Do you imagine that every morning, when Michael Pachter wakes up, he dons a black robe, a pointy hat, drops a bunch of stuff into a bubbling cauldron and just predicts? Yeah, we do too. What a life, right?
His latest portent involves Respawn Entertainment, the new shop of former Infinity Ward-ers Jason West and Vince Zampella, and it goes a little something like this: the Call of Duty franchise will see lowered sales, thanks to more competition in what we like to call 'the near-superhuman military dudes blowing junk up' market.
"I think that it is likely that future games will sell fewer units in the past, primarily due to increased competition from Respawn, DICE and EA games that will likely be in the same or similar genres," Pachter said. He also anticipates that many gamers will recognize that West and Zampella are off the franchise, but that "the majority of consumers will either not know or will not care enough to shun future games." The lack of Infinity Ward's branding certainly didn't stop World at War from moving a bajillion units.
Reader Comments (35)
Posted: Apr 22nd 2010 9:38PM That Burning Sensation said
. . . actually if you look at history, it would tell us different. When Jason West and Vince Zampella left Medal of Honor the quality took a noticeable nose dive and so did the sales. Many people who play MW2 don't even remember Allied Assault. Hell I don't even remember the bazillion other MoH titles and I was a fan.
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Posted: Apr 23rd 2010 1:41AM BoBsS said
Yeah but 15+ million people buying the 3rd one won't realize that the game is now shit until after they've made their purchase ... but Kotick will still get those 15+ million people before they are caught by surprise .... with their pants down .... embarassed
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Posted: Apr 22nd 2010 9:21PM OzCueball said
"I think that it is likely that future games will sell fewer units in the past, primarily due to increased competition from Respawn, DICE and EA games"
Really? Okay i wanna try . . . um . . . I predict . . . with my magical ball of wisdom . . . that . . . THE SUN WILL COME UP TOMORROW!!!
Oh my god . . . guys . . . you gotta try this!
Reply
Really? Okay i wanna try . . . um . . . I predict . . . with my magical ball of wisdom . . . that . . . THE SUN WILL COME UP TOMORROW!!!
Oh my god . . . guys . . . you gotta try this!
Posted: Apr 22nd 2010 10:36PM Rawrmander said
The sun clearly doesn't go anywhere, it's the Earth that rotates and reveals the sun.
Therefore, your prediction is wrong.
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Therefore, your prediction is wrong.
Posted: Apr 22nd 2010 11:10PM OzCueball said
@Rawrmander
If i were in outer space then i would be incorrect.
But from an on earth perspective, no matter how earth turns, the sun will "rise from the horizon" in an upward fashion in the morning hours and desend in the horizon in the evening hours.
So i'm right. :)
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If i were in outer space then i would be incorrect.
But from an on earth perspective, no matter how earth turns, the sun will "rise from the horizon" in an upward fashion in the morning hours and desend in the horizon in the evening hours.
So i'm right. :)
Posted: Apr 22nd 2010 9:39PM (Unverified) said
Posted: Apr 22nd 2010 9:26PM Mr Khan said
To a certain degree, perhaps, but i think that Activision's own actions will impact the franchise more than what competitors may or may not be able to do
For now, Call of Duty is still the premier brand. If Activision chooses to run it into the ground as they have with Guitar Hero, it will implode on itself, but Guitar Hero stood unbowed by Rock Band for some time, competition wasn't the problem in that case.
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For now, Call of Duty is still the premier brand. If Activision chooses to run it into the ground as they have with Guitar Hero, it will implode on itself, but Guitar Hero stood unbowed by Rock Band for some time, competition wasn't the problem in that case.
Posted: Apr 22nd 2010 9:31PM PersianSpice said
Well, glad to see Mike is passing middle school.
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Posted: Apr 22nd 2010 9:34PM That Burning Sensation said
For 20 dollar gift card at lobsters, anyone of us could have made that analysis. How do you do it Pachter?
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Posted: Apr 22nd 2010 9:35PM Support Arizona said
Doesn't matter.
They're still going to make tons of money with Call of Duty.
And I hope they do.
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They're still going to make tons of money with Call of Duty.
And I hope they do.
Posted: Apr 22nd 2010 9:58PM (Unverified) said
I think it will partially be due to the number of people who found MW2 way underwhelming in singleplayer, and a little underwhelming in multiplayer. As an outsider on this whole situation, I hear more good things about Bad Company 2 than Modern Warfare 2.
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Posted: Apr 22nd 2010 10:54PM TraceurRyuk Prepping for LBP2 said
You hear more bad things about MW2 because it's cool to hate what's popular. You should judge them for yourself.
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Posted: Apr 24th 2010 10:21AM (Unverified) said
One of the MAIN reasons why World at War sold as many copies as it did was because of Modern Warfare 1. Maybe Activision will get one more good game off the CoD franchise because it will ride the success of MW2, but after that this series is dead.
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Posted: Apr 22nd 2010 11:06PM armageddon said
While that is possible, they have clear history of doing just that so in all likelihood that's what they will do.
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Posted: Apr 22nd 2010 11:57PM Cthulhupal said
Everytime I drive past the Wedbush tower in Downtown Los Angeles, I smile and imagine to myself that somewhere, high up in that building Michael Pachter is jumping into a time machine, and returning with game news from the future!!!
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Posted: Apr 23rd 2010 12:06PM kenny goo said
Between Battlefield's renewed strength and industry significance, the revamp of the Medal of Honor series, and Infinity Ward breaking off with the creation of Respawn who is likely doing a modern military shooter, this genre just got a whole lot more competitive.
It's been crowded for the last 5 years. That's not really news, but it hasn't been all that competitive with Modern Warfare getting most of the marketshare and little else standing in its way. Even though I love Modern Warfare, I love competition more, so I'm all for it. Hell, let's not forget about Treyarch either. World at War wasn't half bad, and Vietnam is a hell of a lot closer to "modern day" then WWII is.
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It's been crowded for the last 5 years. That's not really news, but it hasn't been all that competitive with Modern Warfare getting most of the marketshare and little else standing in its way. Even though I love Modern Warfare, I love competition more, so I'm all for it. Hell, let's not forget about Treyarch either. World at War wasn't half bad, and Vietnam is a hell of a lot closer to "modern day" then WWII is.
Posted: Apr 23rd 2010 12:43PM GoonieGooGoo said
Why do we continue to listen to anything this guy says....is it because he is the only person that even mentions videogames???
Pachter states the obvious all the time and is often more wrong than right.
WHY JOYSTIQ WHY!!?? Just stop covering this dude.
Reply
Pachter states the obvious all the time and is often more wrong than right.
WHY JOYSTIQ WHY!!?? Just stop covering this dude.
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