An Infinity Ward lawsuit and controversy aside, Activision's Call of Duty franchise remains a juggernaut in this industry. Modern Warfare 2 set entertainment records, exceeded $1 billion much earlier this year, and continues to be one of the most played titles over Xbox Live. Speaking with IGN, newly appointed Activision Publishing CEO Eric Hirshberg emphasized the importance of the franchise while talking about the challenge of keeping brands fresh, including Activision's music franchise, Guitar Hero.
Hirshberg labeled the Call of Duty franchise a "force of nature" and he noted that in joining Activision he's going to make sure that brands like Call of Duty don't ever stagnate. "I think it (CoD) is the closest thing this generation has to a Star Wars," he said. "I think it's unique and bigger than any musical act or any movie franchise in that capacity. The challenge with any franchise like that is staying a step ahead of people and keep surprising them and keeping it fresh."
As for Guitar Hero, Hirshberg said that Activision needs to bring some innovative ideas to the franchise to revive it now. "That entire category kind of exploded and then faced a decline and Guitar Hero rode that same trajectory," he said. "What I like about that brand is that it was the innovator. I think there's a core insight there that is universal and evergreen."
"The idea that we all want to be a rock star; we all sang into a hairbrush in front of our bathroom mirrors; we've all held a tennis racket to play guitar. That is perennial and deeply human," he continued. "I think that any game or entertainment property that has such deep human insight at the basis of it has the opportunity to remain relevant for a long period of time. The challenge is to rejuvenate interest in that game and franchise with innovation."
6 Comments
July 20, 2010
If anything is the "Star Wars of this generation," I'd say its the Lord of the Rings movie trilogy. If any game is the "Star Wars of this generation," I'd give the title to the Mass Effect series. BioShock and now Call of Duty has both been compared to Star Wars by executives - I'm not sure what they are the "next of" but a better analog needs to be found.
July 20, 2010
I agree David. The popularity of Star Wars was so large that you could ask somebody who has never seen either of the six main movies(not counting the anime) if they had atleast heard of it and chances are(even if they had been living under a rock) they would have. But if I ask my 60 year old mother(who owns a Wii by the way) if she's ever heard of Call of Duty or Bioshock, she would most likely say "no". So COD isn't on that level(I relize he said "closest thing" but it's really not even close because gamers are the main ones who have heard of that series in my experience).
I don't think I could name a game series thats close to Star Wars' popularity. Halo springs to mind but again, it's mostly gamers who know what it is. However, Grand Theft Auto is absolutly a mainstream well-known series with non-gamers, just not for the right reasons.
July 21, 2010
Screw you. Popularity maybe, but call of duty is NOT Star Wars. Star Wars is Star Wars, nothing more.
July 21, 2010
Wow, looks like we have a hardcore Star Wars nut here... I agree CoD is not Star Wars. Really the only thing that comes close in terms of popularity is Nintendo's Mario I would say.
July 21, 2010
CoD isnt SW...
July 22, 2010
Maybe George Lucas should sue Activision now :]
SW has a vast, and not just in terms of space and the universe, but vast IP in regards to books, games, board games, merchandise, and an entire generation spawned from it.
No Call of Duty doesn't even come close, Call of Duty is closer to Saving Private Ryan. It's a static IP. Their characters don't have depth and are more likely to get killed off than continue a legacy.
I agree, if any game is as popular as Star Wars, it's most likely Mario Bros.