Activision To "Monetize" Call of Duty Online Play

With Call of Duty: World at War set to hit store shelves this November, Activision has been making plans to monetize the online component of the game. "Infinity Ward-developed CoD4 has paid downloadable maps available on digital storefronts, but with CoD5, developed by Activision studio Treyarch, downloadable content will be a considerably bigger priority. Griffith added that Activision 'plans to increase online monetization' with CoD5, offering '3x the amount of content available for download and premium content called Day One Advantage.'" Activision also announced that for Call of Duty 6 they will be going back to Infinity Ward for development, the company who developed the first, second, and fourth offerings in the series. Treyarch made the third and fifth installments.

Re:Day One Advantage

[Renraku]

If they want me to pay monthly for a game, its not out of my budget.

Nor is it out of the budget of MOST dedicated gamers.

However, they have to earn it. I don't consider 'Gun +1' to be worthy of buying. So count that out. If they REALLY want my money, what they can do is give my characters a chance to build up. Not just unlock items. Even farther, I demand moderation and active cheat protection..not just a program that loads into the background if any, but a fast and timely response to banning cheaters. Lets go another step, since I like money..I want free content. New maps semi-regularly, maybe new talents, new customization options, etc, for free. I'll pay for an expansion in the future, if it offers a LOT of content.

But I expect that a LOT of content also be released, over time, for free, if I'm paying monthly for the game.

Re:Day One Advantage

[afidel]

Actually I dislike the WoW model. I bought BC because I thought it might bring enough enjoyment with new content to make the game worth playing again, I played for about 15 days and vowed never to touch WoW again because BC was the same game with some new sprites, definitely NOT worth the money for the expansion pack and certainly not worth the monthly fee. I prefer the Diablo model, free online play and new content via expansion packs. I'm frankly quite suprised that there wasn't a second expansion pack for Diablo 2 at least as that game STILL sells copies today!

Fall of the meritocracy?

[srothroc]

Computer hardware notwithstanding, I always saw online gaming as a kind of meritocracy where the most skilled could advance to the top and achieve some kind of fame in whatever social circle they played in.

These kinds of "monetizations" seem to unbalance that a bit by offering new, useful things in-game to people who can afford to pay a bit more. Can't afford to buy the maps? Well, too bad, because you won't be able to practice all you want on those maps. Can't afford the gear, the guns? Too bad, you'll have to make do with what you have.

It's a shame. I think they should either just put the stuff in the game or not put it in at all.

Can you imagine if you had had to pay three bucks per upgrade in Mega Man X, and ten bucks for the special hadouken? What a ripoff.

Re:Monietize WTF?

[grahamd0]

I love how they invented a totally new word that really means screw the consumer.

They didn't invent the word, actually, but you're pretty close on the definition.

Re:word play

[Goldberg's Pants]

I loathe that damn word, "monetize". The software industry is without a doubt the greediest industry in the world. I mean the movie industry have tried, with DIVX, to make you pay every time you watch a movie, but that failed miserably.

The software industry, though, has a customer base largely filled with suckers who pay for an account on an online service, and who then pay for content that should have been in the game in the first place in many cases. Almost the entire industry is fueled by greed, treats their customers like thieves with increasingly intrusive and restrictive DRM, and comes up with more and more ways to fleece the consumer.

Valve have the right idea. Treat the customers decently. The content updates for TF2, they've already said they're being forced to charge for them on the Xbox even though they don't want too. The PC versions will remain free, as Valve believe in not fleecing their customers. Same goes for Stardock. Galactic Civilizations 2 has received two expansions, but they've added SO much stuff for free. The upcoming 2.0 patch includes some fairly major additions. Far beyond what you could ever expect for free from the likes of Activision.

It's nice to know there are a few holdouts who seem to believe in putting the experience and the games above the financial avarice of the likes of Activision and EA.

What content?

[g0bshiTe]

I currently play COD4 I'd like to know what content is being charged for?

This model makes no sense if it's a map.
You pay x for the map, you upload it to your server, people join, your server is set to allow map downloads. Not sure about other servers, but the one I play in. that's 10k people daily getting your map free.