Activision: Social Networks Like Call Of Duty Elite Will Soon Be A Necessity [Activision Thinks That Services Like Call Of Duty Elite Will Be Deemed Necessary By The Gaming Public In Coming Years]

Posted on TFTS by Eric Abent on Monday, 26. September 2011 under: Computer/Console Gaming

Activision has been making a lot of waves with their Call of Duty Elite service lately. Some look at it as a great addition to the Call of Duty seires of shooters while others are a little less than excited that they’ll have to pay a fee to access all of the features of the service.

However you feel about it, Activision seems to think that they’re pioneers and that they’re laying the groundwork for something that will be “necessary,” in the future of video games. In an interview with MCV, Activision’s Jamie Berger explained why they think social networks will be a required feature of triple-A games in the future:

We believe that a 24/7, year-round services strategy that broadens the game experience beyond just playing is going to be a necessity. Right now, it’s an option but in three to five years, it won’t be. To support a diverse player base, you will have to have a services and ongoing content strategy. I don’t see how games are going to manage without that. Elite is about Call of Duty being bigger than ever five years from now and laying the groundwork for that.

If Activision really wants people to view Call of Duty Elite as necessary moving forward, it might be a better idea if they get rid of the fee altogether, instead offering all of the services for Call of Duty Elite for free and not trying to give DLC as bonuses that have nothing to do with a stat tracking service.

In any case, Activision is a little late to the social networking show with Call of Duty Elite. After all, the Halo series has had the same kind of stat tracking service where users can share screenshots and video on bungie.net for years now. It makes you wonder why Activision took so long to implement something like this when they have the biggest FPS franchise in the world.

Still, I’m sure tons of players will dish out the fee for Call of Duty Elite’s premium service, I’m sure they’ll love it, and I’m sure Activision will make a great deal of money off of it. Don’t get me wrong, after hearing about all of the features Call of Duty Elite will sport, I think it’s a great idea, I’m just a little bit disappointed that companies like Activision think the need to charge for every little feature fans have been asking for.

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