• Hey, guest user. Hope you're enjoying NeoGAF! Have you considered registering for an account? Come join us and add your take to the daily discourse.

Activision: Destiny potential for $1B+ franchise; Ghosts preorders "well below" BO2

S

shinobi602

Member
Speaking today during an earnings call, Hirshberg said Destiny is on pace to set the all-time preorder record for a new franchise--at Activision and across the industry. And based on the company's internal estimates, the game is set to become Activision Publishing's third active billion-dollar franchise, joining Call of Duty and Skylanders.

Also during the call, Hirshberg spoke about preorder figures for Call of Duty: Ghosts, saying they are "well below" the record-setting Call of Duty: Black Ops II. The executive attributed this downturn to consumer uncertainty regarding next-generation platforms.

"However, our quantitative consumer research indicates that hesitation amongst past [Call of Duty] preorderers is primarily due to not knowing which platform they will be playing on, which is natural at this time in the console transition," Hirshberg said.

He pointed out that Call of Duty: Ghosts preorders are double those of the original Call of Duty: Black Ops, which was the last time Activision launched a Call of Duty sub-brand. In addition, he said other "key engagement metrics," like the number of monthly and daily Call of Duty players, as well as downloadable content sales and video views are "significantly" ahead of past years.

What's more, Hirshberg said Activision will support Call of Duty: Ghosts with the most aggressive marketing plan in the history of the Call of Duty franchise.
Click to expand...

http://www.gamespot.com/news/activision-destiny-has-potential-to-be-billion-dollar-series-6412402
 
C

CaptainSlow

Member
"However, our quantitative consumer research indicates that hesitation amongst past [Call of Duty] preorderers is primarily due to not knowing which platform they will be playing on, which is natural at this time in the console transition"
Click to expand...

That's probably my guess. I know I'm going to be picking up a copy but I don't know for what system. If my friends get it I'll get it for PS3, if they don't it's a toss up between the Xbox One and 360 versions. I have no idea yet, especially not enough to drop $60 on it yet. It all depends on how many people but an Xbox One at launch. If its a low number, I'll get it for an already established platform like the 360.
 
B

border

Member
I honestly don't get the sense that there is very much legitimate hype for Destiny or Titanfall. Not sure how they are turning out record-setting pre-orders.

EDIT: Oh -- record-setting pre-orders for a new IP. I guess that makes sense, since most of Activisions big games did not get big until a sequel or two.
 
D

darkside31337

Tomodachi wa Mahou
I'm surprised there aren't any publishers getting ahead of the split gen issue by offering the next gen version of the game digitally for $20 if you bought the last gen version or something along those lines. Seems like its an issue that is going to impact a lot of games this Fall - especially the ones that are predominantly multiplayer based. I usually buy FIFA day 1 but this year I'll be holding off a bit for the next gen version unless its worse than the PS3 version which is possible since its EA.
 
D

DarkLordMalik

Member
"However, our quantitative consumer research indicates that hesitation amongst past [Call of Duty] preorderers is primarily due to not knowing which platform they will be playing on, which is natural at this time in the console transition," Hirshberg said.
Click to expand...
They just can't admit that COD is slowly dying.
 
V

velociraptor

Junior Member
Not surprised. Pretty much all my friends and family members think COD Ghosts looks laughable, and these are the the type of guys that will buy COD year in, year out. For them, the standout FPS is actually Battlefield 4.
 
M

Monsieur

Banned
If its any good I can see that happening. Sense its basically an mmo I wonder if there will be expansion packs or you just buy the game and they add stuff over time.
 
W

Wizman23

Banned
Pretty impressive for Destiny considering we know absolutely nothing about the competitive multiplayer yet which will be the biggest driver in sales
 
Grizzlyjin

Grizzlyjin

Supersonic, idiotic, disconnecting, not respecting, who would really ever wanna go and top that
I kinda figured we had seen the peak of Call of Duty with Black Ops 2. Ghosts is going to sell very well, but I think the days of them continually topping themselves is over. Plus the world reveal turned into a gigantic joke.

