Ahh, Call of Duty. Whether you love it or hate it, everyone has an opinion on it. Activision’s yearly money maker has been at the top of the gaming industry for nearly a decade.
But what if the routine November releases are a good thing? What if gamers the world over have been focusing their anger in the wrong place? Let’s take a look at some reasons Call of Duty actually helps the industry as a whole.
It Keeps Casual Gamers Engaged
Call of Duty has been an e-sport since e-sports were a thing. But it’s safe to say that the majority of players are pretty casual. The type that like to get home from school or work and unwind in some murderous online fun, but might not spend their evenings reading gaming blogs or arguing on forums.
Call of Duty keeps these gamers around, which inevitably drives up console sales. More consoles means companies like Sony and Microsoft can do more for gaming like taking chances on new IPs. Imagine this: It’s possible that without Call of Duty getting people to buy consoles, Sony may have never had the money to fund Naughty Dog to make The Last of Us. That’s a world I don’t want to be a part of.
The next reason should really hit close to home for anyone that works hard to earn a living.
It Keeps People In The Industry Employed
Jobs are good. Yearly Call of Duty games keep developers, writers, voice actors, animators, sound techs, etc.. employed under a very profitable blanket. That’s a fantastic thing.
More on the community end of things, without Call of Duty, we wouldn’t have all the amazing YouTube channels centered around it. Imagine how playing a game they love and making videos about it has changed their lives for the better.
Easy Money For Activision That Can Be Used For Other Things
Keeping with the fact that Call of Duty sells millions upon millions of copies each year, that puts a couple of 0’s at the end of Activision’s bank account. This practically guaranteed paycheck gives them freedom to do other things. For example, they just purchased MLG (Major League Gaming) for $46 million.
We also can’t forget when they split from Vivendi for almost $6 billion to become an independent company. The last report of Activision’s net worth is $18.9 billion. Let’s just say they aren’t afraid to move a little money around, thanks in huge part to the success of COD.
It’s A Great Pass Time In-between Your Favorite Games
Bethesda, Rockstar, Naughty Dog, etc.. take forever to make games. Call of Duty may not be the main thing you look forward to, but it sure does keep you gaming in-between your Fallout’s, GTA’s, Witcher’s, Uncharted’s, and all the games you lay awake thinking about.
I’ve personally been dumping tons of hours into Black Ops 3. If you’ve been put off by a previous title you didn’t enjoy, I highly suggest trying this one out. It may just surprise you.
More Games Are Never A Bad Thing
The theme of this article is actually a pretty easy thing to understand. I never understood the complaints on Call of Duty’s yearly releases. The gaming industry is an ever growing juggernaut. ESPN just recently introduced e-sports into their programming. That’s huge.
If you aren’t interested in a particular title, don’t play it. With hundreds of games coming out each year, chances are that you don’t play the majority of them – so COD is just one more in the ‘ignore’ pile if you don’t like it, but look at how many ways it helps the industry as a whole.
The only reason that’s possible is because of games like Call of Duty making so many people follow the passion of gaming. We’ve come so far as a community and we’re finally getting our favorite e-stars and teams accepted into major networks.
Let’s face it. Call of Duty may not be your thing. But how could you not respect how far it’s brought us?