Activision to introduce pay-to-play online service for Call of Duty

This kind of support has been on the PC and has been free for years.

the $60 should be more than enough, milking consolites is just wring.

Ah looks like gaming is finally going to die, thank you everyone buying call of duty games, map-packs and DLC.dont-read-this

Basically. I expect nickle and diming like this to kill the gaming industry. This nickle and diming is a cancer that needs to be done away with.

Only idiots try to justify this. An it's the same idiots that pay for this crap. They are quite simply their own worst enemy.

That goes for all the people that bought anything published or created by activision. Stop being an idiot. Just think for a second.

Key word here. Think.

Well, really it aint gonna happen.. so..

This is the first in what I see to be many shifts in the business model. The current business model is not sustainable. The costs are rising too rapidly and the revenue has no way of keeping up. The market is growing, but it isn't growing at the same rate that development costs are. Next gen will force developers to do things in different ways just to break even. Sustainable subscriptions are an immediate and obvious solution to the issue, but that alienates a certain portion of the userbase and also isn't feasible across the large number of products that are available. More likely is major releases with huge brands will go the subscription route, while other releases rely on microtransactions selling premium items to users who wish to have them for non-competitive gameplay. DLC is another option because the cost of developing DLC is low and the profit margins are high. Nobody here has shown any signs of A) recognizing or B) accepting the fact that the business model of selling games new at $60 will not work for much longer. People aren't going to be willing to spend $70-80 on a single game. They just aren't. The current price is just about as high as the market will sustain. But, next gen, development costs will soar yet again due to the higher quality content that needs to be made. Games aren't suddenly going to start selling twice what they do now, so the extra costs need to be picked up elsewhere. Alternate revenue streams need to be established. Business is business and like it or not, the games industry is in a position where it isn't popular enough with the mass market to justify the development costs, and it can't increase the price anymore, so.... Yeah... I am going to predict a lot of companies following Activision and doing things like this. That is the only way the industry can survive without going the route of the Wii.KingsMessenger

How about having billboards for advertising in the game, sorta like what Battlefield Heroes is doing.

All I can hope is that if they do make that move that IW or at least the people behind IW leave Activision and go to a better publisher. SpruceCaboose

[QUOTE="SpruceCaboose"]All I can hope is that if they do make that move that IW or at least the people behind IW leave Activision and go to a better publisher. jyoung312

[QUOTE="jyoung312"][QUOTE="SpruceCaboose"]All I can hope is that if they do make that move that IW or at least the people behind IW leave Activision and go to a better publisher. SpruceCaboose

WoW is an MMO. It has dedicated servers that host hundreds to thousands of players, sometimes dozens upon dozens onscreen simultaneously. COD has a player cap of 18 players with P2P networking, matchmaking, randomized bullcrap, etc. We can get all of this content from users if they would simply give us deds and mod tools. We had all that content in COD4. They took it away with their IWnet experiment. I don't see any justification for this service. They had better at least provide their own dedicated servers to justify the monthly fee. They should also expect commercial failure.Brownesque

I highly doubt they will try to charge for their current service, but rather offer extended services for a nominal fee.

lol i'm so happy that i never really cared about online gaming but i hope ppl wise up and don't accept this bs from any company

[QUOTE="Wii_Gamer_277"]Idk why people are shocked by this, its activsion where talking about and like they predicted MILLIONS of people bought that Rehash known as MW2 so now they can dictate what they wana do with the next installments. Im glad I didnt purchase that game and contribute to IW and activisions ruining of the game industry.KingsMessenger

I disagree. The upfront investment in this generation was huge and some studios couldn't keep up. For the few that did like Activision with Modern Warfare, their first big investment was a smashing success. Now the engine is already done and they'll continue to sequelize off of MW for minimum cost.

Publishers are in much the same boat as hardware manufacturers now. They'll take big hits to the pocketbook in the beginning of a generation but should they ride out that storm, there's plenty of market to support their persistence. Publishers merged and snapped up more studios and made other efforts to strengthen their position in this changing market. I don't see why this wouldn't work for the next generation.

Another thing to consider is the fact that consoles continue to inch closer to PC architecture and even in doing so, they remain generations behind the top end of what the PC offers at launch. So, it could be said that the higher definition content you made reference to is already being developed for PC and that's still proving profitable (see Crysis). As long as console manufacturers make an effort to be a little more developer friendly, the next generation should not be that much different in price to the consumer.

