The 420,000+ downvotes for Call of Duty: Infinite Warfare’s reveal trailer is not something to worry about, and in fact is a sign of the “passion of gamers,” Activision CEO Eric Hirshberg has told investors in an overnight earnings call.
“First of all you got to love the passion of gamers, this is an industry like no other, and a fan base like no other and we love that our fans treat this franchise like it’s their own and have such strong points of view about it,” said Hirshberg in relation to the trailer downvotes. “There just aren’t many entertainment franchises on Earth that can generate the kind of passion that Call of Duty can and that’s a good thing.”
He continued: “Secondly, of course we know that there are people in our community who are nostalgic for the boots on the ground style gameplay, and that’s why we made Modern Warfare Remastered. But we also have millions of people in our community who want to have new innovative experiences in the game each year and Infinite Warfare is going to deliver that. And the good news is this year we found a way to deliver both in one package while keeping our community together.”
Hirshberg then turned his attention to the “other measurements” Activision has taken from the trailer.
“Views of the reveal trailer that you referred to are up and, in fact, the number of likes per view on the Infinite Warfare reveal trailer are also the highest we’ve ever seen,” said Hirshberg. We’ve seen this in the franchise before. The reveal trailer for Black Ops II, which took the franchise into the future for the first time, had the most dislikes of any reveal trailer we had ever made at that time. And that, of course, went on to become our most successful game ever.”
And to top this off early “pre-orders are off to a very strong start,” said Hirshberg.
He concluded: “We know for sure is that if we always just did what worked in the past and never took any creative risks, we wouldn’t have a franchise. The day to worry is the day we stop trying new things.”
Pre-order Call of Duty: Infinite Warfare Legacy Edition now on PS4 or Xbox One to ensure you get the Modern Warfare remaster
Source: Activision earnings call via Seeking Alpha
