Why Is Call of Duty So Addictive?

As far as sales figures go, the Call of Duty franchise is the biggest thing to ever happen to gaming. In fact, its moneymaking potential is making Hollywood blockbuster films blush with their inadequacy to compete. So I think it’s pretty fair to say that there are a lot of people who like Call of Duty.

So why is the series so popular, and why do people spend so much time with it year after year?

[ape007]

because the gameplay is simply awesome

[th3n00bg4m3r]

If by awesome, you mean bad, then you are definitely right.

[ape007]

there's a reason why it's the number 1 most played game, take all your other arguments, roll em up into a ball, turn the someb!tch sideways and stick it right up your CANDY @SS !!!

[th3n00bg4m3r]

Oh my god, you insulted me, i feel bad now, oh my god.

[ape007]

just joking, stealing the rock catchprases xD

[GammaSix]

Because its easy, which isnt a bad thing but thats why.

[TheFirstClassic]

Yeah but after playing something like bad company 2 I don't understand why people stick with it. Its just so limited and repetitive.

[solid_warlord]

If CoD is so easy why are 60% of CoD players fucking awefull. Most die alot and have shit K/D ratio. I consistently get 20 plus kills and less than 10 deaths with top K/D ratio. I always get put in shit team and in average breast feed my team. U cant play CoD as u would with say BF games. CoD requires u to run and gun. U dont have the luxury to sit on one huge map for long time. Though campers can be annoying, it really doesnt pay. Spawning fast and killcam, all adds up to a fantastic Teamdeath match orianted game.

[TheFirstClassic]

How do you think the average cod player would play on Killzone 2 or even Killzone 3? Or bf if they hadn't tried. There's so many bad players because they are generally either little kids or casuals who don't play many games. But the game is still easier to learn than other shooters, and that's why they play it.

[admiralvic]

CoD is easy, in the sense of everything being really simple. You don't need to learn a bunch of buttons, figure out how to deal with cars / tanks (like in Battlefield) and thus people like it. This is further enhanced by the fact everyone else is playing it, which in turn forces you to play it to be with your friends. Hard to say how much of this is the actual "key" to success, but I am sure a lot of people are buying it because they know their friends are and people want to play with friends. I like playing niche games, but I rather play with a friend on Dead Space 3 than spend hours trying to find someone smart enough to play E.X. Troopers.

[JeffGUNZ]

@Cpayne93

That's such a terrible argument. That would be true for any game. Someone who plays BF or KZ2 jumps to play COD, which they haven't really played, they will do poorly as well. People who don't really like COD or play it come up with lazy arguments like yours. I can easily tell who is great, who is good, who is average, and who blows simply based on their playing. If it were so easy everyone would have positive K/D ratios and all games would be down to the wire, which most are not.

[TheFirstClassic]

No, it isn't a terrible argument. I played Killzone before cod, if you can believe that. Once I started playing it didn't take long for me to surpass the skill level I had in Killzone 2. It has a smaller learning curve, that's all there is to it.

[guitarded77]

I wouldn't say "easy"... more like "accessible". It's a well constructed, fast paced game where casual and core players can have fun. It also offers a lot of value with the campaign, MP and co-op. Players can clock in hundreds of hours of gameplay for a relatively low price (excluding DLC) per hour of gameplay. There is also a huge community playing at all times, so you don't have to hunt for a game. The lobby system is very accessible for those who may not know how to set up or find a game.

[TopDudeMan]

Same reason everyone returns year in year out to play pokemon. It's just fun.

[STK026]

It's a fun, pick up and play, fast-paced shooter. It managed to find the right balance between realism and arcade so that people can recognize the weapons and the technologies used, while still remaining forgiving enough so that you don't die without having a chance to fight back.

The campaigns are short, but full of set pieces and never really have the player go through an extended period of time without action.

Call of Duty is basically like a Michael Bay movie; it's simple, action-packed and a lot of people will buy it. It might not be the best game of the year, but it certainly is entertaining.

[ExCest]

This is why people hate it, and it's the truth. It's fun, it's action-packed, but because it's like a Bay movie, it gets tiring after two or three while the first is amazing.

[Neoprime]

Correction, thats why some(small group) people hate.

[Nes_Daze]

Exactly, a Bay movie, overrated, and far from the best out there. But of course, it's fun, I enjoyed Black Ops 2 for the short amount of time that I played it.

[e-p-ayeaH]

Michael Bay sucks now call of duty doesnt at least in full.

[thezeldadoth]

it's really fun, despite what awesome cool "core" players say on here. COD4 was a masterpiece to core players, until it got popular, then they didnt get to feel different and cool for playing it. same sad story with the sudden hatred for WoW. If a franchise becomes successful, it gets hated on by "core" players.

COD is really fun, in my opinion the black ops franchise is more fun that MW.

[claterz]

I agree that CoD can be fun and that's what makes people come back to it. But people didn't just start hating on it because "it got popular". CoD4 was amazing (and still is) because of things like map design, weapons and even it's campaign. Now they have just gone way over the top in order to try and please everyone. I would love for them to go back to 3 fixed killstreaks, more recoil on all weapons, simple map designs etc because they were the things that made CoD4 such a good game. Unfortunately they will never go back to that and will continue trying to make the game "more accessible" until people eventually get bored of it.

