Activision's social media manager has responded to criticism aimed at Modern Warfare 3, answering gamer queries and hitting back at comments suggesting the game's downloadable content is overpriced.
Speaking on the PlayStation Blog, Dan Amrich told one gamer to "play whatever makes you happy" in responding to a comment saying "call of duty sucks".
Another gamer said: “Call of Duty is popcorn tactical shooting for the jack-in-the-box scrub looking for free kills from killstreak rewards. Horribly broken multiplayer and poorly designed, albeit good looking maps. I enjoyed all of two maps from MW3′s launch. Won’t be going back, I don’t expect.”
Amrich hit back, albeit calmy, asking the player which two maps they liked and "what didn't you like about the other 14 maps?". You have to give it to the guy for maintaining a level head.
Continuing on the discussion about DLC, another player said that maps were "a little pricey" considering how much they played, but Mr Amrich explained that the content equated to roughly $2.50 a map, and that he'd "see other games charge $3 or more per map".
But gamers weren't having any of it.
In response, another gamer said that players "consider it to be four maps at $3.75 a piece", and that most players buy the downloadable content just for the maps, and not for the "design and dedication of the spec ops missions".
“Well, every player has to decide whether any game, content, or DLC is worth it to them," said Mr Amrich. "Elite premium members get all that stuff at a discount (and still can), but six pieces of content is still six pieces of content.”
When one player called Activision "GREEDVISION", Mr Amrich hit back, saying that video game publishing was a business, and that Activision was by no means alone in its goal to profit.
"Every single game publisher in the entire industry is a business and looking to make a profit," explained Mr Amrich. "What’s more, CoD is very popular and a lot of fans look forward to new maps and DLC releases. So…well, I just don’t buy into the “greed” thing when it’s really just giving people what they want, and charging money for products and services — which is what every business does, from car companies to grocery stores to restaurants and movie theaters."
As for notions suggesting Activision overcharged for products that should be free, Mr Amrich said: "Charging money for something does not make anybody greedy. But you always have the absolute power to choose how you spend your money, no matter what. So support whatever things you feel are worth the money and are likely to make you the happiest. That’s all — and that’s normal!"
And as for the consistent flow of hate and criticism aimed at the series:
“Millions of people play and enjoy this game every day. Why is it always only the haters who decide to vote and comment?" said Mr Amrich. "I don’t know, but my guess is that the people who do enjoy Call of Duty are out playing it, rather than commenting here. I would have thought the people who didn’t like it would simply spend their time playing games they liked more."
Agree with him or not, Call of Duty is an insanely popular series. The latest instalment, Modern Warfare 3, has sold over 13 million units.
Source: PlayStation Blog
By Gaetano Prestia - Tweet @Gaetano_Prestia
What do you think about Amrich's comments?