What accounts for the recent hatred and attacks?

[Toxic34]

The question of this thread is simple? What is the reason for Call of Duty as a whole getting the visceral hatred that it does, where it is now popular and expected to bash any and all new moves that are made?

It is no secret that Call of Duty's image to the general public consciousness is not at all favorable, especially since Ghosts. You know the lines of attack: the series is repetitive, overly commercialized, doesn't innovate, is just a license to print money, in a death spiral of irrelevance, running out of ideas, and so on. But what accounts for the hatred being cranked up to the levels it has recently, with the Infinite Warfare reveal trailer becoming the second-most hated video on YouTube? What is the reason for the series suddenly becoming the leper of the video game world?

In addition, why the criticisms that contradict each other? People complained about the series needing to branch out and do something different after Modern Warfare 3 and Black Ops II. Then these same people see the direction taken, and say that it has lost its way, that the future tech is "phony and pointless" and needs to return to WWII, "back to when it was real!" Why this switch, and why does it make the haters look like either hypocrites or too flighty to know what they actually want?

 

[Carlos]

The question of this thread is simple?

It's not a simple question. No. Sorry. Let's go over the facts:

Call of Duty averages between 12 to 20 Million units sold.
At the current peak of Call of Duty, there has been averages between 500,000 to a Million users online at once every day.
The maximum was edging towards 2 Million users online at one point.
Collectively across all Call of Duty, the franchise itself has sold 150 Million units worldwide.
Each year, it has made Activision $1 Billion.

We good so far? Some argue that the upward trajectory started with COD2, some argued that COD4 (Modern Warfare) revolutionized gaming as we know it today.

Some people didn't like COD2, or COD3 because of the setting. Some people do, however. Same can be said for COD4, World at War, and Black Ops. This has always been a split franchise. There is no pleasing "everyone." Even though the franchise is intended to reach casuals, hardcore gamers, and everyday gamers. Call of Duty today is what Mortal Kombat was in the 1990's. The difference is, Mortal Kombat is still selling, yes. But it's never reached the critical mass that Call of Duty always has gathered. No franchise on earth can be both popular or the most hated franchise in the world. Call of Duty is that. No franchise has done it. And not for this long.

Many franchises fade, go into obscurity, and never return. Most of the time it's after the third iteration of that franchise. Whether intended or not, my point still remains.

What is the reason for Call of Duty as a whole getting the visceral hatred that it does, where it is now popular and expected to bash any and all new moves that are made?

It's just a cool thing to hate Call of Duty today. But what doesn't help, though is the toxic community. No, I am serious. Go into a Call of Duty lobby today, and you'll find assholes within' 5 minutes of your search of a new match, or be dropped into a bad lobby after 3 tries or so.

The other thing is the rampant cheating. It exists, and still does. Find a lobby in BO3 today with lag, and you will think it's a lagswitch - Activision claims that the BO3 servers are dedicated servers, but rumor has it that there's a mix of hybrid or dedicated or both.

Right now, Infinite Warfare is just in the wrong place, at the wrong time. Infinite Warfare would be the 3rd futuristic Call of Duty title. Now, the futuristic theme isn't the problem. It's just that people think "futuristic themes" are played out, and whatnot. First of all, fuck that notion. Second of all, last generation, we didn't have that many futuristic titles. Assassin's Creed, and all of these Oblivion copycats, and then you have these open world games. Those were the themes we got repeatively over and over again in the industry, and it's not Bethesda's fault - they just popularized open world, sword of the rings RPG's.

TitanFall was, and still is in the right place to capture the "futuristic themes" market, while Call of Duty suffers - and it's not Call of Duty's fault. Nor is it the developers. It's Activision. They want to push the franchise into the future. On the flipcoin, I can understand the notion. There were lawsuits against Activision over the use of realistic weapons in Call of Duty. That's why Ghosts was released with "alternate" weapons. Alternate as in, modified versions of weapons we already know about.

