Activision CEO Thanks EA for Raising Awareness of COD

John Funk

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Dec 20, 2005
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Activision CEO Thanks EA for Raising Awareness of COD

EA's relentless hunt for the Call of Duty throne has driven awareness for the mammoth military shooter, says Activision Publishing boss Eric Hirshberg.

Call of Duty is king of the shooter world, and Activision Publishing CEO Eric Hirshberg (and associates) have a vested interest in keeping it that way. Of course, Hirshberg is under no illusions that others want to take the crown - but thinks that EA's interview with MCV UK [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/news/view/109072-EA-CEO-Battlefield-3-Is-Designed-to-Take-COD-Down]. "So, the first thing I say to them is 'Thanks for the assistance in building awareness.'"

That said, Hirshberg said that Activision was acutely aware of the competition that Call of Duty felt every year, and that it wasn't easy to maintain its lead. "Last year we had Halo: Reach and Medal of Honor, and it's not like they weren't amazing developers gunning for the top of this mountain either. And it's the same this year - Gears of War is back along with lots of other games."

The goal, he said, was to focus on the end result, rather than what competitors were doing. By making the best game that the developers could, Hirshberg said, Activision hoped that COD would maintain its lead in the face of stiff competition.

Hirshberg also discussed the recently-announced Call of Duty Elite [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/news/view/110483-Activision-Unveils-New-Call-of-Duty-Online-Service], describing it as a service that "supercharges the multiplayer experience." He said that the average Black Ops player spends 58 minutes a day playing the game - as opposed to the average Facebook user, who spends 55 minutes a day on the site - and while that number was hugely encouraging, he said it was also frustrating to have a "passionate social community" without any ways to "unlock it" or make players closer.

"Elite lets you choose which players to play with, or choose people on a similar skill level, or [Manchester United] fans, or join a group or squad based on a passion ... Suddenly, players have the chance to curate their experience. We're even making a suite of linear video content for fans - much in way ESPN would do that for their audience."

Activision has said that parts of COD Elite will be monetized, but Hirshberg said that a "big chunk" of the service will be completely free - and that Activision hadn't decided what it wanted to charge for yet. "We have to protect the momentum we have," he explained. "Elite is a tremendous investment that further connects the fanbase to the game. We want to give something back that makes the experience for them better.

"That said if we have succeeded in creating a big enough service which people then wish to pay to access more of, then great."

The full interview with Activision's Eric Hirshberg is over at MCV UK [http://www.mcvuk.com/features/943/INTERVIEW-Eric-Hirshberg], and it's a really interesting read for COD fans (or COD anti-fans - you know the type). I have to say, though, that Eric Hirshberg comes off exponentially more personable, likable and passionate about videogames than his boss Bobby Kotick. Why can't Activision just use him for all its interview needs instead?

(MCV UK [http://www.mcvuk.com/features/943/INTERVIEW-Eric-Hirshberg])

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Jabberwock King

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I call bullshit on this. If you don't know what Call of Duty is, then congratulations! You don't exist.

Disclaimer: Statement meant to apply to countries that have populations with disposable income and access to games, please do not flood my inbox with attempts to disprove blatant sarcasm.

Update: In a rush to post my comment, I failed to thoroughly read the article. I'll get right on that... Wow, thanks for the headline. Came in thinking that the article was mostly about Activision ripping on EA, but I still standby my attempt at a witty joke.
 
Jun 11, 2008
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Do we really have to do jabs at things that go against the main stream in news posts especially concerning CoD. I mean we had this with MW2 when one news poster brought up the dedicated server petition being a less worthy and laughable cause than getting a colour blind mode when mods could of made a colour blind mode.

OT: As long as they make the main stuff free then I have no problem with the Elite service. Nearly everything it offers that I can see if already on offer by free by the competition and 3rd parties. It would sadden me to see people paying good money for something that should be free if it does turn out to be the case.

Not that I'll be buying the next one on launch anyway I might let it stew for a bit to see what happens.
 

John Funk

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Dec 20, 2005
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Glademaster said:
Do we really have to do jabs at things that go against the main stream in news posts especially concerning CoD. I mean we had this with MW2 when one news poster brought up the dedicated server petition being a less worthy and laughable cause than getting a colour blind mode when mods could of made a colour blind mode.

OT: As long as they make the main stuff free then I have no problem with the Elite service. Nearly everything it offers that I can see if already on offer by free by the competition and 3rd parties. It would sadden me to see people paying good money for something that should be free if it does turn out to be the case.

Not that I'll be buying the next one on launch anyway I might let it stew for a bit to see what happens.
Excuse me? What was taking a jab at the anti-mainstream? I mean that honestly: There are lots of people out there who make it their mission on game sites to talk about how much they hate COD, and I think it'd be an interesting interview for them to read. No value judgment whatsoever.
 

