[CoD MW3] 'Elite' service

CORaven · 11-06-2011 12:46PM

Twilightning, you seem unhappy that people are willing to buy a similar game again for a similar price. Can I ask why? From my point of view, I see buying a similar game advantageous to the consumer.

You know what you are getting and the controls will be familiar.
You have an idea how much enjoyment you will get from the game.
The series can be seen as an actual series that can be picked up and played at any time and it does not feel too dated. An example of this would be the gears of war - you really do not want to play them in reverse order due to game play mechanics progressing to what I find, significant changes.

I know they sound like weak points, but people prefer familiarity over change.

As for the premium content of the Elite service and DLC, basic microeconomics and just good business practice. Pricing to market is a way of selling a product to a group for a price they want to pay for it. It is good for both the consumer and the seller. If you want to have a CoD multiplayer experience for €50, you can. If you want an enhanced CoD multiplayer experience for €95 (/€80/€65) you can. The Elite service will be a better way for the market to be segregated, offering a more enhanced service for which you do not have to pay.

If the prices ever become ridiculous, again basic microeconomics will put Activison in their place.

Magill · 11-06-2011 01:11PM

Did everyone miss what they said at E3 ?

They've said that everything annouced so far will be free and that the only thing we know about the premium service is that you'll get map packs included with it.

Twilightning · 11-06-2011 02:59PM

CORaven wrote: »

Twilightning, you seem unhappy that people are willing to buy a similar game again for a similar price. Can I ask why? From my point of view, I see buying a similar game advantageous to the consumer.

How is buying a game that's pretty much copy-pasted from its last incarnation at full retail price alongside a premium service that should be free advantageous to the consumer? The only reason Activision are doing this in the first place is because they know the majority of their playerbase won't ever bother asking for more. All I'm doing is asking people to take a step back and look at what they're doing and how their playing experience could be miles better elsewhere instead of just blindly buying into a franchise with brand loyalty just because it's 'familiar'. If we just stuck to our guns and never offered any alternatives or innovation in the video games industry across all genres, the gaming landscape as we know it would be woefully boring and unenjoyable. It sets a bad example and I'm just waiting for the next triple A developer to jump on the bandwagon and pull the same thing Activision are doing. Overcharing people and placing fees on features that should be free in the first place because people will fall for it and that it's 'familiar'.

CORaven wrote: »

You know what you are getting and the controls will be familiar.

You have an idea how much enjoyment you will get from the game.

The series can be seen as an actual series that can be picked up and played at any time and it does not feel too dated. An example of this would be the gears of war - you really do not want to play them in reverse order due to game play mechanics progressing to what I find, significant changes.

I know they sound like weak points, but people prefer familiarity over change.

All of those are substantially weak points, yes. It's called playing it safe, which is all Activision ever seems to do with their franchises. It's pretty laughable to think that because a new game might have different controls or core gameplay features that any sort of innovation should be frowned upon just because people prefer the familiarity they've been used to for years over something that's in any way different from the norm. Musicians are usually panned for playing it safe, treating their music as nothing but a potboiler and producing the same music over and over again, carrying from one album to the next just to make more money. It's greed. Why are video games any different? To me they're a form of artistic expression and that innovation and uniqueness are something to be lauded for instead of keeping nothing but money in mind the entire way through.

Also, if we follow your logic on the 'games as a series' issue, it means that support for previous iterations in a series are instantly dropped in favour of developing for the new one. I don't see why there's any reason why the latest game in a series should take precedence over any previous ones that were released. I thought the multiplayer in the first Gears of War was much more enjoyable than the second, regardless of the new features that were introduced in the latter, and I often find myself going back to Call of Duty 4's multiplayer because there's not nearly as much to get wound up about as there would be with Modern Warfare 2; you can see how many glaring issues I highlighted with the game in the first post I contributed in this thread. Neither games feel dated, copy-pasting the same gameplay and adding a few new features every year still isn't a valid excuse.

CORaven wrote: »

As for the premium content of the Elite service and DLC, basic microeconomics and just good business practice. Pricing to market is a way of selling a product to a group for a price they want to pay for it. It is good for both the consumer and the seller. If you want to have a CoD multiplayer experience for €50, you can. If you want an enhanced CoD multiplayer experience for €95 (/€80/€65) you can. The Elite service will be a better way for the market to be segregated, offering a more enhanced service for which you do not have to pay.

If the prices ever become ridiculous, again basic microeconomics will put Activison in their place.

