Treyarch, like Infinity Ward, releases a Call of Duty game every two. This allows Activision to treat Call of Duty as an annual series. Essentially, this encourages gamers to purchase a new title each year to keep up.
What if instead of releasing a new game every year, Activision were to support their games for a longer period, and not milk the franchise dry, as they did with Guitar Hero? There are lessons to be learned from Guitar Hero's demise, and Activision would do well to heed them.
We take a look at the possibilities that releasing on schedule would offer, against continuing to support Black Ops 2 for a longer amount of time. Instead of ceasing support for Black Ops 2, what if Treyarch were to release even more DLC for the game?
To that end, we weigh the pros of cons of supporting Black Ops 2 versus keeping the game's annual release schedule.
Pros of Releasing Black Ops 3
Obviously, it's a new game, and a new game allows Treyarch to tell a new story and there are many gamers who play Call of Duty for its single player campaigns. Black Ops 3 can be built on a new engine and support next-gen platforms like the Xbox 720 and PlayStation 4. Even if Black Ops 2 was released on next-gen platforms, a new title always improves on its graphics as developers learn how to maximize the available resources of the system.
Black Ops 3 would allow Treyarch to change the setting in which the game takes place and offer players with new challenges, new environments, new locales in which to do battle. For example, the first Modern Warfare brought Call of Duty from its WWII setting to modern day.
A new game lets Treyarch experiment with new gameplay mechanics. They have the potential to shake up the game from its very foundations, as they've done in the past with the implementation of Zombies in World at War and more recently with optional missions in Black Ops 2.
They can incorporate new innovations and developments by other games into Black Ops 3. For instance the sliding and vaulting mechanics in Far Cry 3 and Crysis 3.
Each release is an event and releasing Black Ops 3 is something a huge section of gamers look forward to.
A new game always levels the playing field for players old and new alike.
Each release is an event and releasing Black Ops 3 is something a huge section of gamers look forward to. It's like a yearly ritual for some gamers to partake in.
Too much DLC can seem like a rip-off.
It doesn't divide the player base as much as DLC does.
For the publisher, a new game will always make more money than a DLC ever will. A new game becomes an even bigger investment for Activision and that is good news for the gamers who are treated to an even bigger blockbuster of a game.
Cons of Developing a New Sequel, Pros of Releasing More Black Ops 2 DLC
Hardcore fans want to be entertained throughout the year so they don't lose interest in the franchise which makes DLC an important part of the industry.
The development of a new sequel builds unfair expectations both for the fans and the franchise. For instance, fans of the Diablo series expected that Diablo 3 couldn't possibly deliver based on expectations they had from when Diablo 2 was released.
The most vocal fans are not always the most constuctive. Ideas that were well executed in Black Ops 2 may be getting removed as a result of these suggestions, there by spoiling the game that isn't broken. The developers sometimes get swayed by fans in an attempt to please them. Because with twitter now fans can have more direct contact with developers and like to deep throat their ideas to otherwise more talented individuals.
They will face criticism from the fans for changing things too much. DLC keeps things where the fans like it.
DLC allows the game to further expand the vision that Treyarch had for Black Ops 2. Because, at times, many developers face pressure from publishers to release their games on schedule which leads to missing content that needs to be added later through DLC.
Zombies!
Premium service allows the community to stick together.
More DLC for the game doesn't necessarily affect gamers who buy the game for the single player experience, thereby saving them money and giving them the opportunity to play other games instead.
Black Ops 2 DLC allows the publisher to make more money and it also subsidizes the development on future titles. The DLC also allows them to test the waters with the franchise which cannot be done based on critic scores or even sales and allows fans to vote with their wallets.
DLC for any Call of Duty game is mostly good and almost always worth paying for.
It keeps fans interacting about the game and not letting the buzz die. Also, there is always something for the popular YouTubers to talk about and keep the game trending on the internet.
