Undoubtedly, the biggest game franchise of the current generation of consoles and PC gaming is Call Of Duty. Whether you like the games or you find them tedious and lacking innovation, the Call Of Duty series has become a gaming juggernaut. A recent rumour suggest that the latest game in the series, rumoured to be named Ghosts, will be coming out soon. The interesting addition being that the game will remain exclusive to the next-generation of consoles and of course on the PC too.
Straight way one would think that is a bad move. The amount of gamers on the current-generation consoles is huge, much more than any potential future next-generation purchasers. To negate that audience seems like suicide. Is it really that dangerous a move however?
Being the massive franchise that Call Of Duty is, putting the next game in the series exclusively on the next-generation of consoles would instantly make those consoles sell well. Call Of Duty would be helping the console hardware market on its own with such a move. How would this help Activision though? Well, by gaining that momentum of initial sales with Ghosts, they will easily make the transition to future games in the series. They wouldn’t have to worry about the console market or about how well their game will sell.
Activision will also have more confidence in releasing titles outside the Call Of Duty franchise on next-gen consoles if they are able to draw in a massive audience with Ghosts. That confidence that comes with having a relevant console selling well is evident as it has affected other hardware systems like the Wii U and PS Vita. Game developers are less confident of creating games for those systems as the low hardware adoption rate doesn’t leave developers with much confidence that their games will sell on those hardware systems.
By focusing strongly on the next-generation of consoles, Activision can lay to rest one constant criticism levied at the Call Of Duty franchise: lack of innovation. New hardware to play with should allow Activision to flex more muscle power in their games. Call Of Duty has been known for its smooth 60fps structure and easy online play. That alone was taxing on current-gen consoles, so having new hardware should allow Activision to put more content, technical and gameplay-wise, into the game.
For a game as big as the Call Of Duty franchise, it seems rather fitting that a new game in the series should welcome in the new generation of console hardware systems. It will make a big splash not only in the console market, but also the gaming market as many will be waiting to see what Call Of Duty can deliver for the future. As the Call Of Duty games tend to sell well throughout the year, it should bode well for the new console systems for a long period of time. Activision can always afford to release their game as a timed exclusive too, if they really want to cater to the audience on the older systems. That way, they kind of gain the best of both worlds. Helping the new consoles while not entirely alienating their old fans.
Are you excited for a Call Of Duty game for next-generation consoles?
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