RA92

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John Funk said:
"I think EA might talk about our games in the press more than we do," he joked in an interview with MCV UK [http://www.mcvuk.com/features/943/INTERVIEW-Eric-Hirshberg]. "So, the first thing I say to them is 'Thanks for the assistance in building awareness.'"
Oh burn! XD

Hopefully that'll shut EA up.
 
Jun 11, 2008
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John Funk said:
Glademaster said:
Do we really have to do jabs at things that go against the main stream in news posts especially concerning CoD. I mean we had this with MW2 when one news poster brought up the dedicated server petition being a less worthy and laughable cause than getting a colour blind mode when mods could of made a colour blind mode.

OT: As long as they make the main stuff free then I have no problem with the Elite service. Nearly everything it offers that I can see if already on offer by free by the competition and 3rd parties. It would sadden me to see people paying good money for something that should be free if it does turn out to be the case.

Not that I'll be buying the next one on launch anyway I might let it stew for a bit to see what happens.
Excuse me? What was taking a jab at the anti-mainstream? I mean that honestly: There are lots of people out there who make it their mission on game sites to talk about how much they hate COD, and I think it'd be an interesting interview for them to read. No value judgment whatsoever.
That's fair enough and I know people do go out of their way to do it. They do it for everything from CoD to Halo to JRPGs and it does get irritating. What I am saying is that it seems that nearly every news post made about CoD feels the need to mention it. I gave the example of the other news post not that I remember who wrote about where they felt the need to say that other boycott was a lot of shit. It wasn't really relevant nor did add anything major to the post which is what I feel here. While it may be true and I am not claiming it not to be true it doesn't really seem to add anything to the post from where I am sitting.

If you are wondering the specific line it is CoD anti fans you know the type. I just don't see the point in it other than to poke fun in a kind of forced way.
 

Reaper195

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You know...I would care more about the CoD series if the stories weren't so A: short and B: somewhat inconsistent.

Jabberwock King said:
I call bullshit on this. If you don't know what Call of Duty is, then congratulations! You don't exist.
I think many people in Africa would siagree with them not existing. Hehehe...
 

Jabberwock King

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Reaper195 said:
You know...I would care more about the CoD series if the stories weren't so A: short and B: somewhat inconsistent.

Jabberwock King said:
I call bullshit on this. If you don't know what Call of Duty is, then congratulations! You don't exist.
I think many people in Africa would disagree with them not existing. Hehehe...
You may want to see the disclaimer I put right below that statement in anticipation of the shitstorm that is to follow. Thanks for the critical analysis though.
 

Grey_Gore

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John Funk said:
that Eric Hirshberg comes off exponentially more personable, likable and passionate about videogames than his boss Bobby Kotick. Why can't Activision just use him for all its interview needs instead?
Quoted for truth, if this interview is anything to go by at any rate. Is that him pictured? If so, he even *looks* like a better choice for Activision's PR needs than Kotick.
 

DaHero

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Jan 10, 2011
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I say we forget about CoD, wasn't fun in the first place so what's going to change?
 

SovietSecrets

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Nov 16, 2008
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I'd like to thank EA and Activision for making great games that I continue to buy...long as they are quality games and don't turn out like Black Ops.
 

The Random One

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Yes, because poor CoD has so little awareness, the poor thing.

It's my second comment in a row that essentially was 'Yes, .' What have you done with me, Escapist?
 

jericu

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Oct 22, 2008
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"Elite lets you choose which players to play with, or choose people on a similar skill level, or [Manchester United] fans, or join a group or squad based on a passion ... Suddenly, players have the chance to curate their experience. We're even making a suite of linear video content for fans - much in way ESPN would do that for their audience."

So... They're copying Steam now?
 

Trishbot

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Who is this Eric Hirshberg guy? He comes across as smart, professional, passionate, funny, and endearingly competitive (as opposed to annoyingly smug and competitive).

I... I almost don't hate Activision uncontrollably. I may actually.... LIKE... this guy and this interview? What madness is this?! It feels wrong! Strange! Someone, help!
 

sluggyfreelancer

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I've heard this name before...never seen his picture though. Always that damn Kotick. At least this guy seems quite likeable.
 

The Wykydtron

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Sep 23, 2010
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Raiyan 1.0 said:
John Funk said:
"I think EA might talk about our games in the press more than we do," he joked in an interview with MCV UK [http://www.mcvuk.com/features/943/INTERVIEW-Eric-Hirshberg]. "So, the first thing I say to them is 'Thanks for the assistance in building awareness.'"
Oh burn! XD

Hopefully that'll shut EA up.
Shut EA up? Now why would you want to do that? They're so good at contradicting themselves! Any statement they make is a barrel of fun!

Unlike like Activision where it's a barrel full of very wealthy fish that you just want to unload several shotgun shells into...

OT: Man i wish Bobby had actually made a statement on this one rather than this reasonable decent looking man. It would have been way more fun.