Call of Duty: Ghosts has suffered quite badly in comparison to its predecessors with regards to review scores. By this point Call of Duty is used to near perfect review scores but the average 74% on Metacritic suggests that Call of Duty: Ghosts is not entertaining the entire fan-base this time around. Activision’s CEO Eric Hirshberg has commented on this review Scores in the face of many blaming gamer fatigue, the current gen to next gen transition or the lack of originality within the game as points of concern.
When asked by Game Informer if the CEO was concerned that annual launches of a title may damage a franchise Hirshberg commented, “Well no, obviously not -“ while adding “and obviously I don’t agree with the critics there. I know that Call of Duty’s a polarizing franchise with some of the critics, and it’s clear to me that not all the critics like our strategy of making a game every year,” he said, “but thankfully our fans do.”
Hirshberg continues,
“It’s also clear to me that the critical response doesn’t always mirror the fans’ appreciation of the game. We actually do read the critics’ comments and take them into consideration during our creative process, but we just can’t measure ourselves by that yardstick alone,” Hirshberg explained. “Our most important audience is our fans, so we try to stay laser-focused on making games that they love.”
No matter what critics say gamers continue to flock to the title, and there must be good reasoning behind this. The publisher has revealed that the game sold $1 billion into retail after only a single day and that Call of Duty: Ghosts has been the most pre-ordered game on next-gen consoles.
“If you look at the fact that it’s the most pre-ordered game of the year, it’s the most pre-ordered next-gen game of the year, it’s already the number one most played on Xbox Live, and that we’re seeing longer average playtimes than ever before, we’re confident that we’re doing well by the criteria that matter most,” the CEO concluded.
Specific sales numbers have still not been announced but many believe that Ghosts will not have passed Black Ops 2 in terms of sales. Do you think this is the start of a decline for the Call of Duty series? Let us know what you think in the comments below.
