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[GI.BIZ]Why didn't people buy Call of Duty this year?

Jose92

[Membe

The latest charts data coming out of the UK and Europe shows that Call of Duty: Vanguard sold significantly fewer units at launch than its predecessor, Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War.

Indeed, in the UK it is the weakest launch for the series in over a decade.


We teamed up with our friends at EGX and PAX to speak to an audience of hardcore gamers across the UK and US. Out of the 671 people we spoke to, 284 people said they have bought a Call of Duty game in the last five years, and out of those, just 59 (21%) said they bought this year's Call of Duty Vanguard.

So what about the 79% who didn't? What put them off?

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SkylineRKR

Member
Its not selling as well but still selling and will likely do so until the next one hits. Expect to see it in charts next year too.
 

Ellery

Member
I wonder if we have finally reached the point where the next generation of gamers become bigger and isn't that attracted to Call of Duty anymore and the Millenials are slowly fading away from the gaming landscape entering the parts of their lives where wife, children, career etc. become more important.

Actually surprised CoD was "relevant" for so long considering the stagnation.
 

SkylineRKR

Member
Modern warfare 2 about to pick up ALL that slack next year. That game is gonna be massive.

Thats probably the one I will buy. The last one was MW2019. And its funny because I also hated the game, for example its map design and how effective camping was. There are lots of reasons to hate this game, maps like piccadilly, caves were awful. But its still considered the best CoD in a long time and I tend to agree lol.
 

McGILLAZ

Member
As someone that has been purchasing annually - a couple things...Cold War was mediocre at best, I had just finished Far Cry 3 and was a little tired of the "woke" stuff - I know that COD this year was pushing the envelope by re-writing history and it's too hard to ignore at this point. Also - I am sick of updates for Warzone being installed every time I turn on my console - It makes me actively dislike and not want to play these games (not that I can because new updates are being installed every 15 minutes). Finally, Halo Infinite's multiplayer is free and fun as hell...and if I gotta choose one this year, I'm sticking with Halo. Should Modern Warfare 2 make an appearance in the future, maybe I'll hop back on, but for now I'm good.
 
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Kuranghi

Member
Christ this reminds me how behind I am, I still didn't play Infinite Warfare, Modern Warfare Remastered OR Modern Warfare 2019.

I like silly sci-fi shit, nostalgia and I'm told MW2019 is quite good, but even if its not I'd play for the graphics.
 

NickFire

Member
I played the free trial and enjoyed it. But ultimately it felt like more of the same with a crappy setting. If there had been a Black Friday sale on digital I would have considered it, but not at full retail price. I'll revisit when its on sale.
 

MiguelItUp

Member
Honestly I personally enjoyed the game more than what I played of Cold War, but that's not saying a whole lot.

A lot of people aren't into the WW2 setting, and there are WAY too many CODs, lmao.
 

SlimySnake

Flashless at the Golden Globes
Christ this reminds me how behind I am, I still didn't play Infinite Warfare, Modern Warfare Remastered OR Modern Warfare 2019.

I like silly sci-fi shit, nostalgia and I'm told MW2019 is quite good, but even if its not I'd play for the graphics.
MW 2019 is more of the same. There is only one good level. The night raid. Even that is basically on rails. The rest is the same exact bs thats been in every modern warfare since 2007.

I actually really liked Infinite Warfare. The space sequences and side missions really set it apart from other cods. I loved the space jet missions, and the newer sci fi weapons. Sadly, most of the other story missions were basically standard cod fare but at least it did try to do something different.
 

Kuranghi

Member
MW 2019 is more of the same. There is only one good level. The night raid. Even that is basically on rails. The rest is the same exact bs thats been in every modern warfare since 2007.

I actually really liked Infinite Warfare. The space sequences and side missions really set it apart from other cods. I loved the space jet missions, and the newer sci fi weapons. Sadly, most of the other story missions were basically standard cod fare but at least it did try to do something different.

Thats the level I've seen lol, the night raid. Oh well.

I'll just get MW:R and IW then. I want to cover spacemen in electric bees.
 
Why does everyone ignore how big Warzone is?