But I think there analysis of the situation is partially correct as well. I think your average "hardcore" game is more worried about how they're going to afford the next gen system to play these games on. After they get over that hurdle, then they worry about what they're going to play on it. Nobody wants to be caught playing the downgraded version, people want to the premium cut...which is on the Xbox One, PS4 and PC.
 
Y

Yawnier

Banned
Looks like the COD series peaked, better find another cash cow to latch onto Activison, who knows if it will be Destiny or not but they seem to be putting all their available cards on their table for it.
 
A

Aquamarine

Member
DarkLordMalik said:
They just can't admit that COD is slowly dying.
Click to expand...

It's a wonderful half-truth. They say it's due to "uncertainty over platform selection," when in reality it's due to declining momentum AND uncertainty over platform selection.

But of course, they would never, ever mention the declining momentum. That's not the job of PR. It's all about choosing the best metrics to satiate investors and demonstrate growth.
 
J

JABEE

Member
How close is the next competitor to COD? Did Battlefield 3 get close to any of the sales numbers for post MW Call of Duty games?
 
W

w1gglyjones

Member
Aquamarine said:
It's a wonderful half-truth. They say it's due to "uncertainty over platform selection," when in reality it's due to declining momentum AND uncertainty over platform selection.

But of course, they would never, ever mention the declining momentum. That's not the job of PR. It's all about choosing the best metrics to satiate investors and demonstrate growth.
Click to expand...

It's not PR, it's Q&A for analysts and investors. Besides, after MW3 and BLOPS 2, you need more data before you can say COD has "declining momentum." At least let GHOSTS launch... at least. He gave an honest accounting of the game's sales potential with the most measurable and relevant data possible at this point: pre-orders. He also cited some other metrics and qualified them.
 
S

SolidSnakex

Member
JABEE said:
How close is the next competitor to COD? Did Battlefield 3 get close to any of the sales numbers for post MW Call of Duty games?
Click to expand...

I think BF3 was at 17m the last time EA updated us with its sales. CoD games tend to sell in the mid 20m range.
 
K

kswiston

Member
Grizzlyjin said:
I kinda figured we had seen the peak of Call of Duty with Black Ops 2. Ghosts is going to sell very well, but I think the days of them continually topping themselves is over.
Click to expand...

Black Ops 2 was already down over MW3 in its first month. However, its legs were a lot better. Even if the COD games don't sell records, if they continue to sell more in a month than 95% of AAA titles sell in their lifetimes, Activision will continue to pump them out.

I can see the baton being passed this generation though. Maybe not this year, but in another year or two as new IPs are established.
 
iamvin22

iamvin22

Industry Verified
MrToughPants said:
Game looks amazing.

The proper successor to SOCOM II.
Click to expand...

iAc6xzj3u8y67.gif
 
R

RoKKeR

Member
Not surprised. I stand by what I've said in the past, I think BF will overtake CoD this coming gen in terms of sales, for better or worse.

And damn, sounds like Activision has a lot riding on Destiny. Really hope they don't push Bungie too much into a CoD development cycle.
 
D

Drake

Member
It seems like a lot of people around here weren't impressed with Destiny. I thought the game looked awesome. I'm stoked for it. Not sure about it being a billion dollar franchise though.
 
S

SolidSnakex

Member
Battlefield is best positioned to take on CoD at the moment as long as they can keep the momentum that they had with BF3. Of the new IP's it seems like Destiny is in the best position to overthrow it. That's mostly just due to the number of platforms it's on. Any game competing against CoD is going to have to be on a lot of platforms. Destiny is on 4 at the moment with the PC seeming like a real possibility based on comments from Bungie.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

[Bloomerg] New ‘Call of Duty’ Draws Harsh Reviews After Rushed Development
News Game Dev 2
69
5K
EDMIX replied
What Activision Blizzard games can we expect to see on Game Pass?
Opinion Community Platform 2
61
4K
Spyxos replied
Call of Duty 2023 To Be Revealed On Tuesday, August 1 - Will Reportedly Include New Zombies Mode
Rumor Event
39
2K
ARK1391 replied
Original Xbox Co-creator Mocks Activision CEO Bobby Kotick After Now Being Bought By Microsoft
Game Dev
34
3K
newtypepilot replied
Activision was making a new Donkey Kong game for Nintendo claim sources
6
741
Bridges replied
Top Bottom