Pachter: Subscription Plans Expected For Call Of Duty And StarCraft II

It seems like whether it wants to do so or not, Activision is going to be forced into announcing a subscription plan for Call of Duty due to the sheer number of constant rumors and analyst whispers regarding it. The latest adds an interesting twist, at least: Popular Wedbush Morgan analyst Michael Pachter believes StarCraft II could be getting a subscription service as well.

[Yi-Long]

... anyone who truly loves gaming, has decided to boycot Activision by now anyway...

... but obviously, this kinda BS is just one more extra reason to not give Bobby and the rest of the greedy bastards at Activision any of your money.

[xtremexx]

good point

[presto717]

If Activision is actually stupid enough to make SC2 pay-to-play then screw them. I'd pass for sure.

[AntoineDcoolette]

Its hard to completely avoid the Activison brand when Blizzard is part of the family : / But if these a holes actually implement online fees just to play SC2 and CoD... *facepalm* the **** I going to do then?

[playstation_clan]

i just canceled my pre-order for black ops.
I'm not made of money and DC universe looks better

[Quagmire]

I'm gonna play for the sake of Treyarch only, but will buy it second hand at the expense of Activision. If treyarch os smart, the will play the Infinity Ward card and convert to EA.

[ChronoJoe]

Don't think EA are much better.

Independent and self publish on Steam/PSN. :)

[distorted_reality]

So you cancelled a pre-order on the rumour of a pay to play system, yet are going to buy an MMO with a pay to play system?

[BeaArthur]

I love gaming and I haven't boycotted them. As long as they keep publishing games I want to play I will keep buying. I will however boycott any pay to play model.

[JsonHenry]

I like SC2. But I AM NOT paying to play online. The day this happens my game will get deleted from my HDD.

[rumplstilts]

Anybody who truly loves gaming, couldn't pass up on Starcraft 2. It is crack. It is just that damn good.

[IneedWeed]

I don't think SC II will get subscription fees but COD Black Ops might. Why would they start charging out of nowhere? That's BS.

[Ca9ine]

All things point to Activision will have paid subscriptions in regards to the Call of Duty series.

But, Activision and Infinity Ward also denied this not so long ago:
http://feedthegamer.info/20... -
http://feedthegamer.info/20... -
http://feedthegamer.info/20... -
http://feedthegamer.info/20...

All links are different takes on this.

[AssassinHD]

Why is this guy so hard up for subscription services?

[ProgidalSon]

Pachter may be telling the truth. Kotick is definitely responsible. I swear he can't go 5 minutes without thinking of ways to monetize. And he knows people are going to end up paying, I hope someday karma pays him back.

[redking315]

ways to monetize gaming is his job. Why should he be responsible to you? Activision makes decent games. It would be different if they made games that always rank in the 50% or under on metacritic, but they don't.

[josh14399]

if subscriptions are announced im sure at least at first they will be optional similar to playstation plus where you get bonuses for subscribing.

[darx]

what don't you people understand? The guy is in business to make money that is the point of any business. Too make money!

[UltimateIdiot911]

And it's people like you who think like this that allows some companies to get away with that. There is more to a business than making money but since you so firmly believe that business is all about making money, you continue to accept that fact and allow this kind of trend to continue.

Have you ever thought about a business trying to create a win win situation instead of a win lose? Maybe that's what makes the difference between a company I rather support and a company I wouldn't.

[darx]

" A business is typically formed to earn profit that will increase the wealth of its owners and grow the business itself. The owners and operators of a business have as one of their main objectives the receipt or generation of a financial return in exchange for work and acceptance of risk."

[kornbeaner]

@ Assassin, because when somebody pays for a subscription you have hooked them. For example look at XBL, $50 for one year (roughly). A ton of people paid it to try it out and then they meet players, made a few gaming buddies next thing you know the year is up. What Now? Well what happens most of the time the user will start justifying the price of XBL and pay for it again. Its just $50 bucks, I've made friends, I already have an established gamer tag and score might as well keep going. Next thing you know what started off as a "try it out" period turns into part of your gaming expense. You see it with XBL, WoW and other subscription based goods. Activision (mainly Bobby) knows this is and is trying to cash in.

[AssassinHD]

No I understand why developers and publishers might be hard up for a subscription service, but why is Michael Pachter? Every third word that comes out of his mouth these days is "subscription".