[QUOTE="KingsMessenger"][QUOTE="Wii_Gamer_277"]Idk why people are shocked by this, its activsion where talking about and like they predicted MILLIONS of people bought that Rehash known as MW2 so now they can dictate what they wana do with the next installments. Im glad I didnt purchase that game and contribute to IW and activisions ruining of the game industry.RenegadeSynapse

I disagree. The upfront investment in this generation was huge and some studios couldn't keep up. For the few that did like Activision with Modern Warfare, their first big investment was a smashing success. Now the engine is already done and they'll continue to sequelize off of MW for minimum cost.

Publishers are in much the same boat as hardware manufacturers now. They'll take big hits to the pocketbook in the beginning of a generation but should they ride out that storm, there's plenty of market to support their persistence. Publishers merged and snapped up more studios and made other efforts to strengthen their position in this changing market. I don't see why this wouldn't work for the next generation.

Another thing to consider is the fact that consoles continue to inch closer to PC architecture and even in doing so, they remain generations behind the top end of what the PC offers at launch. So, it could be said that the higher definition content you made reference to is already being developed for PC and that's still proving profitable (see Crysis). As long as console manufacturers make an effort to be a little more developer friendly, the next generation should not be that much different in price to the consumer.

I would be wanting to file a law suite over this. You buy a game and play it online for free for about a week or two then Activision wants you to pay to play online from here on out. LOL

That is a scam and people have been sold a product that isn't what they thought it would be.

There is a big difference between crossing the line (selling cheap DLC maps and what not) and insanity by releasing a game and after the first 1 or 2 weeks charging to play the game online from that point on.

I don't own the game but if I did I would be furious

What the heck?

This is not a good business move.

It isn't an MMO for crying out loud.

What the heck?

This is not a good business move.

It isn't an MMO for crying out loud.

lundy86_4

You can call it a business move all you want but its a scam to just about everybody. Its gonna bring a law suite if it they try to do this.

[QUOTE="lundy86_4"]

What the heck?

This is not a good business move.

It isn't an MMO for crying out loud.

Sonwhy

You can call it a business move all you want but its a scam to just about everybody. Its gonna bring a law suite if it they try to do this.

It is a business move :?

Just because it's called a business move, doesn't mean it's a good one.

Also, this isn't a scam. They are charging for the use of something they've created. They're entitled to, doesn't mean it's right though.

I would be wanting to file a law suite over this. You buy a game and play it online for free for about a week or two then Activision wants you to pay to play online from here on out. LOL

That is a scam and people have been sold a product that isn't what they thought it would be.

There is a big difference between crossing the line (selling cheap DLC maps and what not) and insanity by releasing a game and after the first 1 or 2 weeks charging to play the game online from that point on.

I don't own the game but if I did I would be furious

Sonwhy

Idk why people are shocked by this, its activsion where talking about and like they predicted MILLIONS of people bought that Rehash known as MW2 so now they can dictate what they wana do with the next installments. Im glad I didnt purchase that game and contribute to IW and activisions ruining of the game industry.Wii_Gamer_277

I don't know if it works quite like that. Yeah a company can release DLC with a game but I don't think a company can just openly charge gamers to play their game online with the snap of a finger when those gamers bought that game thinking they wouldn't have to pay to play that particular game online. It would be different if they did this before they released the game but you can't get away with the changing the rules like that.

[QUOTE="Sonwhy"]

I would be wanting to file a law suite over this. You buy a game and play it online for free for about a week or two then Activision wants you to pay to play online from here on out. LOL

That is a scam and people have been sold a product that isn't what they thought it would be.

There is a big difference between crossing the line (selling cheap DLC maps and what not) and insanity by releasing a game and after the first 1 or 2 weeks charging to play the game online from that point on.

I don't own the game but if I did I would be furious

KingsMessenger

Well based on the title of this thread it sounds like they were going to start doing that for this game MW2. And as for filing a lawsuit if they did that with this game after releasing it for a week then charging people to play the game online for that point and beyond there would be a lawsuit and it would not be dismissed.

Companies get taken to court all the time for unethical business practices which is exactly what this is.

Corporate Greed beyond a reasonable doubt

Well based on the title of this thread it sounds like they were going to start doing that for this game MW2. And as for filing a lawsuit if they did that with this game after releasing it for a week then charging people to play the game online for that point and beyond there would be a lawsuit and it would not be dismissed.

Companies get taken to court all the time for unethical business practices which is exactly what this is.

Corporate Greed beyond a reasonable doubt

Sonwhy

and console gamers dont cared about the PC boycott. IWnet is just the beginning.

Hahaha I have been saying it for years how rip-off games will become but people kept on buying rip-off things such as DLC etc. What did you expect people? Companies like Activision can see how much they can get away with and console gamers are showing them the way. Paying for Live, useless DLC and in the end COD multilayer will be a monthly fee.

