260°

Black Ops 3 DLC's PS4 Exclusivity Was "Right Decision," Says Activision CEO

Eric Hirshberg discusses decision to move timed-exclusivity away from Microsoft - Gamespot

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gamespot.com
98xpresent3848d ago

So basically because the ps4 is selling so well

MightyNoX3848d ago

The #1 franchise in terms of revenue aligns itself with the #1 console. Shocking.

Azzanation3847d ago

Doesn't always work that way. Wii was by far the best selling system last gen and CoD didn't have exclusive deals. I honestly don't think MS are chasing these games anymore. They don't really need them since they have there own games such Halo 5 counters COD and KI counters SF5 etc.

reallyNow3847d ago

I don't know Azzanation, to me it feels like MS is FINALLY starting to run XBOX like a business. How many billions have fallen into the hole marked "xbox"? Seems to me that refusing to keep paying Activision for something they aren't going to get (competition for PS4) in return. AKA the return on investment just isn't there. It WAS there in the early PS3/360 days. It was a way to show gamers that xbox was the place to play. They're just about selling HALF as many units so far as PS4. Throwing money at Activision isn't going to change that. I think xbox's console division is done when this gen is done. Xbox will live on as a windows 10/11/12 whatever service, and thats OK. It is the one thing that MIGHT give Steam a run for its money. PC is a space that could use more competition.

Volkama3847d ago (Edited 3847d ago )

@Reallynow "PC is a space that could use more competition."

That's a pretty strange thing to say. PC is already a completely open platform, with multiple games distribution services. As consumers we already reap the benefits of that quite handsomely.

On-topic, it will be interesting to see who has the inevitable marketing deal for Titanfall 2. Would be lovely if the answer was "nobody", but we all know that's not gonna happen.

joab7773848d ago (Edited 3848d ago )

That's it in a nutshell. Can you blame them? Tbh though, it's good for MS. They've been paying a ton without a return for awhile. It became almost the status quo, and ppl expected it. In the meantime, it had 0 effect on whether ppl played on PS3, as it caught up, and no effect on ppl buying a PS4.

I know like 5 ppl that play nothing but CoD and they all switched to the PS4 regardless of dlc exclusivity. This is simply a bonus.

thisismyaccount3847d ago

"... it's good for MS. They've been paying a ton without a return for awhile."

Dem you Sony for being so successful! with your PS4. Blame Microsoft for not doing an adequate job ...

22CobraKing3847d ago

@Azzanation
The wii doesn't seem right for someone to play shooters it mainly for family/friend type of games not competitive like battlefield or cod. And how could halo compete with cod if it doesn't release annually.

AngelicIceDiamond3847d ago

Yeah pretty much its that simple. I'll be playing other things besides COD this year personally. Games are too ridiculous at this point.

+ Show (2) more repliesLast reply 3847d ago
IamTheStorm813848d ago

The "right decision" would be that all buyers of any Call of Duty game would be that all of them have access to the DLC at the same time.

Oh, but they don't mean the "right decision for gamers, just us suits".

Doesn't affect me as I don't play Call of Duty multiplayer, but it's a sleazy practice if you ask me. Not just in regards to CoD, but any series, and regardless if it's Sony or MS.

Yet another terrible practice that is unfriendly to gamers as a whole and needs to stop.

SourtreeDing3848d ago (Edited 3848d ago )

i dont play multiplay but i do play Zombies and thats why im loving it as i have a PS4. and last gen i had a PS3 so i had my fair share of waitng for the DLC.. but than i got a 360 and solved that. but i only do Zombies..

RB6 will be my goto for online shooter

Aloy-Boyfriend3848d ago (Edited 3848d ago )

Microsoft started this, and now they are getting a dose of their own medicine.

It's business, and bussines tend to be unfriendly towars customers most of the times in all areas. Besides, it's just some early content not lifetime. We as gamers want everything to be at our feets, but it is not that simple with these corporations.

PistolsAtDawn3848d ago

Don't kid yourself, MS didn't start this at all. It existed before MS even had a console.

joab7773848d ago

I see your point, but its fine. There's no problem with companies offering incentives to play on 1 system or another. It had a huge effect early on in the 360's life, but it wasn't exclusivity alone. It was Live, their controller, MS'S message, their gamer friendly attitude. It WAS the place to play CoD.

