It's now the day of the next big Call of Duty map pack release (for 360, anyway), and at my particular GameStop, people are eager to get their codes or buy Microsoft points so they can be ready. That's cool. I don't have a problem with that. But at about 8:30 last night(thirty minutes before we close), one customer in particular came in, one that I don't think I'll ever forget.
He was bringing back Borderlands to buy Microsoft points, but had forgotten his receipt. He had left it at home, and spent nearly ten minutes trying to convince us to do the return without it. After conversing with him, we discovered he'd bought every map pack thus far, and two or three copies of Black Ops- he couldn't recall. All told, we calculated that he'd spent nearly $200 on Black Ops, and he was looking to spend more. We asked him what it was that made him want to spend so much.
"I don't know, man," he said. "I gotta have it."
If you've never seen a drug addict before, take my word for it: this guy is addicted.
He needed his fix. He came back shortly after we'd closed, and I can only say he should consider himself lucky that we went through with the transaction. Borderlands, which he'd just gotten the day before and thoroughly enjoyed, was sacrificed for Microsoft points. And those points will go on to fuel his addiction.
What the hell is in this game? I know people who've gotten married and divorced over Warcraft, and yet even THEY didn't act like this. The Call of Duty phenomenon has scores of people unable to get away, and for the life of me, I can't figure out how Activision does it.
Now let me go on the record as saying I'm not the biggest fan of the franchise. I don't HATE the series, but I've been disappointed with them in recent times. I came onboard with World at War; it was my second ever FPS- after Time Splitters 2- and my first of this generation. I loved it. I thought it was an absolutely amazing game. By the time Modern Warfare 2 came out, I was a much better FPS player, having honed my skills with Killzone 2, Battlefield 1943, and more World at War. I was hyped for the game.
... but somehow, it just didn't seem the same. The story was evocative, but too short; It took me forever to finish World at War, and I never actually DID finish Killzone, but I saw the end of Modern Warfare 2 over the course of two days and about five hours. The multiplayer was crisp, but it was barely a week before guys were running around with akimbo shotguns, filling the sky with so many jets and choppers that if you spawned outside, you pretty much just sat and got ready to spawn again.
People loved it, though. Enough to make it the highest selling- and most pirated- game of all time... at the time. Don't get me wrong: I did enjoy the game. But it somehow got old to me, real fast.
Black Ops has seen even more success, culminating in this fourth map pack.
But what is it about the games that makes them so desirable? Most of the things people point out aren't things I consider good in a FPS. Camping, quick-scoping, spawn camping (no, I'm not being an ass; multiple people have literally said these things make the game fun). To be honest, there are better FPS titles available, games that do what Call of Duty does, only better. But none of them have sales numbers anywhere NEAR the last few Call of Duty games.
Another longtime customer came in last week, talking about Call of Duty. Just days before, he'd traded in loads of games, including ones he hadn't even played yet. Turns out he'd gotten so absorbed playing Black Ops that he hadn't bothered to even unwrap a game he paid sixty bucks for.
This guy isn't somebody new to gaming, like most (whether you want admit it or not, it's the truth) Call of Duty players are. Like me, his PS2 collection was heavy with rpgs, and he played a variety of games and genres before Call of Duty. But it was ten minutes before he even REMEMBERED that he used to play something OTHER than shooters.
Am I missing something? Is my brain the one that's wired wrong? Why am I not addicted to the franchise like so many millions of others are?
Nintendo has finally provided a date and time for its June Direct, which is set for Tuesday, June 18th at 7am PT / 10am ET.
I’d love to see a nice, accessible, mainstream fun game in time for the Christmas season.
Won't watch it but look forward to any news of multiplatform games. Maybe the long rumored Final Fantasy Tactics Remaster will be shown finally.
Love Final Fantasy, but I suck at Tactical games. I tried to play War of the Lions but my god, was I awful at the game and barely touched it. The game gets so much praise though and I'd love for the remaster to roll around for all the fans!
Train your attack power, put on your armor, grab your magically enchanted boomerang and run. Keep running, and never stop.
TechRaptor writes, "Fatal Fury: City of the Wolves is the first Fatal Fury game from SNK in over two decades. We got to play an early version of it, and it's definitely worth getting excited about."
good stuff
People get sucked in. I think it has to do with the reward structure in COD. It looks easy to be the best, but when you reach the top of the game or prestige, they set you back down again so you have to earn everything all over. I think that's why people keep coming back.
I don't like gamestop people.I don't go there anymore simply because I can't stand motherfuckers asking me do I wanna preorder games that are coming out 6-8 12 months from now FUCK NO ! How many times do I have to repeat myself ? Sorry had to take it of my chest :D
I use to be addicted during Cod4 to WaW, i have Mw2 and Black Ops but i only play it a few times a week and usually less than a hour. I have more games in my collection and i see no point of why i should dedicate my life to one game. This year i will be getting Mw3 but it's actually not my most inticipated game... That spot is for Skyrim.