Man Activision is smart I mean I would do the same thing if I was CEO of that company. If people are prepared to be ripped off, then let's do it. Less features, higher price like MW2 and they sell 5 million copies the same day. Next COD installement will be even more expensive and even less features and people will still buy it even more.

Activision are not the bad guys, they are the smart guys, they are in to make as much profit as possible and since people don't mind paying more for less then this will become the new standard. If people were actually smart and not spend money on useless thing's then Activison and other companies would be forced to change their policy and offer more for less money.

Thx console players for destroying gaming.

Man Activision is smart I mean I would do the same thing if I was CEO of that company. If people are prepared to be ripped off, then let's do it. Less features, higher price like MW2 and they sell 5 million copies the same day. Next COD installement will be even more expensive and even less features and people will still buy it even more.

Mitjastiskovski

You keep on saying "less features" while knowing absolutely nothing about it besides the fact that it will have a fee.

[QUOTE="Mitjastiskovski"]

Man Activision is smart I mean I would do the same thing if I was CEO of that company. If people are prepared to be ripped off, then let's do it. Less features, higher price like MW2 and they sell 5 million copies the same day. Next COD installement will be even more expensive and even less features and people will still buy it even more.

Trmpt

You keep on saying "less features" while knowing absolutely nothing about it besides the fact that it will have a fee.

Dude MW2 has the same engine like cod4

console gamer get what they pay for.

Dude MW2 has the same engine like cod4

console gamer get what they pay for.

SLIisaownsystem

How does MW2's engine = facts about an unannounced game?

i gott admit i have payed for a lot of stupid game related things but one thing i never buy into is paying a fee for one game. XBL is different its a service for all the games and features but a fee for one game? thats always been a ridiculous concept to me and as much as i would love to get into mmos more i just cant bring myself to pay that its just OD

[QUOTE="Trmpt"]

[QUOTE="Mitjastiskovski"]

Man Activision is smart I mean I would do the same thing if I was CEO of that company. If people are prepared to be ripped off, then let's do it. Less features, higher price like MW2 and they sell 5 million copies the same day. Next COD installement will be even more expensive and even less features and people will still buy it even more.

SLIisaownsystem

You keep on saying "less features" while knowing absolutely nothing about it besides the fact that it will have a fee.

Dude MW2 has the same engine like cod4

console gamer get what they pay for.

Could this mean that Diablo 3/Starcraft 2 will have monthly fee?

Btw i have to laugh at their idea that there is 'demand to pay up for that'. There is never a demand to pay.

[QUOTE="SLIisaownsystem"]

[QUOTE="Trmpt"]

You keep on saying "less features" while knowing absolutely nothing about it besides the fact that it will have a fee.

dark-warmachine

Dude MW2 has the same engine like cod4

console gamer get what they pay for.

l4d is also a fail imo. Yes most games have the same engine but you can still improve something. Look at capcoms MTframework engine, can you see in DMC4, Dead Rising, Lost Planet and Resident Evil 5 the same engine? I only see it in the motion blur but the rest is different.

[QUOTE="Mitjastiskovski"]

Man Activision is smart I mean I would do the same thing if I was CEO of that company. If people are prepared to be ripped off, then let's do it. Less features, higher price like MW2 and they sell 5 million copies the same day. Next COD installement will be even more expensive and even less features and people will still buy it even more.

Trmpt

You keep on saying "less features" while knowing absolutely nothing about it besides the fact that it will have a fee.

Well MW2 for PC had less features than COD 4 so what makes you think that the next COD won't be the same?

Anyway enjoy being ripped off

Could this mean that Diablo 3/Starcraft 2 will have monthly fee?

Btw i have to laugh at their idea that there is 'demand to pay up for that'. There is never a demand to pay.

KungfuKitten

[QUOTE="KungfuKitten"]

Could this mean that Diablo 3/Starcraft 2 will have monthly fee?

Btw i have to laugh at their idea that there is 'demand to pay up for that'. There is never a demand to pay.

jyoung312

Well MW2 for PC had less features than COD 4 so what makes you think that the next COD won't be the same?

Anyway enjoy being ripped off

Mitjastiskovski

When did I say I was going to pay for the service?

I said that it would be best to actually know what it provided before passing judgment, which it seems that many people here dont want to do. .

well can't say i'm surprised. I think gamers...actually, more like PC gamers, saw that coming months away. But its ok, they always can rely on consolites to bend over for them. Next thing you know they will charge you to unlock game modes(CTF, Domination etc) that were previously standard in previous games.mirgamer

true dat