Companies want to sue Call of Duty for the money. There's $1 Billion in Activision, you're a gun manufacturer, and you saw your weapon in CoD? You'd file court papers to sue them and get at least a couple millions.

In the case of Infinite Warfare's Modern Warfare Remastered being locked behind Legacy Edition and above are both valid and dumbfounded. Yes, it would have been a "great idea" to release Call of Duty: Modern Warfare Remastered separately, but that's a wrong business move. Pre-order incentives has been a bit boring for Activision for a while now, they have no idea how to incentivize customers with pre-orders. Luckily, someone on twitter said they'd shit their pants if Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare got a remaster. Activision responded to that, and told Raven Software to get to work on remastering COD4. Then, it became a pre-order bonus for Infinite Warfare. At E3 2016, it was revealed that Call of Duty: Modern Warfare Remastered would arrive to PS4 players 30 Days ahead of everyone else. That is one of the craziest pre-order incentive that the video game world has seen thus far. You preorder the game, get your Remastered COD4 before Infinite Warfare, and you're enjoying things!

I'm dumbfounded because people don't realize just how much it costs to develop video games, or flat out don't give a fuck. A lot of people don't even realize that Activision is bleeding money just for selling Infinite Warfare bundled with Modern Warfare Remastered. They really want you to buy the Legacy Editions so they can recoup their investments faster than selling it as an option.

Electronic Arts for example is offering a choice between Battlefield 1 and TitanFall 2. But at least one of those games are going to suffer sales. One will sell better than the other. Because Battlefield 1 has a release date of October 21st, and TitanFall 2 has a release date of October 28.

It is no secret that Call of Duty's image to the general public consciousness is not at all favorable, especially since Ghosts. You know the lines of attack: the series is repetitive, overly commercialized, doesn't innovate, is just a license to print money, in a death spiral of irrelevance, running out of ideas, and so on. But what accounts for the hatred being cranked up to the levels it has recently, with the Infinite Warfare reveal trailer becoming the second-most hated video on YouTube? What is the reason for the series suddenly becoming the leper of the video game world?

I don't listen to those people. Because for one: Call of Duty has been incrementally innovative. The formula is "repetitive," but if you break the formula, there will be people who will walk away with "it's not Call of Duty." Out of ideas? What are you blind? Infinite Warfare is taking Call of Duty to space! Advanced Warfare introduced Exo Suits that allow you to boost jump, and whatnot. Black Ops 2 was a good game that didn't introduce a lot of innovation, but that's a good thing! Black Ops 3 introduced "chained actions." Jump, double jump, walk on walls, shoot. Ghosts was mostly a test for the developer - to get used to the next gen consoles. But people thought it was a bad game because of the bugs, glitches, resolutiongate issues, hit detection, weapon imbalances, and whatnot. Ghosts was a good game, just needed like an extra year of polish. Not a lot of developers got the next gen consoles right. It didn't help matters that it was Multiplatform across Current Gen (PS3, Xbox 360), and Next Gen (PS4, Xbox One).

Now, the funny thing is, during the E3 2016 trailer reel at the PlayStation E3 conference, everyone responded favorably to Infinite Warfare despite this whole YouTube controversy. That was a total 180 turn there.

In addition, why the criticisms that contradict each other? People complained about the series needing to branch out and do something different after Modern Warfare 3 and Black Ops II. Then these same people see the direction taken, and say that it has lost its way, that the future tech is "phony and pointless" and needs to return to WWII, "back to when it was real!" Why this switch, and why does it make the haters look like either hypocrites or too flighty to know what they actually want?

Like I said before, you can't please everyone. The franchise has always been this split, it's just that this year the majority of the fanbase are trying to make their voices heard. It won't work this year because Activision has the best of two worlds with Infinite Warfare and Modern Warfare Remastered.

I have no doubt that Activision will pay a lot of attention to the sales of Battlefield 1 and TitanFall 2 to see where to go next. However, we do know the next developer in rotation is Sledgehammer Games.