The only reason people are willing to pay for all of this premium service nonsense is because there's no alternative as regards the Call of Duty franchise. People aren't willing to break out of the mould and try something new in similar games that offer the same things for free, so they just stick to what they know and blindly fork over whatever's required for something they perceive to be of value when it reality it couldn't be further from the truth. The way your entire post read, it sounds like you're one of their representatives.

11-06-2011 03:11PM

Twilightning wrote: »

Money's always going to be a main motivator but that doesn't seem to make other studios or publishers milk their own franchises for every penny. If Activision made all of their map packs 800 MS points or less permanently and brought the retail price of all of their games down a tenner they'd still be rolling in it and taking in a healthy profit and be way past breaking even. It's just pure greed. I doubt their games cost much to produce these days anyway since they're intent on recycling the same engine, character models and sound effects every year.

You'd have to be fairly idiotic to drop the price of something people are willing to pay the full price for tbh. I'd say this time there'll be spec ops in the map packs as there has been zombies in BO and if spec ops is as good as it has the potential to be then that would be something worth considering buying imo.

I play COD more than any game on the xbox despite the fact it's nowhere near my favourite game, it's the easiest to play with a group of friends and I get a lot of value from it. I do eventually get tired of it but that wasn't for over 17 days in MW2 and 11 in BO so if I can get another 10 days of play from MW3 I'll be very happy at what I paid.

hightower1 · 11-06-2011 04:59PM

Magill wrote: »

OH GET OVER YOURSELF ! Jesus.... What the hell has elite got to do with youtube ? Is everyone going to buy elite and make youtube videos out of their stats ?

They have touted "youtube uploads from your elite account" as a feature of elite, I can promse you that theater mode will be avail in the game but you wont be able upload to youtube from it. Elite wil be te only way to do that hence the touting of it as an elite feature... not really a "feature" per say if its something that you can do in game.

Magill · 11-06-2011 05:07PM

hightower1 wrote: »

They have touted "youtube uploads from your elite account" as a feature of elite, I can promse you that theater mode will be avail in the game but you wont be able upload to youtube from it. Elite wil be te only way to do that hence the touting of it as an elite feature... not really a "feature" per say if its something that you can do in game.

What ? Anyone that puts videos on youtube does it via a PVR or SD capture card... the only people that use the theatre > youtube feature is the typical player that wants to show off something cool....

So im asking....why would I, as a "youtube fanboy with skillzz and a petty need for subs", need to buy elite ?

Twilightning · 11-06-2011 06:09PM

Magill wrote: »

What ? Anyone that puts videos on youtube does it via a PVR or SD capture card... the only people that use the theatre > youtube feature is the typical player that wants to show off something cool....

So im asking....why would I, as a "youtube fanboy with skillzz and a petty need for subs", need to buy elite ?

I think he's referring to the fact that a lot of Call of Duty players are usually under the age of 16 with gamertags like xQuIcKsCoPeZx, spinning around like idiots trying to get quickscopes for a montage nobody will watch or care about. This feature would probably aid them greatly.

Thomasheen · 11-06-2011 06:25PM

Hmm I'm still not sold on this yet. If the map packs are included it wouldnt be that bad of an investment. 3 map packs would set you back 45 euro anyway so spending that amount over a year and getting some bonus content doesnt seem so bad as long as the price is the same. On the other hand it would need some incredible features to get me to pay every month

Twilightning · 11-06-2011 06:35PM

Thomasheen wrote: »

Hmm I'm still not sold on this yet. If the map packs are included it wouldnt be that bad of an investment. 3 map packs would set you back 45 euro anyway so spending that amount over a year and getting some bonus content doesnt seem so bad as long as the price is the same. On the other hand it would need some incredible features to get me to pay every month

Yep, with Activision. I've yet to see any other publisher charge that much for a few maps.

Nuri Sahin · 11-06-2011 06:40PM

Twilightning wrote: »

I think he's referring to the fact that a lot of Call of Duty players are usually under the age of 16 with gamertags like xQuIcKsCoPeZx, spinning around like idiots trying to get quickscopes for a montage nobody will watch or care about. This feature would probably aid them greatly.

I understand that but I'm fairly confident that's not the case for some people here.

There seems to be very strange need to have petty swipes at those who upload onto Youtube by need of making silly little generalisations. Quite funny but more tiring at this stage.

I upload gameplays because I like to, I don't crave the attention that yes, the majority do. I don't ask for subs, views or favourites. IF people want to watch my stuff or do not I'm not going to cry either way. But why am I being stereotyped with the mass? Small mindedness is an abundance, be it speaking about the majority of Youtubers AND those who look down from their perch at them. Tbf, it comes across as trolling at this stage from certain individuals and I for one am getting a bit tired of it.