[Welshy]

The 3 locked killstreaks and weapons with actual recoil made COD4 the best for me too.

You went into a game and evryone had the same objective and rewards, so it was more balanced in the process.

You KNOW at some point someone is going to unlock a chopper, but they can't stack... so do you use it bright and early to get a jump on the next potential streak? or do you risk holding off til your taking a difficult objective but an enemy might do the same for defence.

Made for a much more level and fair battlefield with a more tactical edge. No random 1 of 20 killstreaks flying all over at once or at random.

I loved COD4 and had a love-hate thing going on with MW2, but everything else since then when it went all-reaching to the masses and "more approachable" can GTFO in my opinion as a person who considers themself to be a "serious" gamer.

[Neoprime]

Not "Core players" but "Hermit and Hipster gamers/players".

[Welshy]

It's absolutely nothing to do with "being hipster" or going off it "because it became cool/popular".

The reason people bought into COD4 was because it was exciting, the map design was the great, the gameplay was fast and fluid and most importantly, it innovated and brought online multiplayer at a console level to new heights.

Have any sequels since properly been exciting? innovative? excellent map design? improve the online experience?

Nope, all the subtlety, balance and excellent pacing is gone for the sake of getting the masses into their pockets and online. Every year it becomes more OTT, bombastic and "accesible". The only advantage this brings is $$$ to Activision and 0% benefit to the people who really bought into COD4 and let the franchise properly take-off this gen.

Bring back the subtle, well paced and well designed aspects of COD4, get the 12yo friendly fragfest the f*ck away from me.

[ape007]

agree 100%, some people like to act trendy, yeah those guys with 0 social skills\no friends

[Outside_ofthe_Box]

***"COD is really fun, in my opinion the black ops franchise is more fun that MW."***

I guess since MW is more popular than BO it'd be the "cool" thing to like BO more, right? /s

***"If a franchise becomes successful, it gets hated on by "core" players."***

I guess people hate GTA now too, you know because it's popular? /s

CoD4 was good and the most balanced while the other CoDs after it haven't matched or surpassed it. It's as simple as that. Not it's "kewl" to hate on CoD. I'm starting to think that people like you think it's cool to say people that hate the recent CoDs feel that way because it's cool to do so.

CoD is addictive because it's a pick up and win game. Anyone can be good at it. It's near impossible to not have fun with something you're good at hence why CoD sells millions every year as people want to continue the fun.

[ProGrasTiNation]

Because it targets kids that want easy quick gratification.
No skill level required,you can play CoD while banning out of your head on mdma!

[Nes_Daze]

It's not, my copy is in the bottom part of my gaming setup collecting dust...

[JeffGUNZ]

So the other 10 millions people playing it all the time, they don't count since you, one person, doesn't play it?

[DEATHxTHExKIDx]

Its not I was able to quit after MW2.

[Y_5150]

I try to stay off drugs and Call of Duty, cause they are addictive. :P

[TotalHitman]

I have no idea. I get bored of the repetition. Every game is the same.

[e-p-ayeaH]

that´s exacly why i dont like RTS.

repetition comes in every game multiplayer game modes are repetitive in nature.

[Kingdom Come]

Not when you get competent developers who understand that with a sequel there needs to be a certain degree of unfamiliarity. The gamer needs to realise when playing a sequel that they are playing a continuation, but need to feel that something has changed, evolved, otherwise you get a Call of Duty scenario, when the franchise becomes fatigued.

[3-4-5]

* Quick gameplay

* Quick Re-spawn so when you die, you get another chance right away.

This allows people to improve faster than they would if they had to wait 1 minute in between deaths.

* Easy and fast to find a game. compared to other online games, COD always finds a game fast.

* They are fun. The fun is wearing a bit thin and I think it's safe to say we are ready for Next gen, but still they remain solid quality games.

[Urbz7870]

It's easy that's why.

[e-p-ayeaH]

that really depends on the players.

[e-p-ayeaH]

Its one of those few online shooters that works the way it should.

simple, effective and great designed game play overall even tough that being said that was until MW2 came along since then the multilayer started to suck its to much sugar on the candy.

[GraveLord]

Adrenaline. That feeling you get when on a killstreak just keeps me coming back. Sometimes I even get the urge to replicate my killstreaks in real life.

(That was a joke in case you didn't notice)

[Raoh]

I stopped playing after modern warfare.

WHen they announced world at war for full retail, I decided to not support or pay for dlc like updates at full retail prices.

But in typical mass consumer fashion, everyone rushed out to buy the same game in new skin every year.

Its not even challenging, people love to fire from the hip like its a skill but its all auto aim.

sigh.. enough of my rant I'm sorry, yeah its because its pretty much easy, an 8 year old, a 12 year old, a 15 year old, a 25 year old and a 63 year old can each play with pretty much the same amount of skill and level and earn rewards every few seconds.

Fun is fun but people really should not have support a yearly plus dlc release every year.

[solidworm]

Because the world is a dumb, sad and pathetic place full of dumb, sad and pathetic kids.