Video games blow movies away for 2013 revenue: $100 Billion vs. $10 Billion.

[Arctic Blast]

One doesn't need to attach pointless words like 'in my opinion' to something they say because of course it's their opinion. If I'm saying something, it stands to reason that what I'm saying is my opinion on it.

If someone is not stating a fact or doesn't want to give the impression that his opinion is valid for the majority of people using such 'pointless words' is helpful to avoid that others get this impression of you judging others.

Most people understand that nobody is expecting their opinion to be taken as some greater statement to be taken as the opinion of the masses. It's merely their personal opinion.

I don't need a thick skin because I'm not 'affected severely' by the opinion of others. That doesn't mean I don't write a reply in a forum that is about discussing things. Interesting that you first say he was just expressing his personal opinion and now you say he is in fact judging...:P

A personal opinion and one's personal judgments of something are typically the same thing.

The point regarding CoD is just that first it was cool to play it and everyone was thrilled when the next game hit the stores and everyone was talking about it etc.. After a while some players started to realize that the only way to be not 'mainstream' is to bash CoD, although the game is delivering the same experience as before (with a new feature here and there, improvement here and there etc.) - which in fact is the reason for success because to alter the gameplay too much to actually create something 'new' would cut off the fan base that is expecting that the game is defined by a specific gameplay structure.

I think it's pretty safe to say that everyone here is an adult, and therefore not playing into some trend to slam something because it's supposedly 'cool' to do so. Everyone here is fully capable of forming and sharing their own opinions. If you choose to take those personal opinions as some greater statement from the world at large, that's your choice.

[GDS_Starfury]

I think it's pretty safe to say that everyone here is an adult

boobies!!!

[Arctic Blast]

I think it's pretty safe to say that everyone here is an adult

boobies!!!

Note that I made no mention of said adults being mature... ;D

[GDS_Starfury]

fair point.

[Mr. Bigglesworth]

yet it is.

so heres my question.  with all of that money poured into making the game how hard could it be to make a solid sp campaign?

In the case of CoD or Battlefield, clearly they've proved over the last decade that no one should expect a single player campaign experience that lasts longer than 8 hours.

Both the original CoD and Battlefield 1942 had quite a bit of game play. Have the sequels turned into cheap money grubbing formulas like sequel movies? Is anyone surprised? Glad I did not get any of the sequels.

[GDS_Starfury]

Id prefer they remade the original CoD WW2 series with the technology today.

[Martok]

In the case of CoD, I'm wondering where ANY of that money goes.

I would guess the stockholders, with a nice "bonus" paid to Kotick as well.  ::) 

Id prefer they remade the original CoD WW2 series with the technology today.

I second that.  For as much as I'm not much of a shooter guy (because of the whole motion-sickness problem, if nothing else), I did enjoy the little time I spent playing the original CoD.  Would love to see a "modern" remake. 

[Bison]

I'm going on record as saying have nothing against anyone making a profit.  Profit does not equate to evil.  Period.  End of story.  Have a good day.  Thank you.  Come again.  Et cetera...et cetera.

[MikeGER]

the COD releases rinse repeat formula works because every new year  a 'new generation' of toddlers grow into their 'counter strike age', and badly want the verboten (PEGI) bad bad 'adults'-shooter for their console ... and of course they don't want to play 'their granddads-COD' - aka the last release- and get exited by the new uber-featurers in the upcoming new release... and those types plague the MP-servers and make MP unbearable for anybody ever fired a real weapon on a range or in anger once.... or from a chopper at a saw;)   

it has similarities to Hollywood-biz, where also every year someone turning 14 or 16 or 18  and needs the movies made for his certain age-group ...so you get an endless stream of 'Scary movies' and 'Dumb and Dumber' / Dude, Where's My Car'  while the true cineasts wait for the next Ridley Scott, Stanley Kubirc  ...and maybe even a Woody Allan flick ... and those directors works are not exceptional on every releases also.
so it boils down to one good movie a year or two...

