When publishing a new game on an annual release schedule, it’s not hard for development teams to try for the next big thing, and Call of Duty is one that certainly attempts to do that. It’s not uncommon to see the series follow the trends on new things such as exo-suits, which exist, and even modern combat tactics. However, what was far-fetched? Is exo-suit abilities like what Advanced Warfare had. While Advanced Warfare’s campaign was enjoyable, multiplayer was abysmal, it was convoluted on what it wanted to be, and even seemed to question itself with the addition of the zombies campaign it received. Hell, even the campaign had suffered by making players the camera man to the legendary actor, Kevin Spacey.
Recently, Infinite Warfare seems to be following in its steps after the recent announcement on social media. Its announcement was received with heavy sighs of distress as players once more found the series was going from the direction they wanted, which was a sequel to the well-ended Modern Warfare 3, which left players with a cliff hanger as to what Captain Price would do next. Instead, we’re seeing a new frontier open as players prepare to head into the futuristic world that seems almost derived from the likes of titles like Halo meets Robocop meets Advanced Warfare. While the idea would be sound, it’s not what Call of Duty needed, nor was it a leap that it needed. This shows in the picture below on what fans of the franchise through the official Call of Duty YouTube Channel.
As you can see from a direct screen capture, Call of Duty Infinite Warfare has not been happily met by fans, with almost 2.4 million dislikes and almost breaking 385,000 dislikes, Call of Duty Infinite Warfare is not the blockbuster it seems it will be. Even with the dislikes, Infinite Warfare will still succeed, but not because of the title itself, but the game coming packaged titled Cal of Duty 4: Modern Warfare Remastered. To get it, fans will have to purchase the Infinite Warfare with MSRP versions at $79.99 USD and $129.99 USD. The issue? It’s evident that fans aren’t after Infinite Warfare. Unfortunately? It doesn’t seem Activision has plans to release the title separately at this time.
It’s a Perfect Marketing Ploy
If you’re like me, you already pre-ordered only to see this on your actual screen.
While it’s not uncommon knowledge among the fans, Call of Duty has been in a steady decline since its rocky performance with both Call of Duty Ghosts and Call of Duty Advanced Warfare only to see those numbers go up with sales of Call of Duty Black Ops III, which is rumoured to have outperformed the later two titles by a landslide. While Black Ops is one of the most beloved trilogies to-date till the next one comes out, if there is a next one, which may seem likely if Infinite Warfare’s sales for Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare don’t show a higher play count than Infinite Warfare itself.
While it’s odd to see Activision pull a marketing stunt like this, it isn’t the first time they’ve had questionable practices, even when it came to releases regarding their sales totals for Advanced Warfare and Ghosts (You can see the Forbes article here: Activision Smokescreens ‘Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare’ Sales, Continuing A Trend). The issue? These numbers for Infinite Warfare will pad the titles sales and allow Activision to please their investors since Call of Duty’s steady decline could once more get worse without the bolstered sales of Modern Warfare 4 combo packs. Unfortunately, it’s a perfect marketing ploy that’ll bring in more game sales than intended than before. While this may seem good for investors, it’s unfortunate bad news for fans who just wanted Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare.
Call of Duty: Infinite Warfare is set to release on November 4th, 2016. Stay tuned for our review.
About the Writer:
Dustin is our native console gamer, PlayStation and Nintendo reviewer who has an appetite for anything that crosses the boarders from across the big pond. His interest in JRPG’s, Anime, Handheld Gaming, and Pizza is insatiable. His elitist attitude gives him direction, want, and a need for the hardest difficulties in games, which is fun to watch, and hilarity at its finest. You can find him over on Twitter, Google+, and or you can find him on PSN with RaivynLyken.