Pachter Predicts Payments for "Premium" Call of Duty Multiplayer

[samsonguy920]

Well the idea seems fair enough, and doesn't screw over casual players of the game in the process. But where do you really go with a game like CoD as far as a subscription model? I would think people who do buy into it just get bored of it faster, and drop their subscription in favor of the next best thing all the faster than for a typical MMO game.
Possibly the one thing I can see keeping it alive is allowing mod custom content. Player made maps and game mods. Those always add life to a game, but the delicacies of using third party content in a game where people would have to pay for the content is a legal nightmare for both the publisher and the contributors. Nobody is going to forget what Activision did to Infinity Ward anytime soon.

So Activision is already making bazillions with the CoD games and they want more?

Greedy bastards.

"I, John C. McCloy, am in the business to make money." -Mission Impossible 2
Don't expect any business person to be repentant of that. I wouldn't be if I had got myself into such a position. I just wouldn't be an ass about it like Kotick is.

 

[GrandmaFunk]

hey activision, want a way to get subscription-like fees AND not piss off the shrinking number of ppl that don't hate your guts?

RENT DEDICATED SERVERS

oh wait, we told you that last year.

fuckwads.

 

[therookie95]

Watch this prenium ablity let people use modded guns as much as they want
But really, how many people just play this game since half the of their friends are already playing it? That seems to be the only way I even think about playing it.

 

[chaos order]

I think Activison is going to, unfortunately, make bank off this. People will pay anything as long as they can be "superior" to "noobs"

this is exactly why i hate this idea. sure the multiplayer will still be free but the people who pay will have a serious advantage and then weed out the ppl who play for free since they cant win.

 

[Treblaine]

Pachter and Kotick treat making games like manufacturing industrial goods: no passion for the art, no dedication to fans, just unscrupulous and unmitigated market exploitation for the futile pursuit for more money and quicker.

Activision would be low enough to sell an inherent gaming advantage for a monthly fee but they MUST realise that XBox Live is already $4.20 per month which is what they charge for internet access for ALL other games and PS3 charges nothing at all and of course PC, only WoW gets away with $15 per month because, well how much is crack cocaine worth to an addict? COD now has half a dozen real competitors who are not trying to be extortionate with prices.

Really, Activision would HAVE to sell an unfair advantage like better weapons for it to be worth it at all.

 

[Covarr]

Y'all: STOP HATING ON ACTIVISION. THEY SAID NO SUCH DAMN THING. This is a *GUESS* by known moron Michael Pachter. Everything he has ever said has either been completely wrong, or completely obvious. He has never had an intelligent original thought.

Escapist: Please stop reporting on him. Encourage your friends not to either.

P.S. Thanks

 

[IxionIndustries]

Hurrr. I can picture it now:

"CALL OF DUTY: MODERN WARFARE 2; GOLD EDITION!"

You'll be able to join in chats and shit with your friends, and even be able to observe matches, BUT IF YOUR NOT A GOLD SOLDIER, YOU CANNOT JOIN THE FIELD OF BATTLE!

What a steaming pile of shit... But if it takes Kotick's vile gaze away from Starcraft 2, then I'm okay with it.

 

[mjc0961]

Translation: He's trying to save some face after how wrong he was.

He really just needs to shut the fuck up is all. Failing that, otherwise credible news sites should stop reporting his tarot card readings as if he guy had a clue, because he doesn't. And when people stop paying attention to the dipshit, then he'll shut the fuck up.

 

[Delusibeta]

They will never make it attractive to pay more to play a game which isnt an MMo...and already bought.

No matter what they say...No one is ever going to do it.

Yes, that's why nobody's purchased the DLC for Killing Floor.

Oh wait..

Seriously, people will pay for customization options. They will pay for access to tournaments. I can certainly see them paying for access to "premium" maps. The key is simply to keep the subscription costs low enough that people can go, "eh.. why not?"

Poor example, I say. Firstly, the Killing Floor DLCs are cheap: both packs are sub-£2, AFAIK. No way will Acti do that. Secondly, the money is being split between Tripwire, an indie developer, and Valve, probably the most popular developer for PC games (excluding perhaps Blizzard). Thus, some people will buy it just to support them. To say Activision is disliked by some would be grossly understating things.

A better example would be the Just Cause 2 DLCs, although the first problem would arise again.

 

[seditary]

So from what I remember, Pachter said Activision were going to make Call of Duty subscription based, then Activision said they weren't going to do that, so Pachter turns around and says they won't require it but will make a 'premium' service that does.

This guy is hilarious.

 

[Max Carter-Smith]

Combat Arms

http://combatarms.nexon.net - A free online multiplayer FPS (Which in my opinion is better than MW2) that charges for premium content.

The 'Black Market' is a market from which you purchase products with Nexon credit, NX, paid for with your hard earned cash. There are several weapons that are NX only, NX rare and there are NX only servers which you can only access if you have bought NX - These servers have added EXP/GP (Game points, used for renting equipment for periods of time) bonuses.

 

[WhiteTigerShiro]

They will never make it attractive to pay more to play a game which isnt an MMo...and already bought.

No matter what they say...No one is ever going to do it.