But eventually, that changed as the PS3 caught up. Ppl didn't care if they waited 30 days for dlc. I'm actually surprised Sony paid them at all. I'm not surprised MS is done with it.

Volkama3847d ago

Depends on your perspective I guess. If you own a PS4 it might be fine, if you don't own a PS4 then you get mildly shafted.

Think we can all agree we'd rather Sony/MS concentrated in investing the money in games, rather than slimey deals. Unfortunately the slimey deals are effective, so they won't stop any time soon.

Sony have scored some big ones for the mainstream too, with COD and Star Wars. Really pushing hard for that next tier of the console market.

Rookie_Monster3848d ago

more $$$$$$ was the right decision. Don't kid yourself otherwise, Activision

Sureshot3848d ago

Ppl down voted you? Must be Activision employees on this site!

GreenUp3848d ago (Edited 3848d ago )

I don't get the whining of early access to DLC. It comes to everyone eventually. What's the turn around time? A week?

Rookie_Monster3848d ago (Edited 3848d ago )

The exclusivity will last a month. But I think most XB1 players will be occupied by the free Halo 5 maps so I don't think it is such a big concern to xb1 players at this point.

Edit @ bnwfanatic,

Like for real? Most of the buyers will consist of repeat buyers of the series for years. I am pretty sure they know it is a multiplatform game. During the entire MS COD period, I am sure PS3 and PS4 sold a few COD as well as it it is still the most sold series on a PS platform as well. You Tell Me There most of those buyers for COD on PS3 are not casual? You guys are looking way too much into this "ps/xbox logo" at the end of the commercial.

Destiny, which Sony tried their hardest to make it seems like a PS4 exclusive..but somehow on NPD report in th e USA of all the months that the game was on the chart from Sep, Oct, Sec, Jan, the XB1 is always the most sold retail unit of the bunch.

bmwfanatic3848d ago (Edited 3848d ago )

The dlc stuff isnt the big part. Its that all the cod commercials will say PlayStation instead of xbox. That is huge for the casual people who dont visit gaming sites and think its only on PlayStation. Also the cod tournaments will be played on PlayStation.

@ rookie I am sure Activision and sony know better than you
how well the Sony branding of cod works. Most people in the industry know how big a deal it is. Or maybe they should hire you huh? Im sure you could run a billion dollar company.

Sm00thop3848d ago

CoD will no doubt help push consoles for PS4 just because people will want to stay on top because of the tournament scene, I don't like CoD at all, much rather play Rainbow, Halo and Gears. It's a good deal for Sony though overall.

SourtreeDing3848d ago

@bmw

it is a big deal...

just like its a big deal for PC gamers to have better graphics in their version of a game.. and 4k, better fps, mods... if these things werent a big deal companies wouldnt bother.

ppl will buy PS4 to get DLC first..

Rookie_Monster3848d ago (Edited 3848d ago )

@bmwfanatic,
"rookie I am sure Activision and sony know better than you"

Wait, so are saying other companies like EA are not as competence as Sony and Activision when they granted the Fifa marketing deal to MS when the PS was the preferred platform for all these years? Yup, I don't think $$$ got anything to do with it!. :/

IIFloodyII3848d ago (Edited 3848d ago )

I doubt most Xbox users will be to busy with Halo, go look at how fast Halo 4's playerbase dropped when a CoD game released a week or so after, it never really recovered from it either.

Also NPD doesn't include bundles, which the PS4 version sold a lot of.

For the lazy. http://i.imgur.com/PmG3gKo....

Jayszen3847d ago

Yeah, keep deluding yourself...Destiny sold more on the PS4 even in North America and overall the game has nearly twice as many gamers on the PS4 version, and this is according to VG Chartz which is no fan of Sony.

If you think the COD DLC exclusivity is no big deal, that's fine, you are entitled to an opinion but please don't make up stats.

Germany73847d ago

Destiny sold more on Xbox One? lol
We know that you are a troll and a really desperate one, always trolling on a PS4 article, and i mean every article.
Now here is a real fact for you, Call of Duty sells even more than Halo on a Xbox platform, just check the number of players of both games.

