This weekend, Activision has outed one of the worst kept secrets in the industry; Modern Warfare 3 is coming. Just in time for E3 too, what grand timing! Call of Duty games will never stop coming, Activision will see to it until their final breath of bankruptcy. But the question is, will you keep playing said games?
Before I fire off into any type of grand rant, let me say this: I enjoyed Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare and Modern Warfare 2. I didn't like any of the older Call of Duty games, nor World at War. I bought into the hype of Call of Duty: Black Ops and quicky tired of the copy-and-paste experience. So what should I expect from Modern Warfare 3? Well right off the bat, the next chapter in the Modern Warfare series has several strikes against it. First, series developer Infinity Ward is a shell of its former self. After a bitter falling out with Activision over unpaid royalties, the evil empire fired IW head honchos Vince Zampella and Jason West. As most good soldiers would, more than half of Infinity Ward's longtime staff resigned, leaving with their captains. Due to the loss of more than a few good men, Actvision restaffed Infinity Ward, keeping alive the name Zampella and West created like some sort of dev house Frankenstein.
Well, something must be wrong with the new Infinity Ward. Maybe Activision didn't trust the folks they plugged into the holes to stop the bleeding. Modern Warfare 3 will be developed by three, yes three studios. The restructured Infinity Ward will craft the campaign together with Sledgehammer Games. The multiplayer component will be handled by Raven Software. Too many cooks in the kitchen? How will the game deliver a consistent experience when there are three different groups working on it? It would require incredible attention to detail, and unification not seen since the Berlin wall toppled. Can you tell that my trust in this task isn't the strongest?
Activision's cash grabbing ways of releasing a Call of Duty title every year means they have very strict deadlines. As Black Ops was crafted by Treyarch, Modern Warefare 3 has been in development since Modern Warfare 2's release in late 2009. That's plenty of time to create a strong game, however with all the drama that's torn through Activision and Infinity Ward since, one would think there would be set backs, conflicts, disagreements and so on. You know, things that would disrupt a development cycle. If so, we haven't heard any of it; Activision keeps cracking its whip to get its next cash cow on store shelves for Holiday 2011, even if it means Bobby Kotick creating character models and animations on his own.
Have you heard that Activision wants you to pay up for multiplayer? It's been mentioned on dozens of occassions by various outlets, and is a pretty well known fact now. Activision considers free multiplayer a gift to the player, and after so many gifts, it's due time to start collecting dividends. The Call of Duty franchise is one of the most successful of our time, especially multiplayer, which keeps the attention of millions held for hours a day, even months (or years) after initial release. Servers and maintenance and the like are expensive, so why should Activision be satisfied with your $60 entrance fee? A nominal stipend to play online - including some extras to make you feel like you're actually getting something in return for your money - is no big deal, right? Actually, it's a huge deal. Should Activision continue along with this plan, the online game model will drastically change. Only a sliver will be put off by the online fee, with enough children convincing their parents to pay up for Activision to consider the experiment a success, thus opening a can of worms that would have been better off untouched. Though none of this is has been mentioned in regards to MW3 let alone finalized, it's only a matter of time before the discussing heats up. Call of Duty is at the peak of its popularity, and there is no better time to introduce an online play fee. I pray I'm wrong.
I'm not sure where I read it, but I remember someone writing Call of Duty has become the sports games of shooters; new players, slight graphical updates, but the same old game. I used to like Modern Warfare, but these days there are too many strikes against Activision for me to begin caring. Besides, I'm much more a fan of space marines than modern day soldiers, anyway. Pink needles, chainsaw bayonets, and powered armor defeat an M4A1 any day of the week.
What is your take on Modern Warfare 3? Are you amped to get your hands on it? Will you be willing to pay a subscription fee for online play should it come to that? Let us know in the comments.
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