[sickpup]

I'm sorry but anyone who believe this guy is stupid. Treyarch has already said numerous times "NO" subscription fees. I can't speak for Starcraft II but BlackOps will not have them so stop trying to push the rumor that they will. Let it die

[TrevorPhillips]

Why on earth would Activision do that when we already pay for xbox live $70 a month aus, isnt that enough already... O_o

[8800gtx]

Thats a tax you pay to Microsoft for using their network.

8800gtx

[Dazel]

www.facebook.com/group.php?gid =144766462200173

[ChronoJoe]

Neither of these games have the content depth of MMOs (ie endless), they're about the gameplay and experience rather than content, which doesn't make a MMO-esque subscription plan justifiable.

[Bolts]

The real question is what are they offering in return if you pay? Charging is easy, offering something in return, now figuring that out is the hard part.

[bibs4353]

that is all it is. But if it happens i will quit SC2.

The paid user create crap is bullnoise. I really doubt they would do that but we all know that Blizzard loves the money

[HeartDisease]

any game that is currently out CANNOT start charging online fees. you purchased the game under the pretense of "no fees" so to add them after the fact would be unethical and a class action lawsuit would soon follow. now if they added NEW content that they wanted to charge for, that is a different story. but then again if you want additional content you must pay additional money, sorta like they do for map pack releases. soo assume your SC2 is safe for now. besides blizzard is not known to screw their fans.

as for the new call of duty balck ops, that they may try to charge for online play, but i doubt it. is activision so greedy for money that they are willing to resort to biting the hand that feeds them? perhaps if they actually added something in exchange for the fee like new maps weekly, STABLE LAG FREE servers, additional content, then the fee would be justified.

sadly it seems pachter is here to stay. how can someone, that is not a gamer, get others to hang on his every word is beyond me. he simply has to say something stupid and the gaming press recites it 100X times over till it becomes fact. "hey people want a pay psn network" "hey people like motion controls" "game companys need to charge for online now" "3d is the next big thing in gaming" "people want to play games while standing on their heads"

[MidnightWatcher]

Its going to get worse for gamers as Big game companies are going to provide the least they can and charge to most they can for game to maximise their profits.

But that's Capitalism for you. You all decided to live with it

[redking315]

I don't think that the yearly Call of Duty games will ever go pay to play, Even Activision knows that would be stupid and eventually hurt sales. I think that the pay to play COD will be a totally separate beyond the yearly release. and people need to stop grouping Activision and Blizzard together. while they are part of the same company Blizzard still functions the same way they did 10 years ago. Diablo 2 cost $60 at retail, that has been the norm for Blizzard gaems. They have no "lost their soul" they still are the same great company, with their own CEO. also in regards to Bobby Kotick, people just need to shut up. He's just a bussiness man, trying to make money, he's not an idiot or the devil as everyone makes him out to be. His first and foremost duty is to the shareholders not you. and yes I buy Activision games. I don't see why I shouldn't. I don't see them as evil, I just see them as a company.

[AEtherbane]

Activision has nothing to do with SC2. Blizzard and Activision act as separate entities, people dont understand that, they are just in a merger, it doesn't mean they have to act as one compony.

[DeeBee]

I was going to mention that myself. Activision DOES NOT control Blizzard products, therefor Activision CANNOT announce that THEY are going to make SC2 subscription based.

I totally expect all Activision products to be come subscription based in the near future, but Blizzard products, now that's a different story altogether.

[AngelicIceDiamond]

Ok cool giving me a reason not play Call Of Duty I grow tired Of 1st person shooters anyway.

[Ca9ine]

Well, AEtherbane, Kotick has much of everything to do with Blizzard.
Activision is the top dog in this.

"Blizzard's Mike Morhaime now reports directly to newly appointed chief operating officer Thomas Tippl, who in turn reports to Activision CEO Bobby Kotick."

Source here:
http://www.massively.com/20...

[Zinc]

It would be a far worse business decision for Activision to simply say, 'yeah, we are now going to mess with a model/cash cow that has been working very well', in regard to Blizzard, than to simply leave them as they are. Because, ultimately they are doing very well as it stands right now. They would be cutting their own throats by turning to some kind of subscription based model for battlenet.

[JumpNPlayBon]

how does this asshole still have a job? is he ever right about anything?

[FalconR289]

Why won't he keep his pie hole shut?