Essential linkage: One industry analyst expects that Activision will move toward a subscription model for online play in Black Ops, Starcraft II - please, Gods... NO!
Feel like a real bummer of a Friday come down? Point your browser to this old article on the Industry Gamers site.
In it, Wedbush Morgan Securities analyst Michael Pachter makes the bold and frankly terrifying claim that with game sales plummeting, it's online and multiplayer gaming that's to blame. He posits that with so much of a game's lifespan originating from an effectively limitless amount of online play, gamers are buying less games.
Even worse, he has the following to say:
"We think that it is incumbent upon Activision, with the most popular multiplayer game, to take the first step to address monetization of multiplayer. It is too early to tell whether that will be a monthly subscription, tournament entry fees, microtransaction fees, or a combination of all three, but we expect to see the company take some action by year-end, when Call of Duty Black Ops launches."
To which we can only say... FOR THE LOVE OF ALL THAT IS HOLY, PLEASE NO.
We've already seen the monetisation of this space, in the shape of paid DLC. Many publishers, Activision being one of them, has made scads of cash from releasing new maps and game modes.
Of course, the above quote is taken from an article posted in June, so you might be forgiven for thinking that possibly Pachter has moved on from his belief, but Industry Gamer now reports he's saying that ahead of Activision Blizzard's upcoming earnings announcement that a further release on the move to monetise not only Black Ops, but also Blizzard's Starcraft II.
Here's what he told IG just recently:
"I truly think the biggest surprise [this holiday] will be the launch of a premium service offering multiplayer online gaming. The publishers all are looking at this, and I think one of them will be bold enough to announce such a service by year-end. I'll be surprised if the price is low, and equally surprised if gamers accept it without complaint."
Well, he's got that last bit right.
If a truly premium service were on offer, one that was bug free, fast, and involved solid connections to local servers that were user configurable... it might be worth it. But what are the chances of that actually happening?
Never, in the history of analysis, have I so wanted an industry pundit to be so dreadfully and categorically wrong. But like all the best horror scenarios... it's just all to believable, isn't it? Sadly, Activision does not comment on rumour or speculation, so there's nothing definitive on that front either.
Issue: 137 | June, 2012