Activision Looks to Kill the Call of Duty Franchise
Activision sent out a business letter that talked about the future direction for the Call of Duty franchise, most likely to quell the discussion about the other issues surrounding the franchise and Infinity Ward right now.
First off, we have the news that there will be two new map packs coming to Modern Warfare 2 this year. This was not much of a surprise for those that are use to the Call of Duty map pack release schedule. Also, we were told that Treyarch would be releasing a Call of Duty title this fall on the major platforms. Again, not a shock, but hey, I figured that I would go with the easy to swallow news first.
Then came the crazy part of the letter that said that Activision was looking to take the Call of Duty franchise in new directions, and expand the brand using the same way that Blizzard has expanded its brands. Yeah, apparently, nothing has been learned from the Guitar Hero burnout that gamers have had in the last year with 5000 Hero themed games released.
First off in this new marketing direction is the release of an action/adventure themed title using the Call of Duty brand. Soak that in for a moment. Is anyone else worried about this brand dilution? At first it might sound good, but so did Call of Duty 3 and look where that went. I understand wanting to move the brand to new directions, but the reason that it works for Blizzard is that they take years to do it, and they have no fear in cancelling a cross branded title if it looks bad. One only has to look to Warcraft Adventures or Starcraft Ghost to see that.
Activision has never thought to cancel a game due to quality. If that was the case, Tony Hawk: RIDE, Band Hero, Guitar Hero: Van Halen and DJ Hero would not exist at this point. But no, money is the bottom line for Activision, and exploiting quality brands until they mean nothing is the name of the game. Who doesn’t remember the wonder of Guitar Hero II. That game single-handedly got my wife back into gaming. It was a magical experience. Activision saw it, and decided to kill it by releasing 60 Hero themed games a year. Now I dread the very sight of a Guitar Hero, or any other Hero title.
Now at the end of the announcement, we did get word that Infinity Ward would return in 2011 with another Call of Duty title, but with the shake up over at that company, I wonder if it will hold the weight that Call of Duty 4 or Modern Warfare 2 have right now. I am sure it will sell well, but without the quality control that has been at the company in the past, the series might not live up to the hype machine that has been created in past releases.
I only hope that someone finds a way to eject Bobby Kotick from the CEO seat at Activision, because as it stands, he is going to ruin the brand that still has a feel of quality in that company. However, I fear what will happen, and somehow, I feel justified in predicting Call of Duty Hero: War Songs for 2011. Yeah, it will happen if Bobby has his way with things.
Tags: action adventure, activision, bobby kotick, call of duty, expanding the brand, exploitation, guitar hero, infinity ward, screwed up, tony hawk, treyarch
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First I'll say that the CoD franchise tanked last year as the PC support was pretty much just tossed on. As far as I was concerned, it looked to be nothing more than just another console-based shooter that was using the brand name. Yes, it sold billions of copies, but so does Madden and we all know about that one too.
Now, I understand the comparison to Guitar Hero, but I don't think its fair to toss DJ Hero into the same bucket of sludge. I have reason to believe that if DJH had come out before GH:WT, or Rock Band 2, it would have been plenty successful on its own. The problem it experienced was solely in the 'we-already-have-lots-of-plastic' department, and I won't hesitate to admit that I keep watching the sales prices on it hoping to be able to pick it up for $60.
Honestly, most of these FPS franchises are, in my book, dumb. The yearly $60 subscription fee is hardly worth it and the sputter out after a few iterations. Just look at Medal of Honor. Three expansions came out for the first one, followed by a re-vamped graphics editions and then nothing more. And for the record, the re-vamped graphics didn't sell well because just trying to re-iterate over the same material gets old, hence the reason why CoD went 'modern'. I would state that if not for the 'modern' it would have died the same death.
Maybe that's what they're hoping for in taking in a 90 degree direction, is to keep the brand alive, but at this point they're going to probably shed most of their loyal fans.
I think the comparison is fair. Think about it this way. Tony Hawk: RIDE was a new experience, and we all harped on that one. Also, remember how Activision said it was going to fully support DJ Hero with DLC. Well, we have not seen another DLC pack since two weeks after launch. That was four months ago. Business as usual.