_______

.. and as a matter of fact (admittedly I'm still hazy on the matter re: elite), I for one will not be getting this elite package unless it comes with the map packs instantly, I will only consider it then. The competitive side of things with tournaments does sound appealing for me personally but not near enough to convince me to part with my cash.

Thomasheen · 11-06-2011 06:42PM

El LoCo Ade wrote: »

I understand that but I'm fairly confident that's not the case for some people here.

There seems to be very strange need to have petty swipes at those who upload onto Youtube by need of making silly little generalisations. Quite funny but more tiring at this stage.

I upload gameplays because I like to, I don't crave the attention that yes, the majority do. I don't ask for subs, views or favourites. IF people want to watch my stuff or do not I'm not going to cry either way. But why am I being stereotyped with the mass? Small mindedness is an abundance, be it speaking about the majority of Youtubers AND those who look down from their perch at them. Tbf, it comes across as trolling at this stage from certain individuals and I for one am getting a bit tired of it.

_______

.. and as a matter of fact (admittedly I'm still hazy on the matter re: elite), I for one will not be getting this elite package unless it comes with the map packs instantly, I will only consider it then. The competitive side of things with tournaments does sound appealing for me personally but not near enough to convince me to part with my cash.

Whats your channel man? I'd like to check it out

Headshot · 11-06-2011 06:48PM

Thomasheen wrote: »

Whats your channel man? I'd like to check it out

I-crave-attention

is the channel

Nuri Sahin · 11-06-2011 06:50PM

Thomasheen wrote: »

Whats your channel man? I'd like to check it out

If I post it, I'll be one of the horde

Check the sig.

DO NOT, I REPEAT DO NOT LIKE, COMMENT OR SUB! .. dislike if you want

:pac:

Nuri Sahin · 11-06-2011 06:52PM

Headshot wrote: »

I-crave-attention

is the channel

I iz hax is the channel name actually

Btw, some kid asked me via PSN msg whether I had hacked Black Ops earlier. I thought of you

Headshot · 11-06-2011 06:55PM

El LoCo Ade wrote: »

I iz hax is the channel name actually Btw, some kid asked me via PSN msg whether I had hacked Black Ops earlier. I thought of you

Finally people are copping on to your hacking like aimbot and wall hack

Thomasheen · 11-06-2011 07:03PM

El LoCo Ade wrote: »

If I post it, I'll be one of the horde

Check the sig.

DO NOT, I REPEAT DO NOT LIKE, COMMENT OR SUB! .. dislike if you want :pac:

Ha I think you have the same attitude towards youtube as I do. I upload stuff I find entertaining. If people enjoy it, good if not, good too. I'll add you on ps3 we might play sometime

Nuri Sahin · 11-06-2011 07:21PM

Thomasheen wrote: »

Ha I think you have the same attitude towards youtube as I do. I upload stuff I find entertaining. If people enjoy it, good if not, good too. I'll add you on ps3 we might play sometime

Sure. Only play BOPS now since COD4 is dead

My MW2 disc is at the bottom of the abyss so that's a no go.

Personally speaking, I like the whole creative as well as commentary element of COD vids. Gameplay is a bit overrated in general in regards to the vast majority of players. Just look at xjawz, if you know of him. High scores by use of guns I dislike and are overused along with high killstreaks are priority, not winning the game and that shows in his combat record. Hence why I'm a fan of someone like XCalizorz, he's an exception rather than the norm unfortunately. His commentaries have always been a good listen but his gameplay, in my eyes is what separates him. I dislike Wings of Redemptions gameplays and some of his opinions but he brings up some decent topics and engages some thought out of the viewer.

I like seeing frag movies the most. I suggest youtube searching - Beware of Sharks frag movie to get a picture of what I like. It' s not just COD, it's far more than that. I've also found some great music I would have never heard of otherwise from frag movies and montages I've very particular tastes long story short.

CORaven · 11-06-2011 08:18PM

Twilightning wrote: »

How is buying a game that's pretty much copy-pasted from its last incarnation at full retail price alongside a premium service that should be free advantageous to the consumer? The only reason Activision are doing this in the first place is because they know the majority of their playerbase won't ever bother asking for more. All I'm doing is asking people to take a step back and look at what they're doing and how their playing experience could be miles better elsewhere instead of just blindly buying into a franchise with brand loyalty just because it's 'familiar'. If we just stuck to our guns and never offered any alternatives or innovation in the video games industry across all genres, the gaming landscape as we know it would be woefully boring and unenjoyable. It sets a bad example and I'm just waiting for the next triple A developer to jump on the bandwagon and pull the same thing Activision are doing.