Haru3847d ago

@IIFloodyII

True. it's just some people still don't realize that Halo isn't that much of a big francise anymore, it's still big but way smaller than it used to be

+ Show (5) more repliesLast reply 3847d ago
mxguy933848d ago

Most people are whining because now if they want to compete in mlg they have to play on ps4 and they can't afford to buy a ps4.

GreenUp3847d ago

Sounds like an issue with MLG's side than DLC times. MLG should make it so that only non DLC maps are eligible until it's released platform wide.

PSN_ZeroOnyx3847d ago

@GreenUp

That's actually hilarious . Using DLC maps day 1 is fine as long as they land on Xbox first, but if Sony gets the DLC first then the maps should be banned until Xbox has them too.

ROFLMFAO

UnHoly_One3847d ago

Where did he say it was fine if it was the other way around?

I can't speak for him, but I think it's kinda bullcrap either way.

Volkama3847d ago

Turn around time on Destiny was a year (if ever). COD was usually something like a month on the Xbox side and probably will be again, but I don't think it has been specified.

Can't say I've ever bought a COD map pack or Destiny expansion myself though. Activision DLC is always hilariously overpriced anyway lol

GreenUp3847d ago

Same with BF. I never buy the second half of these games. Not contributing to the greedy ways of these companies. The sheep have no problem buying though. Then crying about it if one platform gets it a month ahead. Bahhhh

Sm00thop3848d ago

CoD is just getting worse and worse, its shameful how little innovation there is considering the money they make off it. I do think the zombies is the best thing about it, but that wouldn't interest me if we got another Left 4 dead game.

Volkama3847d ago

But you can wall run in this one. I've never seen that before so that's innovative(!)

Show all comments (72)
50°

Kotick claims lawsuit objecting to MS-Activision deal was "tied to Embracer's desire to boost sales"

Former CEO describes lawsuit filed by Swedish pension fund as a "collateral attack" on Activision Blizzard.

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gamesindustry.biz
OpenGL1d 4h ago

Yeah, the Microsoft deal has DEFINITELY worked out for everyone.

galgor1d 1h ago

Can this mother fucker just get lost already

PRIMORDUS1d ago

He belongs in here ⚰️, hopefully sooner than later.

MrDead8h ago(Edited 8h ago)

Kotick Made $155 million from MS in the buyout, the little b*tch needs to stop whining. Thanks to this Microslop deal and massive industry consolidation thousands upon thousands of devs and other workers lost their livelihoods. This greedy piggie pervert needs shut up and f-off.

80°

RAM Price Increases Could See Next-Generation Console Releases Delayed

Insider Gaming has learned that the ongoing price increases in RAM due to the rise in AI could delay the next generation of console releases.

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insider-gaming.com
17d ago
slate9117d ago

What is even the incentive of upgrading to the next-gen after this console generation we've had? Graphics are plateauing, prices at an all time high, studios skipping entire generations or simply releasing just one game for it...
Its a mess

Jin_Sakai17d ago

Been gaming all my life. This is the worst generation ever.

jznrpg17d ago

How do you gauge each generation? There has been a lot of really good games this gen. I only care about the games. First party hasn’t been the best but the generation isn’t over yet

DarXyde16d ago (Edited 16d ago )

jznrpg,

Thing is, every generation before this one has had something that defined console identity. Very little beyond bigger/more detailed games and performance modes are really there.

I feel the last generation that cared very much was gen 7; Capcom's darkest era, but I have to give them props for being really experimental at the time. We saw plenty of new games that still tried to do something new. Outside of Metaphor and Clair Obscur, this gen has been pretty forgettable if you ask me. I'm sure a lot of it is the corporatization of the industry and the creative talent has to keep making sequels and spiritual successors because the cost of development is out of control. But even then, plenty of these experiences are experiences we've had already. And the thing is. Switch 2 and PSVR2 could really be doing incredible things, but it's just not there. Xbox I just don't see the value or point anymore but that's just me.

anast16d ago

Why has is been the worst? I've been gaming all my life and this gen. has been one of the best.

Vits17d ago

Not to mention that just like this generation, the next one will also be shared between the current and next gen console at least for a couple of years. So the few titles that it will had, just like this one, will run on the console you already have.

franwex16d ago

We will be getting games on PS4, PS5, and PS6, haha.

