Activision’s new premium Call of Duty service is not sitting well with some PS3 gamers.
For a while, Activision has been wondering how it could better monetize its insanely popular Call of Duty franchise. Gamers spend $60 on the game and then pour in dozens or even hundreds of hours, making it a pretty good deal for gamers.
But Activision wanted to capitalize on the level of passion so many Call of Duty fanatics have, so it created Call of Duty Elite. For a monthly fee, members get access to exclusive content and online promotions.
And, they are also first in line to get new downloadable content (DLC) packs. That is, if you own the Xbox 360 version. The first DLC for Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 was just released, and only those with the Xbox 360 game and a Call of Duty Elite membership are eligible to buy it.
This has upset a myriad PS3 players, because they assumed they would also get the DLC at the same time. Now Activision is saying that because it never actually said the benefits between PS3 and Xbox 360 memberships were the same, it will not apologize.
Activision blogger Dam Amrich explained that Microsoft has a deal with Activision wherein the Xbox 360 gets Call of Duty DLC before the PS3. Call of Duty Elite does not override that partnership. His blog post seemed almost spiteful, saying any PS3 gamer who thought Call of Duty Elite benefits were identical between platforms has a problem.
Early PS3 DLC “was never one of the things listed in the official benefits chart; it was never promised by any representative of Activision, Call of Duty, Elite, or its developers. Honestly? I think gamers just convinced themselves that it would happen because they wanted it to happen. That makes sense, but it doesn’t make it true,” said Amrich.