Call of Duty is a modern military FPS based in the very near future. Honestly I cannot think of anything they can really add to the game or do anything they have not done already. If they did anything new it would have to really out there and would probably require breaking the plausible setting that they have created.
Single player - you are a solider in a war, fighting terrorists and 'foreign' invaders. You use the same guns the Americans have done for the past few years. It is kinda retarded that people are complaining that it is the same stuff that was in the last game, and the game before. It is a shooting game, you are kinda limited to it.
You paid full price for the game last time, whys are you angry that you are getting the same offer this time around? The engine is more or less the same, but you have new level design, new enemies, probably a new AI, new vehicles to use, some new weapons, new voice acting and dialog.

I am not sure about multiplayer, it has not been detailed yet. No doubt we will have 15ish new maps to mess around with (designed and tweaked for all game types), the new guns, who knows what else.
We even have a new gamemode coming into the game based on horde mode.

How much work does a game's devs need to do before it is worth you money? Or is it a case of how much enjoyment you will get out of it, or a matter hours?

Twilightning wrote: »

Overcharing people and placing fees on features that should be free in the first place because people will fall for it and that it's 'familiar'.

What fees and features?

Twilightning wrote: »

All of those are substantially weak points, yes. It's called playing it safe, which is all Activision ever seems to do with their franchises. It's pretty laughable to think that because a new game might have different controls or core gameplay features that any sort of innovation should be frowned upon just because people prefer the familiarity they've been used to for years over something that's in any way different from the norm. Musicians are usually panned for playing it safe, treating their music as nothing but a potboiler and producing the same music over and over again, carrying from one album to the next just to make more money. It's greed. Why are video games any different? To me they're a form of artistic expression and that innovation and uniqueness are something to be lauded for instead of keeping nothing but money in mind the entire way through.

It is not greed, it is common sense. Just as musicians can lose fans from churning out the same content, they can also lose fan by diversifying too much from what the fans enjoyed. CoD knows what their fans have enjoyed and have kept the core part of that alive. There have been variations in content, but the same core mechanics of the game remain unchanged. Innovation should not be frowned upon, but it should be assessed. We have seen such innovation in the games' content: Heartbeat sensors, game balancing, new guns and attachments used by the army, changing the role and usage of killsteaks. The way you talk about the game, you would swear they were exact clones.

Twilightning wrote: »

Also, if we follow your logic on the 'games as a series' issue, it means that support for previous iterations in a series are instantly dropped in favour of developing for the new one. I don't see why there's any reason why the latest game in a series should take precedence over any previous ones that were released. I thought the multiplayer in the first Gears of War was much more enjoyable than the second, regardless of the new features that were introduced in the latter, and I often find myself going back to Call of Duty 4's multiplayer because there's not nearly as much to get wound up about as there would be with Modern Warfare 2; you can see how many glaring issues I highlighted with the game in the first post I contributed in this thread. Neither games feel dated, copy-pasting the same gameplay and adding a few new features every year still isn't a valid excuse.

Nor do I believe that latest game in a series should take precedence over any previous ones. I still think that the older games should be maintained past the 1yr/2yr life cycle and should benefit from the graphical updates the new games receive. However, considering that Black Ops took a solid two years to create and so far an extra year to maintain, it may not be feasible.

Twilightning wrote: »

The only reason people are willing to pay for all of this premium service nonsense is because there's no alternative as regards the Call of Duty franchise.

Battlefield, Homefront, Cyrsis, Rainbow Six, GRAW, Halo kinda, Killzone, MAG, Dust 514, Blacklight... All fairly successful shooters, many of them in a modern setting, all good gameplay.

Twilightning wrote: »

People aren't willing to break out of the mould and try something new in similar games that offer the same things for free, so they just stick to what they know and blindly fork over whatever's required for something they perceive to be of value when it reality it couldn't be further from the truth. The way your entire post read, it sounds like you're one of their representatives.

If someone has something offered to them for a monetary value less than the value of the enjoyment attained from the acquisition and usage of the item or service, are they getting a bad deal? You would swear from listening to you that CoD players only play the one game. That list of shooters I listed up there, I have played the majority of them, and I still play the majority of the ones I have. The bottom of the line is, that I have enjoyed the CoD games I have bought, I think they were well worth the money I spent for the amount of hours I have put into them relaxing on a Tuesday night after work or college. I really do not understand why the games are not worth it according to you, could you please restate why?

Thomasheen · 11-06-2011 09:31PM

El LoCo Ade wrote: »

Sure. Only play BOPS now since COD4 is dead My MW2 disc is at the bottom of the abyss so that's a no go.

