More than 1 million pay for Call of Duty Elite

For me, as a PC user, it is already mindblowing how Microsoft can charge 50€ a year for multiplayer as a feature. To think Activision could stack another service on top of that goes to show how weird the market has become, with people ready to spend more than $150 for a game on the one side and rampant piracy on the other.

Posted:A year ago

I would have to be playing CoD all year round and play little else to consider spending money on a service like Elite. I'm totally shocked at how many people have subscribed.

Posted:A year ago

fools. money. skewed economics. recession. fanboys. populism. choose your pic :)

Posted:A year ago

The fact is that there are plenty of players (and I know a few personally) who WILL play CoD all year (they did for MW2; they did for Black Ops). For them, the cost of the game even with Elite on top (and don't forget that includes the DLC they will most likely have bought anyway) represents far, far better value than most other games on the market that will only last them a month.

Posted:A year ago

Didn't someone work out that if you were going to get the DLC anyway, elite worked out cheaper?

Posted:A year ago

@Neil, I think that's Elite's main incentive, getting the DLC for cheaper. I've never bought a single CoD DLC, not counting the first expansion on PC (it was a retail game at the time, remember those boxed expansion packs?) It's probably a good deal for fanboys (no offense) who play this game all year long. Personally I'd rather try different games and experiences, but if you're not going to spend your gaming time elsewhere then why not?

We're seeing similar strategies in other titles with season passes, as seen in L.A. Noire and Gears of Wars 3 for example. It's basically the developer's way of ensuring they'll keep their player's money with an upfront subscription while the product is still hot. They know some people won't even bother downloading the last few episodes or map packs, but they'll already have their money by then.

Posted:A year ago

Mike Wells :"For them, the cost of the game even with Elite on top (and don't forget that includes the DLC they will most likely have bought anyway) represents far, far better value than most other games on the market that will only last them a month. "

And there you have it folks. ATVI gets an earful for producing a CoD every year but that's what people want to play. It's not like the other publishers are doing anything original to entice those players away. Yeah yeah Skyrim etc but they come round every 5 years. And once they finish Skyrim it's back to CoD.

Posted:A year ago

If you get elite with the game, then yes it works out cheaper.

My Hardened cost me £60, the game alone was £40, so thats £20 for Elite, thus £20 for 3-4 map packs (lasts 9 months they say but due to issues maybe doesnt include first month).

3 Map Packs a lone would be £24 so already saved a whopping £4 lol but maybe another added on top thats £12 saved!

Plus I get the whole service and double EXP and tournament and all the other goodies. The main reason I use it is screenshots and videos. Plus its good to change my class setup while im at work so I aint farting around with it at home =D

Posted:A year ago

Leader board chasers, Hardcore clans...if its worth it to them I say go for it! No worst than paying monthly for a MMO IMO.

Posted:A year ago

To add, players are paying less than $5 / month for the service. That's the price of one beer at a bar or a foo-foo coffee. Yes, Activision has pointed this out in numerous responses to the pay service, i.e. that the actual monthly fee / breakdown amounts to some chump-change, but it's true. Now if the service cost $50 / month that would be ridiculous.

Posted:A year ago

So this is the new model: pay $50 for the "basic" CoD, or $100 for the "complete" CoD (i.e. all the DLC, i.e. the entire game). Of the basic $50, Activision would get $20-$25 at most - so this makes a big difference for them, even if the numbers are small (i.e. 1m vrs 20m).

IMO, a one-off $50 isn't that big a deal - its no recurring cost like XBox Live.

Posted:A year ago

The drug that is Call of Duty.

Posted:A year ago