However, exclusivity isn’t Sony’s solely concern concerning Microsoft’s Activision Blizzard acquisition. In a assertion to the Brazilian authorities (one of the various world regulatory our bodies reviewing the Activision Blizzard deal), PlayStation representatives expressed concern over the sheer market energy of the Call of Duty franchise. They even advised (through translated statements) that competing with the Call of Duty franchise isn’t about expertise or cash. Their concern is that there isn’t any studio on the earth with the expertise or price range wanted to create a yearly franchise that might presumably rival Call of Duty’s gross sales. More importantly, they concern that the Call of Duty franchise’s core userbase is so loyal and so huge that they could go because the franchise goes in phrases of even potential exclusivity and most popular platforms.
I’ve been eager about that sobering assertion a lot as I pour over the Modern Warfare 2 gross sales numbers. Sure, a sport like Grand Theft Auto 6 will possible break Call of Duty‘s gross sales information. Yes, Elden Ring would possibly even outsell Modern Warfare 2 in 2022 (which isn’t any small feat). No, there’ll most likely by no means be a franchise that may do what Call of Duty does 12 months after 12 months in phrases of gross sales.
Mind you, this isn’t a protection of Sony. The PlayStation model has made greater than a few questionable anti-consumer selections through the years, particularly in the case of gated content material. If they’re upset about what may occur on this occasion, it’s as a result of they’re studying pages out of their very own playbook and imagining what they might do with the Call of Duty franchise.
Even nonetheless, Sony is true. Modern Warfare 2‘s early sales figures solidify Call of Duty‘s status as this franchise that will continue to be successful regardless of…well, pretty much everything. Call of Duty is virtually immune to criticism, scandal, or even relative success or failures of its most recent installments. The biggest franchise in an industry obsessed with franchises is the one that people continue to buy in record numbers because it’s acquainted, repeatedly launched, and enjoys an nearly unfathomable momentum propelled by its personal reputation.
Sony and others can deal with Call of Duty as an anomaly, however it’s a lot greater than that. It’s the envy of an business looking for methods to cost individuals extra money for main releases whilst so many of us battle to justify all however essentially the most frugal varieties of leisure. When you hear business insiders discuss Call of Duty, they don’t discuss it like this unobtainable aim that doesn’t even issue into their very own decision-making. They discuss it just like the franchise that received the franchise wars that they’re nonetheless one way or the other obsessive about. Forget inventive ambitions and difficult works that defy our expectations of the medium; does the long run of populist blockbusters actually should be that bland and bleak?
For all of the discuss how Call of Duty‘s success can’t be replicated, it actually looks as if the “perfectly fine, yet absurdly successful” Modern Warfare 2 is a lot nearer to many main studios’ imaginative and prescient for the long run of Triple-A gaming than another title launched this 12 months. Whoever owns the Call of Duty franchise, the Call of Duty franchise continues to personal your complete gaming business.