Personally speaking, I like the whole creative as well as commentary element of COD vids. Gameplay is a bit overrated in general in regards to the vast majority of players. Just look at xjawz, if you know of him. High scores by use of guns I dislike and are overused along with high killstreaks are priority, not winning the game and that shows in his combat record. Hence why I'm a fan of someone like XCalizorz, he's an exception rather than the norm unfortunately. His commentaries have always been a good listen but his gameplay, in my eyes is what separates him. I dislike Wings of Redemptions gameplays and some of his opinions but he brings up some decent topics and engages some thought out of the viewer.

I like seeing frag movies the most. I suggest youtube searching - Beware of Sharks frag movie to get a picture of what I like. It' s not just COD, it's far more than that. I've also found some great music I would have never heard of otherwise from frag movies and montages I've very particular tastes long story short.

I see what you mean. Im not a big fan of xjawz or wings though I dont mind him that much. Just youtube money whores. I like winning though my combat record doesnt show it. When the game came out I kept getting kicked and connection interupted constantly which messed my win loss up. It would be around 3 or even more if that never had happened. I go for flags if we need otherwise I'll just run and kill people.

sierra117x · 13-06-2011 01:21AM

@Twilightning

man your posts are so enlightening. i could read them all day. too bad i wont have time. see im being forced to purchase a game this year full of time consuming gameplay that i liked so much in the past. and for this reason i really dont want to go back for more:( i mean feck the story and the characters id prefer to just play the same maps and game types i already have in black ops and modern warfare and never have them changed . then as if being forced to buy the game isnt bad enough they'l release maps a few times a year that ill have to buy as well. clearly im lacking in any free will or the ability to purchase more than one game a year. i mean isnt this why everyone buys the new cod games? theres clearly no other choice in the matter

but seriously dude dont like the game on your own time no need to jam your ideas down everyone elses throat

MiCr0 · 15-07-2011 03:04PM

I can't see a thread on this - has any one got invited?

docdolittle · 15-07-2011 03:12PM

MiCr0 wrote: »

I can't see a thread on this - has any one got invited?

No not yet, invites were meant to go out yesterday...

Jet Black · 15-07-2011 03:29PM

No invite yet. Looks ok, can't see myself paying for it.

Taken from the MW3 thread.

iMuse · 15-07-2011 05:16PM

Jet Black wrote: »

No invite yet. Looks ok, can't see myself paying for it.

Everything you see in the beta is the free part of it, everyone will have access to that in MW3

mufcboy1999 · 16-07-2011 02:31PM

what the fu*k you have to go on your laptop to check this elite thing?

is it not going to be in the actual game, if its not in the game im not paying for it and anyway it looks shi* going by that video.

Magill · 16-07-2011 03:44PM

So many ignorant people.... its unreal

CoD Elite = Free service that is website based... You can use it on your laptop/phone/ipod

CoD Elite Premium = Extra features that are currently unknown which will cost a monthly fee and will include ALL mappacks across any CoD game (Maybe just blops and MW3..not entirely sure).

Personally i think its a good idea for an iphone/touch app.. i know it'd keep me entertained while traveling or something.

Tallon · 16-07-2011 03:52PM

It's a great idea

It's free, and handy, and if you don't want to use it... don't

JeanClaude · 16-07-2011 05:28PM

Magill wrote: »

So many ignorant people.... its unreal

CoD Elite = Free service that is website based... You can use it on your laptop/phone/ipod

CoD Elite Premium = Extra features that are currently unknown which will cost a monthly fee and will include ALL mappacks across any CoD game (Maybe just blops and MW3..not entirely sure).

Personally i think its a good idea for an iphone/touch app.. i know it'd keep me entertained while traveling or something.

Are you sure it isn't a yearly sub? Because if it is monthly wouldn't you just unsub the months there's no mappack? or am I missing something?

CORaven · 16-07-2011 05:35PM

JeanClaude wrote: »

Are you sure it isn't a yearly sub? Because if it is monthly wouldn't you just unsub the months there's no mappack? or am I missing something?

You do not gain ownership of the map packs as you would when you purchase them. With Elite you have the ability to play them as if you owned them without the individual purchasing.

JeanClaude · 16-07-2011 05:43PM

CORaven wrote: »

You do not gain ownership of the map packs as you would when you purchase them. With Elite you have the ability to play them as if you owned them without the individual purchasing.

Cheers it's Like Playstation plus so???? Ok if thats the case I'd rather use the free portion of Elite, Download the Mappacks as they come out at least that way you get to keep them even if you decide to cancel Elite.

[CoD MW3] 'Elite' service

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