Remastering. It’s so hot right now. Microsoft psyched everyone up for a remastered Xbox One version of Gears Of War, and Sony/Square teased a remastered Final Fantasy VII, so why no Call of Duty remasters? Activision Publishing CEO Eric Hirshberg was recently asked this question by Game Informer, and here’s his answer:
“If done well, I think (remasters) can be great,” Hirshberg says. “You talk about nostalgia, and people have such connection to the games they love from the last cycle. They want to see what it would look like if someone did it right for this cycle. It’s always the opportunity cost, meaning we need everybody we can get to make the content we’re already committed to our new games. It’s always a matter of finding great people to do that work. I would love to play Modern Warfare 1 or the original Black Ops. There’s certainly a deep well there. No announcements, but it’s something we talk about and think about a lot.”
So the long and short of it is that they’re so busy churning out new Call of Duty games that they can’t spare the workforce to do any remasters. The COD series has been spawning at a rate of one game per year since its inception in 2003, and while sales peaked in 2012, the games are still selling at a rate of 15 million to 25 million units per release.
Would a remaster perform nearly as well? Would a remaster cut into the bottom line of whatever new Call of Duty also released that year? Activision has this golden goose, and they’re already squeezing it pretty aggressively for eggs. The last thing they wanna do is screw up this very successful pattern they’ve got going.
But more COD = more $$$, and the demand for classics on new systems will only get louder. If you happen to run a successful development studio with solid first-person shooter experience, maybe give Eric Hirshberg a call.
(Via Game Informer)