Activision CEO says fan appreciation of Call of Duty doesn’t mirror critics review

by **ItzGame** Fri Dec 27, 2013 8:50 pm

Activision CEO says fan appreciation of Call of Duty doesn’t mirror critics review

Activision CEO spoke with GameInformer in their newest issue of the magazine where he talked about Call of Duty: Ghosts. The biggest thing he noted was that the franchise’s future can’t and shouldn’t be determined based upon the next-gen transition struggles many developers of faced.

He replied, “No,” and added, “We’ve been pretty transparent all year that we think, because of the challenges of the console transition year, that that was likely in the short-term. I think it would be a mistake to conflate the challenges of the console transition year with any indications about the health of the franchise.”

The biggest critic complaint to Activision about Call of Duty is the yearly releases. And of course, Activision disagrees says fans want a new game and have come to like having new games early.

“Well no, obviously not – and obviously I don’t agree with the critics there. I know that Call of Duty’s a polarising franchise with some of the critics, and it’s clear to me that not all the critics like our strategy of making a game every year, but thankfully our fans do.

“It’s also clear to me that the critical response doesn’t always mirror the fans’ appreciation of a game. We actually do read the critics’ comments and take them into consideration during our creative process, but we just can’t measure ourselves by that yardstick alone.

“Our most important audience is our fans, so we try to stay laser-focused on making games that they love. If you look at the fact that [Ghosts is] the most pre-ordered game of the year, it’s the most pre-ordered next-gen game of the year, it’s already the number one most played on Xbox Live, and that we’re seeing longer average playtimes than ever before, we’re confident that we’re doing well by the criteria that matter most.”