14 DAY TRIAL // The decision to make the Call of Duty Elite online service a free experience is a logical one, at least according to a couple of games industry analysts, who believe it will make things clearer to consumers and make Call of Duty: Black Ops 2 stand on equal grounds with Battlefield 3 or Medal of Honor: Warfighter.
Activision announced yesterday that it was making the entirety of the Call of Duty Elite online service free by eliminating the premium membership that had been in effect since the launch of the Modern Warfare 3 game last year.
Besides this move, the publisher also confirmed that a Black Ops 2 Season Pass would be put on sale, thereby allowing customers the chance to purchase four map packs for the game in advance.
Both these moves are quite logical and help consumers differentiate between Elite and the actual DLC, at least according to DFC Intelligence analyst David Cole.
"The problem with a service like Elite is that the key driver was the map packs plus these sort of nebulous premium features," Cole told GamesIndustry. "Activision probably found the main driver of purchase was the map packs with the other premium features acting more as a wedge that fractured game play between premium and non-premium users."
"In this case the Season Pass seems cleaner...With the Season Pass they are still selling the DLC and at the same price. They just eliminate the confusion of people that would say 'why would I pay $50 for a competitive program guide?' It is making it cleaner for the consumer while at the same time not lowering the price," he continued.
Wedbush Securities analyst Michael Pachter believes that Activision is clearly following the trend set by Electronic Arts with Battlefield 3, the free Battlelog online service, and the Battlefield Premium DLC bundle.
"I think that they are following the Battlefield Premium lead, and I think they want to increase engagement of gamers in the hopes that they will sell more units," he said. "It's a trade-off: more units and probably lower map pack sales, and they are hopeful that the overall revenue number rises."
What do you think about the new free nature of Elite? Will you continue using it now that it no longer comes with DLC access?