Activision Unveils New Call of Duty Online Service

Logan Westbrook

Transform, Roll Out, Etc
Feb 21, 2008
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Activision Unveils New Call of Duty Online Service



There is a subscription fee, but Activision says you won't have to pay it to play online.


Activision has thrown back the curtain and revealed a new online service for the Call of Duty games, called "Call of Duty Elite." Elite is the work of the recently announced Beachhead studio, and is designed to expand the Call of Duty experience beyond Xbox Live or PSN.

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According to the Wall Street Journal, Elite will run alongside Modern Warfare 3, offering additional content that is separate from the content that is on the disc itself. Besides having social aspects like groups and leagues, the WSJ says that Elite subscribers will gain access to new multiplayer maps. If this is the case, then it raises certain questions, like what maps will be offered, and how the service will be managed. It's hard to imagine Activision giving away the $15 map packs it sells online, but the occasional individual map is a different story. Elite will also track statistics, giving players the ability to see how well they perform on different maps and with different weapons. If you're a fan of graphs and heat maps, then these features will undoubtedly prove exciting.

Unfortunately, it's not entirely clear how much the service will cost and exactly what parts of it people will have to pay for. The WSJ said that Elite will be a subscription-based service with some free elements - like the social networking side - and posits a price point of $8 a month or less. On the other hand, Infinity Ward's Robert Bowling indicated [http://twitter.com/#!/fourzerotwo/status/75400085307011072 ] that Elite would be a free service, which would feature some premium elements.

The trailer for the service - which you can see above, for however long it remains available - confirms that some parts of Elite are for subscribers only, but again, doesn't specify which ones. Both the WSJ and Bowling have made it clear though, that Activision is not going to charge people to play Call of Duty online. In an interview, Activision CEO Bobby Kotick defended the subscription fee, saying that Elite was a major undertaking, and it wouldn't be able to offer the same level of support if it was completely free.

Activision will reveal more details about the service later today, and we will update once we have them.

Source: Wall Street Journal [http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052702304563104576355310423496054.html?mod=WSJ_hp_LEFTTopStories] via Joystiq [http://www.joystiq.com/2011/05/30/call-of-duty-elite/]












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TheRightToArmBears

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Dec 13, 2008
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You know, so long as the core online play is unaffected I don't really care. I won't get it, but I don't mind it being there.

In any case, cue lots of bitching in 3,2,1..
 

TheEvilCheese

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Dec 16, 2008
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TheRightToArmBears said:
You know, so long as the core online play is unaffected I don't really care. I won't get it, but I don't mind it being there.

In any case, cue lots of bitching in 3,2,1..
Entirely agree with you, but I have a feeling they will be advertising the crap out of it in-game in MW3.

And hasn't Halo had pretty much this (admittedly we don't know the final content of Elite yet, but I digress) for four years? for free? Just wondering how they can justify charging for this sort of service.
 

suitepee7

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Dec 6, 2010
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be interesting to see if this is included on PC (no mention of PC in article). i don't mind it being there, provided they don't skimp out on regular multiplayer content, because i'll be sodomised before i pay £12 for map packs, or subscribe to call of duty...
 

DJTruthsayer

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Mar 24, 2011
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is it just me or are a lot of those things on BLOPS already? i.e. the maps, heat maps, hit locations etc - all in your combat record. it looks to me like its another case of activision chardging whatever they can to milk the COD series.
think i might get battlefield 3 this year.
 

Ilikemilkshake

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Jun 7, 2010
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Most of this stuff could easily have been given for free... but whatever, im not gonna pay for it

The trailer was quite funny though
 

tehroc

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Jul 6, 2009
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Ubisoft forced Activision's hand announcing Ghost Recon Online as a F2P FPS. Which could end up being a better game, as the Tom Clancey games seem to be far more tactical.
 

Thyunda

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May 4, 2009
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Fuck that

Won't stop me buying the game, but I certainly won't be paying no subscription fee. Whose bright idea was it to start making us pay to get special league tables? Still, I guess a thousand Christmases just got easier for two thousand parents.
 

MightyMole

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Mar 5, 2011
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Wait.. So they're starting to do pretty much the same thing Bungie does for free... And then expecting people to pay for it...

Ahaha...

Ahahahahahahahaha...

I get that its an optional service but... C'mon!
 

Dark Harbinger

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Apr 8, 2011
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And so The Empire Strikes Back.

Wait, why am I complaining? That will be keeping the COD kiddies off Battlefield 3!

All is forgiven Bobby.
 

Alfador_VII

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Nov 2, 2009
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I'm pretty sure this is the start of a slippery slope.

What incentive have they got to put any of the good stuff in the "free" version, for which of course you still have to buy the game, and possibly subscribe to Xbox Live. The basic multiplayer will probably turn into little more than a demo/advert for the COD Elite subscription service. This is especially likely given how many people I've seen saying that they're not going to pay more. Therefore Activision have to force the issue to get their money.

As others have pointed out some of the features promised for Elite are already included in the standard no extra charge multiplayer on current COD titles. It's not that paying extra will really get you MORE, it's that you'll have to pay extra to get any real online content.
 

Traun

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Jan 31, 2009
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With 10 million people buying the game I won't be surprised if they have at least 1 million subscribers.
 

rockyoumonkeys

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Aug 31, 2010
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DJTruthsayer said:
is it just me or are a lot of those things on BLOPS already? i.e. the maps, heat maps, hit locations etc - all in your combat record. it looks to me like its another case of activision chardging whatever they can to milk the COD series.
think i might get battlefield 3 this year.
Not to mention that Kotick (or whoever) has already said that they wouldn't be taking things out of the core game and charging extra for them. So it looks like they've already gone back on their word.
 

SpAc3man

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Jul 26, 2009
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Fuck off. If this turns out to be as big of a money stealing piece shit as I think it sounds, I wont be paying for MW3. It has officially left my pre-order list. If whoever is responsible for this crap comes out and somehow makes it all better I may consider reconsidering. I actually liked all that extra multiplayer related stuff in BlOps like the replay system. I will not pay to have features that should be part of the game to start with for no additional cost.
 

Sevre

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Apr 6, 2009
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I have no doubt they're going to be getting a lot of subscribers but $8 a month is pretty expensive for what you're getting. I mean, I could be farming troll ears for that amount, they'll need to throw in something more appealing than that to pull me in.
 

Jonny49

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Mar 31, 2009
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Seems like a giant waste of money.

Trailer made me giggle in some places though.