It's official, Activision has become money hungry

http://arstechnica.com/gaming/news/...tm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=rss

Not that it wasn't official before this, but now there is no denying it. Activision wants to tack on an additional $50 yearly subscription to Call of Duty. Now of course you won't need this subscription to play online or anything, but according to the linked article, there's so many benefits of having it that you really almost have to buy it or else you face being at a big disadvantage to other players.

While you can argue that this is a good value, that does not change the fact that all this is is a way for them to ramp up their DLC profits. Also, games like Halo have offered most of the features of Call of Duty: Elite for the past 4 years (aside from 'free' DLC). Now Call of Duty finally has it AND we have to pay? WHAT?

 

Looks like I wont be buying this game after all... I'll stick with mw2.

 

I'm not rich but money isnt a big problem for me since i always find work. I'm going to buy this game if i like the beta and if i buy it im buying the hardened version. Not gonna get screwed in all the ways they mentioned

 

I would probably do that too if the Hardened edition was only like $10-$20 more than the normal version, but it's $40 more. Fuck that. I'm buying the PC version anyway, which as far as I can tell doesn't even have a hardened version -_-

Dammit.

 

I wanna check out some other upcoming FPS games also because it is getting outrageous

 

Pretty sure Activision has always been money hungry as you hinted as with every COD game they release a map pack before the release of the next COD to squeeze out the remaining money they can get out of fanboys and rich kids

As for the subscription thing, I'm still not getting it as I have a PS3 which means I'm too fucking cheap to pay $60 a year on XBox Live.

I just hope the advantages are like being member on Runescape vs F2P

EDIT: Pretty pissed that after map packs comes this BS. And since map packs sold by the millions as the article stated then the elite sub will no doubt be a hit as hardcore gamers would not want to miss out and get left behind. The article also does make me wonder what bullshit we will have to pay for next year -.-

 

Activision has been money hungry since 2009. They made that clear with the over overpriced shitty Lag Ops DLCs.

 

Tbh, I've known they were money hungry ever since they started this whole thing where they release a new COD every single year. Little did I know they'd find even more ways to milk it -_-

 

This is just sad. Be ready for the death of COD.

 

I've known about this idea for over a year now.

It comes as no surprise to me, needless to say I wont buy it and I doubt I'll be online.

 

Activision has ALWAYS been money hungry, their motto seeming to be "quantity and productivity over quality". It works for them, as most suckers end up buying the same thing every year anyway. Now would usually be the time I'd say, "but I'm smarter than them so I won't buy the game", however, it's most likely I will because friends will. So there's my incentive to bite the bullet. I will NOT be paying the elite service, however. Getting earlier access to content? Who gives a fuck? I'm a casual player, if it means I get stomped on for the first few times by people who have been practicing the content for months, it won't matter. If they get better guns or similar, well hell, I prefer to kill them with worse ones.

 

Already preordered this game on steam + BF3 on origin. I dont know im going to be a premium since im not a pros its just the only games i like to play with some MMOs.

PROFITS? why not... i dont see why they wouldnt do that they know theres thousands gamers whos going to buy it. Its fine 50$ a years thats cheaper than Runescape memberships.

 

Exactly. I just buy it, because my friends do. I long ago told them I wouldn't be buying another shit COD game, but I do eventually get dragged into it. Every year, its the same, just slightly different time-periods, and crappier maps.

I tell my friends "Why not play a BioWare game? They pwn" and they reply "Because it's not COD"... it seems that gaming has become as much of a "brand" as clothing.

 

Mw3 is a game that I wont EVER be buying, and it's not because I don't want to pay the 50$, it's just the fact how the game is going to be such a disadvantage to the players who don't buy the extra stuff.

 

+1 this big fella

 

I really hope dont they do it, if they do it, i will not support them anymore, i will go to BF3.

 

It isn't a matter of it being too expensive. It's the principle of things. They think that just because they're Activision and Call of Duty that they can put some generic service out there that other games have offered for years now and charge a premium for it. It's bullshit. They put out a new game every single year for no reason other than the money. I understand that they're a business, and that businesses are in the business of making money no matter what, but when they start sacrificing game quality in order to push content out faster (their logic: more money at a faster rate) I get a little irritated, and rightfully so. If they would spend more than one year developing a game, they would actually be able to do more in terms of innovation. I'm tired of playing the same rehashed game for 4 years now. Seriously, that's it. They've introduced minuscule changes over the course of 4 years now (Call of Duty 4 -> now) without doing any single huge innovation. The only key difference between any of the Call of Duty games are maps, guns, and perks. Take a look at the differences between Halo 3 and Reach... quite extensive right? Not trying to say that Reach is a better game than Halo 3 (it's not) but the point is they went out on a limb and tried to mix things up in an attempt to keep the gameplay from getting stale. The developers behind Call of Duty have made not a single attempt to do so, quite the opposite actually. They found a formula people like and now they're milking every last dollar they possibly can out of it.

 

I play Bf3 so that I don't get screwed out of my money, and because it is an all around better game... True story! Granted... if MW3 was decent I might have gotten it, but with the $50 yearly BS, I'm not playin it. lol

 

Yeah I'm getting both, but I'm kinda starting to reconsider my MW3 preorder. If I got it, it would be solely for the purpose of making YouTube vids with it. My main game is definitely gonna be BF3

 

Right on. The sad fact is COD sets sales records on release, while better and deserving games sit on the shelf.