INTERVIEW: ERIC HIRSHBERG, CEO, ACTIVISION PUBLISHING
innovate. There doesn’t seem to be forces in the market place that would throw the franchise down.“ Not bad going, then, for something you’d think would have hit a glass ceiling. “Well look at other forms of entertainment,” is Hirshberg’s answer to that. “Lots of non-sci-fi fans would have seen Avatar– to participate in pop culture, you see a movie like that because it is an event. That’s how we see Call of Duty. The needle we are always trying to thread is to making a game that core fans love, but which also welcomes new players in.”
CALLING FOR MORE A new Call of Dutyonline service, ‘Elite’, is Activision’s way of striking that balance between committed and new players. Elite launches at the same time as Modern Warfare 3 this November, but runs as a service across a range of CoDgames, and is accessible in-game on 360, PS3 and PC as well as via associated web and smartphone apps. It’s mostly free, with premium elements still to be detailed, and features functions such as player data, level heatmaps, competitions, strategy guides, plus clans and group support. Elite “supercharges the multiplayer experience” says Hirshberg.
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The Call of Duty franchise has grown every year and Activision hopes to continue the trend with Modern Warfare 3
Call of Duty Elite adds something neither PSN and XBL were designed to do. Eric Hirshberg, Activision
“You can look at those 58- minute-a-day players I mentioned as a passionate social community – but right now there’s not a way to really unlock it or get closer. Elite lets you choose which players to play with, or choose people on a similar skill level, or Man United fans, or join a group or squad based on a passion… Suddenly, players have the chance to curate their experience. We’re even making a suite of linear video content for fans – much in way ESPN would do that for their audience.” Sounds perfect for the hardcore, but what about these new fans Activision insists are out there?
June 3rd 2011
“Yes, the easiest way to look at Elite is through the lens of what it does for the core player. But Elite also makes the experience much better for new players. We hear the complaint from new players that they can get in to the game – and if you’re playing against people of higher skill, your experience will be over fast. So the tools on analysing how you play will be of benefit to those who want in.” Activision hasn’t announced yet which bits are to be monetised and which are free. But a big chunk will be free, the firm says. Why not charge for all of it? It’s surely a no-brainer for the biggest games cash cow to find new ways to make money. Hirshberg explains: “We have to protect the momentum we have. Elite is a tremendous investment that further connects the fanbase to the game. We want to give something back that makes the experience for them better.
“That said if we have succeeded in creating a big enough service which people then wish to pay to access more of, then great.”
TWO’S COMPANY
That reflects a duality which has run through all of CoD’s next phase. So Elite works separately to the likes of PSN and Xbox Live, despite being their most popular game. Meanwhile, the new Modern Warfareis developed by two studios in tandem – masters Infinity Ward and new outfit Sledgehammer – a first for the series. On the PSN and XBL issue, Hirshberg points how how Elite
“adds something neither PSN or XBL were designed to do” and that “There will be elements of Elite that are first ever for that kind of service; they are real firsts for consoles; they are real firsts for games.” And what of this dual-studio approach? “Of course it’s unusual, and it is more of a true collaboration than having other studios pitch in to help out which we have done in the past,” Hirshberg admits.
“The proof will be in the pudding, and right now it’s working out great. Whenever you have two strong creative entities working together there is potential for huge benefits and potential for healthy tension.” Indeed, Activision has more resources pointed on this goal of growing Call of Dutythan ever before. There are in fact three studios working on the game, as Elite is developed by another new team, Beachhead. And that’s not to mention a new free-to-play version for China and talk of other spin-offs. “We have a passionate audience and want to give them more,” says Hirshberg. “The reward of the gameplay is to keep players feeling more involved – and Elite follows that pattern. It makes it easier for new fans, but it means that the more you play the more powerful you become. “The idea that as you get better you gain more power and become harder to defeat is the core idea of the Call of Dutyexperience.” And, clearly, with a rival hot on its tail, that’s the core idea behind Call of Dutyas a franchise, too.
LESS IS MORE
OUTSIDE OF the BFG that Call of Dutyrepresents, Activision actually has a relatively slimmer slate of tentpole titles than in recent years. But that’s just a reflection of the
market, says Hirshberg. “There is a pattern on the market; a concentration of passionate energy around fewer games. The orthodoxy
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We are pouring our resources into the games we can make better than anyone else.
Eric Hirshberg, Activision
of the games business for years has been: you spread your bets, and let the good payouts fund the failures. But now we’re choosing to pour our resources into the games we can make better than anyone else. What we’re not doing is trying to compete in every category unless we have a unique advantage. “If players have told us anything over the years, it’s that they might not need eight different racers,” he remarks, referencing the failure of Blurand the closure of its studio, Bizarre Creations. “As for new genres, we’re actively engaged in looking at what our next opportunities may be, but my philosophy is that unless we can find something unique, we’ll probably not do it.”
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