 

[Toxic34]

You just perfectly explained everything, far better than I ever could. For that I thank you.

All these things are things we know, and could see. It's a shame others don't.

But these get to some other additional questions that I have.

-Will Infinite Warfare join all the previous games as highest-selling game of the year, even if there is a dip in sales like there was between Ghosts and Advanced Warfare?
-Why did Infinity Ward not follow through on the sequel-baited ending for Ghosts? all, the apparent main antagonist (though he actually isn't) is still alive and working to convert the hero, the real enemy (the current leader of the Federation) hasn't been revealed or touched on, and we definitely could use more background on the Tel Aviv War and the history of the conflict with the Federation.
-Will Sledgehammer Games follow suit with Infinity Ward in abandoning a series, or continue with a sequel to flesh things out, no matter the criticisms?
-Will Call of Duty as a whole branch out, by having a WWI game, a Korea game, a full-fledged Vietnam game, and the like?
-Why do so many currently insist on a return to WWII, when it's very clear that there is literally nothing more that can be done there?

 

[Carlos]

You just perfectly explained everything, far better than I ever could. For that I thank you.

No problem.

All these things are things we know, and could see. It's a shame others don't.

Exactly.

-Will Infinite Warfare join all the previous games as highest-selling game of the year, even if there is a dip in sales like there was between Ghosts and Advanced Warfare?

That was the point of Infinite Warfare + Modern Warfare Remastered. They are taking a risk with this pre-order bonus, and the PlayStation-only exclusive 30 Day "me-first" download. COD4 is the best-selling Call of Duty title at 15.7 Million units. Of course, that was topped by MW2, and subsequent titles, but it's a title many are asking, clamoring for...

-Why did Infinity Ward not follow through on the sequel-baited ending for Ghosts? all, the apparent main antagonist (though he actually isn't) is still alive and working to convert the hero, the real enemy (the current leader of the Federation) hasn't been revealed or touched on, and we definitely could use more background on the Tel Aviv War and the history of the conflict with the Federation.

Ghosts hurt the Call of Duty brand, and I explained why in this thread. Sales were very low, that even Activision's investors were panicking.

-Will Sledgehammer Games follow suit with Infinity Ward in abandoning a series, or continue with a sequel to flesh things out, no matter the criticisms?

Hard to say. They can either bring back the first project (which was put on hold during the course of the MW3 development due to original Modern Warfare developers leaving to start Respawn), or proceed with "Advanced Warfare 2." Activision can take all the criticism, as is the case with Infinite Warfare. They even switched out the final Box Art for Infinite Warfare.

-Will Call of Duty as a whole branch out, by having a WWI game, a Korea game, a full-fledged Vietnam game, and the like?

I don't know, we don't know. Hard to say. But Activision is paying attention to the YouTube backlash, and the E3 reel demo, right now... They're probably waiting for CODXP to gauge feedback from COD fans for multiplayer stuff. Then, after that, they'll watch the reception for Battlefield 1 and TitanFall 2. From there, they'll plan things out. But know this, don't expect anything; whatever the new Call of Duty title is, it's been in development for about 2 years in November. (Or shortly after the release of Advanced Warfare.)

-Why do so many currently insist on a return to WWII, when it's very clear that there is literally nothing more that can be done there?

We haven't covered many facets of some wars, like the fall of iraq, the current world wars that are going on in Paris, Brussels, and whatnot. Players are just bored with what they're given right now. We haven't had a war-based game for a while now - and we're getting that with Infinite Warfare.

The boost/thrust jumps have annoyed some people, myself included. People aren't using the boost/thrust jumps for good reasons. They're doing it for trollish, "I'm better than you" entitled attitude.

 

[Knoxtane]

It is no secret that Call of Duty's image to the general public consciousness is not at all favorable, especially since Ghosts.

