant gratification, noob friendly and generally just being as addictive as possible. But completely shafting the long term audience with no skill gap and poor level design.

[Red Intensity]

*sigh* Each time Kotick publicly opens his mouth, something stupid and preposterous no doubt comes out. Quite funny that Activision wants to improve its public image, but as long as this dude is sitting on the throne, that isn't going to happen.

But the masses will speak with their wallets and credit cards --oh wait! Too many sheep and children will pay (or have their moms pay) for the "privilege" of playing CoD online, so this whole thing with Kotick would no doubt be a smashing success.

[Keetmanshoop]

I quite hope that Activision-Blizzard collapses in on itself. Kotick is one of the worst public heads a corporation could have with his silly remarks, dumb ideas, and horrible media presence. Also, I just want Blizzard to go away with their bullshit. I don't care how popular their games are, they are helping to ruin online gaming by programming for the lowest common denominator and keeping it that way. I won't buy Diablo 3 because it would be directly contributing to their Battle.net castration (just like I won't buy Assassin's Creed 2 and support Ubisoft's garbage "service") and I'd be telling them I think it's okay how they've ruined what was a pretty good system.

[EG NeoMorph]

Actually  I love Ubisoft games... VERY few bugs in comparison to Activision games... now why is that? Could it be that Activision just wants the junk out the door as fast as possible, even to the point that it is a "Get it out and we will fix the bugs later" attitude. Ubisoft is more a "Let's finish the game before we release it" attitude.

Look at the Ubisoft FPS games like Rainbow Six Vegas 1 & 2, Splinter Cell Convictions, Assassins Creed 2... ALL FINISHED GAMES... I played through every one on launch day and barely found any bugs... Modern Warfare 2 on the other hand... OMFG... Armour Plated Banana Leaves lol.... The game was nowhere near debugged.

Keet, rent AC2... It's freakin awesome.

[yeehz]

Actually  I love Ubisoft games... VERY few bugs in comparison to Activision games... now why is that? Could it be that Activision just wants the junk out the door as fast as possible, even to the point that it is a "Get it out and we will fix the bugs later" attitude. Ubisoft is more a "Let's finish the game before we release it" attitude.

Look at the Ubisoft FPS games like Rainbow Six Vegas 1 & 2, Splinter Cell Convictions, Assassins Creed 2... ALL FINISHED GAMES... I played through every one on launch day and barely found any bugs... Modern Warfare 2 on the other hand... OMFG... Armour Plated Banana Leaves lol.... The game was nowhere near debugged.

Keet, rent AC2... It's freakin awesome.

Far Cry 2<3

[Red Intensity]

I strayed from Ubisoft games for the same reason as Keet. I would never support a company that screws over honest customers with draconian DRM. It's almost like I stopped buying Activision-published games because it's as stupid as fueling a train that's about to jump a gorge.

And Far Cry 2.... words cannot describe my hatred for that game.

[Keetmanshoop]

Actually  I love Ubisoft games... VERY few bugs in comparison to Activision games... now why is that? Could it be that Activision just wants the junk out the door as fast as possible, even to the point that it is a "Get it out and we will fix the bugs later" attitude. Ubisoft is more a "Let's finish the game before we release it" attitude.

Look at the Ubisoft FPS games like Rainbow Six Vegas 1 & 2, Splinter Cell Convictions, Assassins Creed 2... ALL FINISHED GAMES... I played through every one on launch day and barely found any bugs... Modern Warfare 2 on the other hand... OMFG... Armour Plated Banana Leaves lol.... The game was nowhere near debugged.

Keet, rent AC2... It's freakin awesome.

I'm sure the games are fine, I'm just not supporting them in any capacity because of their DRM. If your 'net is wonky for a day, you can't play the game you bought. I'm surprised they haven't gone back to StarForce because as we all know that was the *best* DRM ever (a.k.a. **** YOU FOR RUINING MY DVD-RW DRIVE YOU STUPID UBISOFT BASTARDS).

[SeeNoEyez]

I'm wondering if MW is losing any numbers. Like rate of growth is low or dropping exceedingly fast.

MW2 got incredibly boring, incredibly fast. IMO, it's in big part due to the killstreaks and such. Back then, even with killstreaks, it felt like I had to still fight to get a good score.
But that's a diff argument.

Anyways, I still don't see how this guy can keep opening his ****ing mouth.
It's bullshit if he "wants to do more for the console community" or whatever. Revenue won't really do much, from what I see of their work. Our dlc was how expensive? And honestly, was it even worth that much to have a few old revamped maps and a few maps? I doubt he actuallys needs money to do anything. You can look at less popular titles(think of valve and their games again), and how they are working out fine.

While, yes, particularly they are only adding to the PC vers, patches are done all over tf2, and with only the PC in mind, they have literally shitloads added to the game as well as are very involved in the community with events etc.

He's under the impression that they are the best and everyone will hop on their dicks like it's nothing. If mw2 came with a subscript fee, most people would play it for awhile(if not leave it alone) and then never go back again. Like I first mentioned, the game gets boring after awhile. Also, If I have to pay a fee, then I'm going to just rent this mofo than buy it. Saves me money almost no matter what.
**** you kotick. I pray for your PR section, they deserve overtime just for your ass.

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