Game As One

In July, IndustryGamers released an article revealing that Activision is leaning more toward paid online multiplayer subscriptions. Michael Pachter, a high-profile gaming research analyst for Wedbush Morgan Securities, estimates that “…a total of 12 million consumers are playing Call of Duty Modern Warfare 2 for an average of 10 hours per week on the two platforms’ respective networks, and the continued enjoyment of this game (along with an estimated 6 million Halo online players, 3 million EA Sports players, and 5 million players playing other games, such as Battlefield, Red Dead Redemption, Left 4 Dead and Grand Theft Auto) has sucked the available time away from what otherwise would be spent playing newly purchased games.”

He went on to say that “…while the shift has been great for consumers, who are enjoying an unprecedented, and largely free, game experience, it has been devastating for publishers and shareholders, who are seeing sales and profits decline.”

View the article HERE