Speaking to CNN earlier this week, Activisionâs CEO noted that more people play Black Ops, daily, than watch the late night hosts Leno, Letterman and Fallon, combined. No offense, but that would seem to be an easy goal to beat.
No, network television isnât the yardstick Bobby Kotick uses to measure Call of Duty as a social phenomenon. He likens the shooter to Facebook and text messaging, in terms of cultural relevance.
âThe audience of âCall of Dutyâ is probably greater in terms of size than in any other interactive form of entertainment,â Kotick told CNN. âIf you look at the 500 million people who are on Facebook and the way that people text each other and instant message and use video chat, there is now an evolution of media. Those are the characteristics and attributes that a generation and audiences feel are very important to their media and entertainment experiences.â
CNN said Kotick believes the Call of Duty franchise delivers on that trend through its online multiplayer, which currently drives a majority of the Xbox Live traffic.
Kotick couldnât do the interview without getting in a shot at Infinity Ward which, though its founders were fired and are now embroiled in a lawsuit against Activision, is a studio the publisher still owns. âMultiplayer has been largely developed by Treyarch,â Kotick asserted. âI donât think Treyarch got their due for how much they contributed in the production and polish to the multiplayer.â
Activision CEO: âCall of Dutyâ is Like Facebook, Texting [CNN]