Literally everyone of my friends who were annual CoD buyers exclusively play Warzone now. They are all just waiting for the new map in a couple of days
 
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kiphalfton

Member
Somehow I manage to play almost every CoD game. Either it's cheap, comes in a bundle, or a family member owns it and let's me borrow it. I think that's how it gets into so many people's hands.

After Cold War, which had a crappy short campaign, I think I'm done. I hate any games with a mission hub, and prefer that the game just be a linear stream of missions. Also the side missions sucked in Cold War.

Thry could do a bit more with the franchise, since it is rising to the "Call of Duty" (i.e. going to war), so really it's not like it has to be confined to WW2, modern warfare, or future warfare. I'm not sure what they could do to reinvigorate the series. Maybe put it in medieval times with swords and crossbows? I dunno. I know Far Cry tried something different, with Primal, and I guess it didn't really land, so doubt any big shift in concept will ever happen.
 
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Dream-Knife

Banned
I played the demo a week or two ago and the game plays itself. Autoaim is insane. All you do is ads and pull the trigger. I don't remember MW2019 being like that, but if so yeah I'm not playing games like that.
 

Sub_Level

wants to fuck an Asian grill.
Thry could do a bit more with the franchise, since it is rising to the "Call of Duty" (i.e. going to war), so really it's not like it has to be confined to WW2, modern warfare, or future warfare. I'm not sure what they could do to reinvigorate the series. Maybe put it in medieval times with swords and crossbows? I dunno. I know Far Cry tried something different, with Primal, and I guess it didn't really land, so doubt any big shift in concept will ever happen.

Rumor is the next one will focus on the drug war & cartels. That would certainly be a new form of warfare for the series. It would also make sense gameplay-wise since the best levels in MW 2019 were smaller scale than the all-out warfare stuff.
 

Chukhopops

Member
Why does everyone ignore how big Warzone is?

Literally everyone of my friends who were annual CoD buyers exclusively play Warzone now. They are all just waiting for the new map in a couple of days
I would say so as well but in the survey only a small part said it's because of Warzone. On the other hand there is a lot more CoD / WW2 fatigue in the answers provided.

To me the bigger mystery is how it managed to stay at the top of the charts for so many years when every other game (except EA sports I guess) had to give up on annual releases at some point.
 
Somehow I manage to play almost every CoD game. Either it's cheap, comes in a bundle, or a family member owns it and let's me borrow it. I think that's how it gets into so many people's hands.

After Cold War, which had a crappy short campaign, I think I'm done. I hate any games with a mission hub, and prefer that the game just be a linear stream of missions. Also the side missions sucked in Cold War.

Thry could do a bit more with the franchise, since it is rising to the "Call of Duty" (i.e. going to war), so really it's not like it has to be confined to WW2, modern warfare, or future warfare. I'm not sure what they could do to reinvigorate the series. Maybe put it in medieval times with swords and crossbows? I dunno. I know Far Cry tried something different, with Primal, and I guess it didn't really land, so doubt any big shift in concept will ever happen.
There is so much they could do but won't because they are scared with and now petrified of the woke mob. Ask Kottik about it and he will now push out how they are all "stunning and brave". just to save his millions.

Shit company is gone. They don't make good games anymore and can't preserve history, just another zoomer mentality of re-writing history to not offended the weak minded masses.

They could do a Korean war game, a Vietnam game, a Desert Storm game, Bosnian war in the 90s, local conflicts, or do like cod2 and make historical missions. Shit they could even do present day and make up compelling fictional conflicts. If written by good non woke writers it could be real good.

They wont do any of this though.
 

tmlDan

Member
its prob the best COD in years in terms of movement and shooting.

The maps might be a bit weaker than past iterations and spawns are broken but its still hella fun imo.

Much better than that trash that was cold war...yuck.
 
I would say so as well but in the survey only a small part said it's because of Warzone. On the other hand there is a lot more CoD / WW2 fatigue in the answers provided.

To me the bigger mystery is how it managed to stay at the top of the charts for so many years when every other game (except EA sports I guess) had to give up on annual releases at some point.
Isn't warzone that battle royale mode that is like 210gb of space (fing too big if i am remembering right) . Oh and hasn't the pubg, fortnite , apex crap been over done?
I have no desire to play it.