Extermin8or3_15d ago

I think people have to remember the pandemic at start of this gen and how it effected game development. This next gen we will see the PS4 etc support dropped and truly see the full utilisation of SSD's improvements to ray and path tracing and the impact of AI upscaling etc will be where the biggest improvements will come from.

isarai_lee16d ago

My sentiments exactly, next gen has got to prove it's worth before i buy into it this time. This has been the weakest generation in my 30yrs of gaming. From the drawn out cross gen garbage, to so many games getting stuck in development hell or canceled, to the ABSURD levels of trend chasing to the point of self destruction, this gen just wasn't worth it

thorstein16d ago

I'm pretty sure I've already read a story that said Playstation is only halfway through this console's generation and that PS6 is a way off.

+ Show (1) more replyLast reply 15d ago
darthv7217d ago

Im good with next gen being pushed back to 27/28. It feels like this gen has only just begun.

Melankolis16d ago

Covid-19 held back everything at least 2 years worth. Although many people disliked, i think only UE5 can generally distinguish this gen from the previous one.

DarXyde16d ago

UE5 is definitely impressive, but I would also give the nod to the current version of Decima, at least the way it looks for Death Stranding 2.

CornholioX16d ago

That's normal how you think. Time goes faster when you're older and i bought my PS5 since day 1 release and now it's 5 years old. I don't mind a year delay to release PS6 in holiday 2028.

DoubleYourDose16d ago

Tomorrow isn't promised to any of us.

Eonjay16d ago

I was under the impression that next gen wasn't coming till 2027.z u9gsq

+ Show (1) more replyLast reply 16d ago
victorMaje17d ago

Regardless of RAM price increases, I strongly believe there’s still a lot of potential left for the current gen. I’d be fine with at least 3 more years.

jznrpg17d ago

Whenever it comes out is fine with me. I still have backlog for the next year at least

Show all comments (38)
120°

Bad Robot Games Teams With Sony

This is interesting and unexpected news as Sony and Bad Robot Games are partnering.

-Foxtrot43d ago

Was excited until I saw “an unannounced four-player, cooperative shooter”

Christopher43d ago

It's from the same guy who made L4D. Wouldn't expect anything otherwise.

-Foxtrot42d ago

I just thought since Back 4 Blood didn’t set the world on fire and died pretty quickly support wise he might have done something a little different.

StoneTitan42d ago

awesome, cooperative games are great

Scissorman42d ago (Edited 42d ago )

@Foxtrot The creator of L4D, Mike Booth, didn't have anything to do with Back for Blood, and that's probably why it didn't set the world on fire. This new project just might be the successor we've been waiting for.

JEECE42d ago (Edited 42d ago )

Gosh it would be so nice to have a true successor to L4D 2. Back 4 Blood introduced nearly every annoying, unnecessary aspect of multiplayer game design from the last ten-ish years, while simultaneously making the gameplay and world less interesting than L4D. Ironically I think it didn't actually have MTs, despite feeling like it was designed to sell them.

Sadly, I just can't see a true successor coming out now. I'd happily be wrong, but I bet this will have a hub world, multiple progression systems, multiple currency systems, skins, heros/operators/specialists, and battle passes, and the speed of the game will be toned down from L4D2, just like B4B was.

Whitey2k42d ago

I shall keep an eye on this. Expecially if Mike booth is involved Left for dead 1 & 2 was amazing on pc.

Should be left for dead 3

More enemies and boss battles
More maps and missions
Also bring back like the witch and tank and other nasty top dogs

JEECE42d ago

The "PC" feel is one of the key reasons B4B doesn't match up to L4D. L4D is clearly designed for mouse and keyboard, and the speed of the game reflects that (this is why it never felt quite right on 360 and the devs had to add in that "quick turn" feature to compensate). Meanwhile B4B is slowed down to better suit playing with controllers. Unfortunately this game will likely be the same, given the PS5 version.

And yes you are right the specials were so lame in B4B compared to L4D.

Whitey2k40d ago

That's because the 360 didnt support mouse and keyboard. Now we're in that era ps5 or ps6 and magnus should easily support mouse and keyboard to play with pc players

JEECE38d ago

@Whitey2k

Technically consoles support m/k now, but practically speaking most console users still just play with a controller, so this game is likely to be designed primarily with controller players in mind. I'd be happy to be proven wrong, but I doubt I will be.