This is completely wrong, in my opinion Ghosts was the last "true" call of duty most of the fans enjoyed. The fact of the matter is, the Call of Duty fan base doesn't really know what they want. Let's say half of the community wants jump-pack related movement, while another half doesn't and wants a more traditional movement style. Okay, now for the setting of the game. Half wants futuristic, the other half wants a modern themed shooter. What does this leave the developers to decide. Well, Modern themes have been around since Call of Duty 4, which released in 2007. Then we got one more WWII shooter. After that was, MW2, Black Ops, MW3, Black ops 2. So I see Modern theme is completely washed-out and done with. Keep in mind we had modern themed call of duty games for about 7 whole years. Black ops 2 and Advanced Warfare were not that far into the future and didn't allow the new game elements that COD:IW is bringing.

The great thing about a futuristic theme is the endless imagination it gives the developers. The perfect example is COD: IW. Visiting other planets, flying space ships and battling in space. I have a strong feeling the "hate" on IW is just a really childish 2016 "trend-train" load of bullshit. Almost everything now-a-days is a trend. Don't believe me? that's fine. Take these examples; Hover boards, dabbing, vines, arthur memes, spongebob memes. So I strongly believe CoD:IW is exactly what the Call of Duty community needs, that and a giant slap in the face.

- Raddect.

 

[Toxic34]

This is completely wrong, in my opinion Ghosts was the last "true" call of duty most of the fans enjoyed. The fact of the matter is, the Call of Duty fan base doesn't really know what they want. Let's say half of the community wants jump-pack related movement, while another half doesn't and wants a more traditional movement style. Okay, now for the setting of the game. Half wants futuristic, the other half wants a modern themed shooter. What does this leave the developers to decide. Well, Modern themes have been around since Call of Duty 4, which released in 2007. Then we got one more WWII shooter. After that was, MW2, Black Ops, MW3, Black ops 2. So I see Modern theme is completely washed-out and done with. Keep in mind we had modern themed call of duty games for about 7 whole years. Black ops 2 and Advanced Warfare were not that far into the future and didn't allow the new game elements that COD:IW is bringing.

The great thing about a futuristic theme is the endless imagination it gives the developers. The perfect example is COD: IW. Visiting other planets, flying space ships and battling in space. I have a strong feeling the "hate" on IW is just a really childish 2016 "trend-train" load of bullshit. Almost everything now-a-days is a trend. Don't believe me? that's fine. Take these examples; Hover boards, dabbing, vines, arthur memes, spongebob memes. So I strongly believe CoD:IW is exactly what the Call of Duty community needs, that and a giant slap in the face.

- Raddect.

I completely agree with you there. A lot of it seems to be childish temper tantrums that gets hyped up to ludicrous levels. Also, WWII and modern themes have been done to death, not just by CoD, but other series as well. The only thing remotely left was to finish the sequel-baited story of Ghosts, which I'd been hoping for, but I know IW will be a great game, possibly better than what a Ghosts sequel would've been. Well, AW will likely continue in next year's title.

But of course, the press loves their narratives, especially if it's "CoD is irrelevant/facing the greatest existential crisis in its history!" YouTube reviewers know its popular to hate the series, and tailor their reviews as such. Was it a surprise that Angry Joe, who hasn't been truly relevant in some time and has lost much of what made him good in the first place and has become fond of shady behavior through social media (much Doug Walker aka Nostalgia Critic) roasts every new CoD game, despite his admission that he never really played a game all the way through since MW2? Not really. Even his anti-Gamergate stance, which is currently the most laudable thing about him today, is done in a shady and unethical manner (but a warning to people: I'm not gonna discuss Gamergate to anyone here, especially if you believe in it. I'm simply not gonna get involved in that. I will say as my only word on it: Todd in the Shadows did NOT use JewWario to score points. He was just remarking on what his opinion likely would've been had he lived to see it. And when people complained, he apologized, even though he didn't have to. And people still give him shit even though he did what they wanted. It's a total farce.).

In the end, the series will still sell well and give people great enjoyment. I also think there should be more branching out, like a general Vietnam game, a Korea game, and maybe even join Battlefield in WWI.