China Gets Free-To-Play Call of Duty

[Fanghawk]

China Gets Free-To-Play Call of Duty

The Chinese-exclusive Call of Duty Online will introduce "tens of millions" to the franchise.

While the rest of the world prepares for the November release of Black Ops II, Chinese gamers are already gearing up for Call of Duty Online. Coming exclusively to China, CoDO will adapt many game modes depicted in previous Call of Duty titles with the addition of a co-op story campaign. Most importantly, the game will be free-to-play, making full use of microtransactions through an in-game store.

The Chinese version of the popular FPS will be familiar to most CoD fans, but the free-to-play model will allow for some interesting changes. Weapons, gear, and perks can be purchased and personalized prior to starting a game, many of which are designed specifically with a Chinese player base in mind. Call of Duty Online won't come with a single-player mode, but its co-op story campaign will take the form of a series of Special Operations missions set in the Modern Warfare universe. No further details about the campaign have been revealed, but a leaked trailer for the game does include a voiceover of fan-favorite character Captain Price.

Call of Duty's arrival in China has actually been expected for some time now. Analyst Mike Hickey predicted that an online only CoD would be released <a href=http://www.escapistmagazine.com/news/view/104151-Analyst-Predicts-Modern-Warfare-3-Will-Be-a-Sledgehammer-Game>by March of this year, while <a href=http://www.escapistmagazine.com/news/view/109883-Micro-Transaction-Based-Call-of-Duty-Coming-To-China>an Activision 2011 Quarterly Earnings Report revealed that a microtransaction-based title was in the works. What wasn't certain was that the game itself would be free, but perhaps it should have been. Given the fact that software piracy is rampant in certain areas of the country, going free-to-play eliminates the need for pirated versions and keeps control in the hands of publishers.

The Chinese-exclusive is the result of a partnership between Activision and internet giant Tencent, the latter of which pulls in a third of China's massive online games revenue. Founder Ma Hua Teng considers the deal a "strategic co-operation" that will draw tens of millions of players to the franchise. We might not even have long to wait before release; shortly after the announcement, a website went live that currently gives visitors nothing but a countdown. Whether the game will go live once the countdown finishes or game details will be made available remains to be seen.

Sources: Joystiq, <a href=http://www.gamasutra.com/view/news/173494/Call_of_Duty_Online_comes_to_China_via_Activision_Tencent_agreement.php?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+GamasutraNews+%28Gamasutra+News%29>Gamasutra

Permalink

 

[TilMorrow]

Hmm, but will it be popular? On a separate note, I'm laughing at the timed use of wubs with certain gunshots in the trailer, it just sounds silly.

 

[DigitalSushi]

That's really good Business acumen on Activision's part, I mean really good, well done Bobby Kotick.

Now I feel dirty for congratulating him.

 

[FogHornG36]

im not sure how to feel about this... china gets a free to play cod, while everyone else needs to buy the next copy every year? or maybe they are just geting the old stuff from the last few games.

Really the only thing i liked was seeing was the cod4 maps, i played the crap out of cod4, but almost completely stopped caring after that.

 

[kajinking]

Honestly I went into this article expecting a unoffical COD ripoff similar to what happened to TF2.

 

[antipunt]

Watch out China, ITS A TRAP

 

[sephiroth1991]

Activision you know the word "free", my god!!!

OT:I wonder how popular a game like this will be in China

 

[Bobic]

Weapons, gear, and perks can be purchased and personalized prior to starting a game, many of which are designed specifically with a Chinese player base in mind.

Just out of curiosity, what gear and perks have they added that specifically appeal to the Chinese?

Also, is that actually Captain Price or is it just some guy doing a Captain Price impression? It sounds a bit off to me.

 

[TheLastSamurai14]

Activision you know the word "free", my god!!!