The true 21st century 2nd decade innovation of COD and other shooters would be a revolutionary augment reality COD game, where you attach your smartphone (landscape view, GPS and Cam- picture analysis) to a Blue Tooth plastics mock-up rifle (which has a powerpack for the phone for the extend use, and a trigger and a sensor for correct pressure against shoulder -or loose precision) as a sight, and also you may ware some augmentreality glasses too... and go multiplayer in the real world but with virtual bullets.
But that will not happen because the fat kiddie users must actually move ass! , go prone,  get a sight picture,  younameit...   

i am a (war)game gourmet ...and don't drink cheap vine from a cardbox container, well that may produce a quick buzz but its not a real treat.   

Good (war)games come to man who can wait
(...and 2013 with FC:RS and CMANO seems to become a good vintage :) )               

[MuzzyDev]

I think its safe to assume that if its in the computer gaming section we're talking about pc games.  There's a seperate forum for console games.  just saying.

If I'm not mistaken, this article is referring to all revenue from PC, Mac and console, retail and digital download.

Chris--

[MuzzyDev]

yet it is.

so heres my question.  with all of that money poured into making the game how hard could it be to make a solid sp campaign?

Great question.  I think it's just that it would mean a longer development cycle.  So we will wait far longer in between games and the publishers make less money.

It's also where you choose to spend the money.  If the devs/pubs are crafting a game that's to be used primarily for MP, then the SP campaign exists to get them familiar with the world, introduce variations of the maps to be used in MP, and a chance to practice with all the weapons and equipment at their own pace.

Chris--

[LongBlade]

In the case of CoD, I'm wondering where ANY of that money goes.

I would guess the stockholders

This has a lot to do with a lack of innovation.

As Bison noted above, there is nothing inherently evil with the profit motive.

The problem, however, is that public companies are not just trying to make money, but they're attempting to make money on a reliable basis for their shareholders. Shareholders demand different rates of return based on their willingness to take risks, but generally speaking most of them are not interested in maximizing profit in exchange for a maximum risk of losing everything. Instead, they want something reasonably stable and reliable. they'll gladly accept, say, a 10% return on investment in exchange for a limited amount of risk.

Unfortunately, in the gaming industry, one or two bombed games will kill a company's cash flow and drive them out of business. So in order to provide a stable, reasonably risk-free return to investors they don't take big risks. If the last game sold a million copies, there is no way a company is going to change the formula and risk not delivering at least that many sales again.

Thus the "lack of innovation." When millions of gamers decide that playing modern era FPS games aren't any fun, then we'll see a return to WWII or sci-fi.

Lastly, the Call of Duty franchise was established on short, highly intense single-player campaigns backed up by robust multiplayer games. IIRC Call of Duty 2 was only eight or ten hours of gameplay, so they're not really far off the mark from their original roots.

[Mr. Bigglesworth]

I'm going on record as saying have nothing against anyone making a profit.  Profit does not equate to evil.  Period.  End of story.  Have a good day.  Thank you.  Come again.  Et cetera...et cetera.

There is nothing wrong with profit if you provide a legitimate product or service. If you take profit relying on marketing to provide an illusion of a real product or service it is called ... a variety of things.

[GDS_Starfury]

Like bullshit.

[Mr. Bigglesworth]

In the case of CoD, I'm wondering where ANY of that money goes.

I would guess the stockholders

This has a lot to do with a lack of innovation.

As Bison noted above, there is nothing inherently evil with the profit motive.

The problem, however, is that public companies are not just trying to make money, but they're attempting to make money on a reliable basis for their shareholders. Shareholders demand different rates of return based on their willingness to take risks, but generally speaking most of them are not interested in maximizing profit in exchange for a maximum risk of losing everything. Instead, they want something reasonably stable and reliable. they'll gladly accept, say, a 10% return on investment in exchange for a limited amount of risk.

Unfortunately, in the gaming industry, one or two bombed games will kill a company's cash flow and drive them out of business. So in order to provide a stable, reasonably risk-free return to investors they don't take big risks. If the last game sold a million copies, there is no way a company is going to change the formula and risk not delivering at least that many sales again.

Thus the "lack of innovation." When millions of gamers decide that playing modern era FPS games aren't any fun, then we'll see a return to WWII or sci-fi.

Lastly, the Call of Duty franchise was established on short, highly intense single-player campaigns backed up by robust multiplayer games. IIRC Call of Duty 2 was only eight or ten hours of gameplay, so they're not really far off the mark from their original roots.

The original COD came out after the movie Enemy at the Gates. You could get 8 hrs gameplay just from the Stalingrad missions recreation of the movie.