Give me old school quake 3 / UT / bf2-4 gameplay and Id be all over it.
 

sn0man

Member
It requires an online connection just to play split-screen and campaign. I’ll save my money for something else.
 

Danknugz

Member
i played it a week or so ago when they had the free multiplayer weekend and i thought it was fun, same exact game though and no way i would buy it
 

mortal

Gold Member
I haven't seen anything groundbreaking done with the COD IP in a long time, despite the annual/ biennial releases.

Just brief moments of genius, but it's been mostly a quantity over quality affair imo. Like the Madden of first person shooters.
I'm not fond of their campaign designs either. They're often far too linear and on rails, to the point that it strips out all of the tension in firefights.
NPC AI and mission design lacks that organic high octane, high risk experience from the multiplayer fire fights.
The writing in campaigns showcase an over-reliance on tropes, with characters lacking depth and interesting motivations.

I'm of the belief that VR is the next logical domain for groundbreaking, innovative mechanics and gameplay experiences for titles like COD, and really the FPS genre in general.
 
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SZips

Member
I've lost major interest in the entire franchise in the past several years. Getting too old to keep up with the multiplayer. The lack of a SP campaign in one of those years was also a big loss since I actually somewhat enjoyed playing through the campaigns at least. But just watching others in a let's play or stream go through the new campaigns is enough for me. Saves me $60 and I don't have to support a shit company.

ww2 was a mistake.
That's meta as fuck.
 
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jonnyXx

Member
If there had been a Black Friday sale on digital I would have considered it, but not at full retail price. I'll revisit when its on sale.
Is it not on sale for consoles?
PC version is on sale for Black Friday, still 25% off right now.
 
I kind of like it. It’s a solid 7/10 game for me every year and aside from a few of them I get a good few months out of them then move on to something else.

Definitely not worth RRP but it’s a good time if you know what to expect. It’s definitely more fun than BF2042 this year at least!
 

[Sigma]

Member
I don't like COD anymore, haven't liked it in a long time for more than a decade now. But even saying that, WW2 is just a non starter to me now. That's automatic no. I barely managed to do it for Battlefield and love Battlefield, it's basically the only mp shooter I play outside of Killzone back when that was a thing.

Now id interested in some WW2 alternate universe steampunk type mp shooter from COD or Battlefield so the devs can let their imagination run wild with ideas and not be limited on things.
 

Excess

Member
Over half comes from "playing other games" and "too much COD". In a season with both Halo and BF2042, everything went as expected.

t. former analyst
 
well i nvr buy COD anyway. The only COD i've enjoyed since the COD 2 days...is black ops 4.
i gave it a go, with the Trial on PS5. I just didn't have a good time
 

Northeastmonk

Gold Member
I was so use to Call of Duty having a controversial scene in their games and for the past 7-8 years there really hasn’t been anything controversial. White Phosphorous in Modern Warfare was about it. The build up of a threat is a hit and miss. It all started with MW and BO with terrorists and various possible outcomes to war. It all just sorta blended together. The shootouts and the guns are fun. Nothing really stands out. I finished Vanguard’s campaign and I got what I wanted from it. I just didn’t get anything more than that gallery shootout. Modern Warfare from a couple years ago was great. I feel like there’s enough there to please someone who just wants a good shooter, but it’s nothing beyond the regular formula of the franchise. I wasn’t all that impressed by Vanguard’s campaign before the credits rolled. It just felt like a generic take on nazis and WW2 heroes with some cool soldier designs.
 

CitizenZ

Banned
Remember that thread where everyone was saying BF 2042 was going to be played more than CoD, its always hilarious. And all i can say about Halo is one thing, its free.
 

JackSparr0w

Banned
Christ this reminds me how behind I am, I still didn't play Infinite Warfare, Modern Warfare Remastered OR Modern Warfare 2019.

I like silly sci-fi shit, nostalgia and I'm told MW2019 is quite good, but even if its not I'd play for the graphics.
My last COD was World at War. Fun game that was.
 
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