Oh dear, they also seem to know the word "microtransaction". With Activision's reputation for CoD's pricing scheme, however, I'm expecting maps to cost the equivalent of $5 or more apiece, and perhaps for every new gun, perk, etc as well.

So I guess it's not so much an understanding of "microtransactions" as it is "more frequent DLC with higher prices".

 

[Waaghpowa]

I laughed when I realized that this version of CoD will probably get more patches in a month than all of the previous CoD games combined.

 

[ThePS1Fan]

I hope the game has a dubstep track that stops short of the bass drop every time someone dies. That'll make it so much better.

 

[Not G. Ivingname]

So, by the looks of it, just took the maps and guns from Call of Duty MW1 and MW2, repackaged them as a free-2-play game, and made the people yell out things in Chinese, and added micro-transactions.

I wonder if it will follow the trend of about every other Chinese free-to-play game so it will be pay-to-win.

 

[Jimi Bove]

Why China? I'm surprised that something like this isn't being released internationally, or to the US first, or at least being announced to come here eventually. It's not that I'm complaining or that I'm frustrated/sad (I don't play CoD games these days); I'm just wondering why a US company making a game that appeals to US players first is doing some cool, new thing for a different country, especially since America tends to get special treatment from most people/things, not just its own companies. Obviously, there's something about China that plays into a strategy Activision has related to demographics and/or a business model, and I'm curious about what it could be.

 

[Sight Unseen]

Why China? I'm surprised that something like this isn't being released internationally, or to the US first, or at least being announced to come here eventually. It's not that I'm complaining or that I'm frustrated/sad (I don't play CoD games these days); I'm just wondering why a US company making a game that appeals to US players first is doing some cool, new thing for a different country, especially since America tends to get special treatment from most people/things, not just its own companies. Obviously, there's something about China that plays into a strategy Activision has related to demographics and/or a business model, and I'm curious about what it could be.

If they released a paid regular version to China it'd probably get pirated to hell by the players and censored to hell by the government, and so Activision would lose out. Making it free microtransaction based will mean Acti will see some profit, and having it be a separate release with no actual story means they can adapt it to fit chinese standards.


Seems like a smart move to me, even though I DESPISE Activision.

 

[weirdee]

Weapons, gear, and perks can be purchased and personalized prior to starting a game, many of which are designed specifically with a Chinese player base in mind.

Just out of curiosity, what gear and perks have they added that specifically appeal to the Chinese?

Also, is that actually Captain Price or is it just some guy doing a Captain Price impression? It sounds a bit off to me.

They probably made it into some sort of gun lottery game, where you have to buy unmarked boxes and hope you get the pink sparkly cat edition of the M4.

 

[NLS]

im not sure how to feel about this... china gets a free to play cod, while everyone else needs to buy the next copy every year? or maybe they are just geting the old stuff from the last few games.

Really the only thing i liked was seeing was the cod4 maps, i played the crap out of cod4, but almost completely stopped caring after that.

Releasing it as a free to play game is actually the only profitable way, no matter how absurd that might sound. In countries like China, pirated games is the de-facto way of obtaining your games. You simply cannot compete against the price of a pirated disc that goes for 4$ or less on the market. In addition to this, a lot of people just play at internet cafes instead of investing in a gaming pc with good internet connection at home. So how do you sell a product that costs 60$ when it's cheaper to either buy a pirated version or play a pirated version at an internet cafe? You give it away for "free" and then let microtransactions take care of the rest.
This is just the way they have to do it in the east, and Activision isn't the first company to extend into that territory, CS: Online and Battlefield Online have already established themselves, and Crytek's Warface will follow up in much the same manner.
Here in the west we do get some nice F2P games released by AAA studios, like TF2 and BF: Play4Free, but the big publishers might be wary of competing against their own products (why pay 60$ for MW3 and additional money for Elite when you can just get it for free without the shitty campaign?).
It all comes down to different markets and how the publishers can deliver products that are affordable to customers but also profitable to the company.