Yes, that's why nobody's purchased the DLC for Killing Floor.

Oh wait..

Seriously, people will pay for customization options. They will pay for access to tournaments. I can certainly see them paying for access to "premium" maps. The key is simply to keep the subscription costs low enough that people can go, "eh.. why not?"

Poor example, I say. Firstly, the Killing Floor DLCs are cheap: both packs are sub-£2, AFAIK. No way will Acti do that. Secondly, the money is being split between Tripwire, an indie developer, and Valve, probably the most popular developer for PC games (excluding perhaps Blizzard). Thus, some people will buy it just to support them.

*Raises hand* Guilty! I love Killing Floor, and more than that, I love Tripwire for their relatively fast action in fixing a lot of gripes the game has had. Having bought the game on day one, I've seen the game come a long ways and it's barely been out for a year. So despite having had no plans to use any of the outfits, I bought both costume packs as a way to give Tripwire a thumbs-up (though I did end-up liking one of the skins, so it worked-out anyway).

The problem with Premium multiplayer in MW2 though is that players will face the same barrier that newcomers to Team Fortress 2 tend to face. That is: There's all these players who have been playing the game for a while, and they all have access to weapons that I can't use. The difference though is that in TF2 the new weapons are free, you just have to play a little bit to earn them, so it's an easier pill to swallow. I don't see that being such a good thing if closing that barrier involves having to get your wallet out.

I'm going to call it now: If Activision does this, one of the purchased items will be too powerful, and thus cause a mass exodus when players decide they'd rather play something else than have to pay for a weapon that will let them win matches. If money throws-off the balance of multiplayer, it's just as bad as requiring a subscription fee in the first place. It'll be a difficult balance if Activision plans to walk down that tightrope: If the weapons aren't good enough, no one will buy them; if they're too good it'll just chase players away from the series.

 

[imgunagitusucka]

They will never make it attractive to pay more to play a game which isnt an MMo...and already bought.

No matter what they say...No one is ever going to do it.

Yes they will, the hardcore few who want to grow their e-peen will boast how they kick all sorts of ass on the "real" COD MP that is the premium service. I love MW2 MP and play it almost daily, but I refuse to buy those overpriced map packs, so no prizes for guessing my veiw on this idea. I agree looking for a way to exploit the existing customer base of COD for revenue is quite sensible, I mean if you had ten million customers who are willing to buy just about anything from you, woulnd't you want to sell it to them?

 

[imgunagitusucka]

Man Activision really need to shut Pachter up, I guarantee he's turned hundreds of people off wasting money on Black Ops, I'm not going to be buying it because of this fiasco, I just don't know what kinda shit Kotick will pull, so I'd rather not spend a hundred bucks on a game I won't play the multiplayer for.

I'll be sticking to Medal of Honor and Crysis 2 I think. It's funny when EA is the better publisher here.

I wish I had that option...You see, down here in Australia, EA servers are pretty much unusable. ALL EA TITLES lag to point of pure frustration, making the purchase of games which should be a no brainer buy (BC2,MoH,Crysis2) require serious consideration as to whether being extemely disadvantaged in the online MP is enough reason to not buy the game at all. If EA ditched their crappy servers and went the way that most other games do, they would own the world.

 

[Zing]

I wish I had that option...You see, down here in Australia, EA servers are pretty much unusable. ALL EA TITLES lag to point of pure frustration, making the purchase of games which should be a no brainer buy (BC2,MoH,Crysis2) require serious consideration as to whether being extemely disadvantaged in the online MP is enough reason to not buy the game at all. If EA ditched their crappy servers and went the way that most other games do, they would own the world.

I'm Australian actually, I didn't have anymore issues with BC2 after they ironed out the issues, at least not more then I do with IWNet, which still pisses me off daily.

 

[imgunagitusucka]

I wish I had that option...You see, down here in Australia, EA servers are pretty much unusable. ALL EA TITLES lag to point of pure frustration, making the purchase of games which should be a no brainer buy (BC2,MoH,Crysis2) require serious consideration as to whether being extemely disadvantaged in the online MP is enough reason to not buy the game at all. If EA ditched their crappy servers and went the way that most other games do, they would own the world.

I'm Australian actually, I didn't have anymore issues with BC2 after they ironed out the issues, at least not more then I do with IWNet, which still pisses me off daily.

Wow i honestly find that really surprising, to be honest BC2 is probably the one EA game that is the most playable, but it's awfully inconsistant and doesn't have a green/yellow/red bar indicator which is really annoying. When it lags, it LAAAGS. Also have you ever tried to set up a private/clan match with fellow Aussies? It's a friggen nightmare and when you do eventually get it up and running, it often lags horribly, even with a host with the highest quality bandwidth. Conversly MW2 has what I think is the best net-code on the xbox, even with red bar connections, the lag while certainly noticable, doesn't render the game unplayable. Play with other aussies and it's pretty much flawless IMO, and private matches are piece of cake with no lag or drop-outs.

 

[VanityGirl]

How I feel about any cost of CoD mulitplayer:

No thank you. I really would rather not have to pay for mulitplayer. It seems so... douchebaggish on the company's part.