So, with the news that Black Ops 2 is a distinct possibility, I wanna open up a discussion and hear from you because there is something I am truly baffled by and I need your help:

Why is CoD so popular? In particular, the Modern Warfare franchise.

Let me make this abundantly clear; I'm not asking out of sarcasm. Actually, quite the contrary. I'm at a complete loss for ideas as to why a game franchise that, from the surface, seems to be a copy/paste clone of it predecessors, is snatched up like candy.

What am I missing? What's the mass appeal? I have friends that swear by them. Help me understand where they're coming from!

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Hype out the ass. It worked for Avatar, and that was just Fern Gully without the singing.

Because I played the Black Ops demo and really did not get what was so special about the game.

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"A fan without fear is a fan without hope." ~ Pratt Falls

The real question is why are pokemon games so popular. At least the campaigns in call of duty are different somewhat in modern warfare.

Back on topic:

I think the main reason the call of duty is so popular, is because it's so popular. The only reason I touched MW2 was because my friends were getting it. The only reason they got it was because their friends were getting it. See where I'm going with this?

Now, call of duty (along with other series like Halo) has become a sort of series that you expect everyone else will get the next game, so you get it too.

Also, shooters seem to be this generation's genre of choice. It's a fad eventually die like all others.

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(March 10, 2011 08:09:41 PM)Darryl Wrote:  Grammar Nazi: Aaron (15 Votes)

BlahblahblahBlahblahblah

First off, I don't really see shooters dying off as a fad. That would suggest that people are only interested in it to look cool, and considering how popular the genre is due to people having fun playing it I would say it's more about enjoying the gameplay than making friends or being a hipster.

That being said, it's most reasonable to look at CoD as an entry-level point for the Shooter genre. It's easy to get into, nice to fall back on when you're tired of more complex games, and the formula will never really change so you always know what it's about. It's just as much a social thing as it is a gameplay 'experience'.

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Why is it so difficult to recognize the FPS genre on these forums. Why are we so sure that people do not legitimately enjoy FPS games, COD being a chief example of a great starter shooter with excellent networking/lobbying, interesting and quick arcade style shooting?

I don't understand why everyone is so dismissive that these games have no value, they're played mostly for their multi-player and it's very clear that people enjoy fast-paced competitive activities. It's like sports, race-cars, and war-movies. It's of interest to people, and people enjoy being competitive online.

Even though the titles really only vaguely change year to year, they're usually very good purchases for most gamers, as it's something they can find large amounts of replay value in.

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(April 06, 2011 02:46:28 AM)Kioran Wrote:  Why is it so difficult to recognize the FPS genre on these forums.

Hmm but Brian isn't directing the question to the FPS genre in general, he's just asking about Call of Duty. While CoD may fall under the FPS genre, the FPS genre doesn't end at CoD

I would agree, however, that CoD is definitely a game that's very easy to pick up and start playing. That's part of the appeal of the game, and at the risk of sounding redundant, most consumers will buy a game that's multiplayer focused if all their friends are going to be playing it too. That's something CoD tends to excel at.

At the same time I understand where Brian is coming from. Personally, I have no interest in the CoD franchise anymore, not since the first Modern Warfare. Why? Because it's as Brian says, they're mostly copy/paste clones of their predecessors with little to no innovation at all, their single player campaigns are ridiculously short-lived, not to mention a new one is released every bloody year and every new release hardly offers anything new (now I'm really sounding redundant ).

In my opinion there are better shooters than CoD on the market that deserve more attention.

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Well... If someone buys "*genericsportsgametitle* 2010", you'll most often find that they end up buying "*genericsportsgametitle* 2011" too. I don't see how it's any different with specific FPS series as well.

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(April 06, 2011 03:13:21 AM)thefenrir Wrote:  In my opinion there are better shooters than CoD on the market that deserve more attention.

And I agree with that, for sure, but COD is probably one of the quickest, and easiest to get into title after title. People generally hate being a noob all over again every time they pick up a title, so they go for the same thing for familiarity. It's why people still play CS and not CSS, they hate the way CSS feels and they're noobs again when they play it. Everyone can be good at COD.

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(April 06, 2011 04:28:53 AM)Astharis Wrote:  Well... If someone buys "*genericsportsgametitle* 2010", you'll most often find that they end up buying "*genericsportsgametitle* 2011" too. I don't see how it's any different with specific FPS series as well.

Exactly. I think perhaps the better question that Brian should be asking is why do people enjoy shooters? Call of Duty serves the exact same purpose that the NHL or NFL titles, as both an updated version for competitive players and a creative outlet for general fans of the genre.

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(April 05, 2011 07:51:46 AM)Sanrin Wrote:  That being said, it's most reasonable to look at CoD as an entry-level point for the Shooter genre. It's easy to get into, nice to fall back on when you're tired of more complex games, and the formula will never really change so you always know what it's about. It's just as much a social thing as it is a gameplay 'experience'.

I've think you've hit the nail on the head there. You can pick it up and after a few hours, you can hold you own. Black ops was my first fps to play online and by mid way through my first prestige, I was an above 1 k/d player. That's about 10-15 hours of gameplay. If I was to pick up Halo or Counterstrike, I'd be lost without any previous fps experience. Call of Duty is an easy entry point and you can play it casually and be proficient at it.

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''Failure doesn't mean you are a failure... it just means you haven't succeeded yet.'' Robert Schuller