14 DAY TRIAL // Activision Publishing, one of the biggest videogame publishers in the industry, and Microsoft, the manufacturer of the Xbox 360 home console, have announced they have entered a new deal, which will see all incoming map packs and add ons for the Call of Duty franchise arriving first on the Microsoft made platform.
The agreement was first presented in 2009 and the new deal will see it extended until 2012, which means Call of Duty: Black Ops, coming on November 9, will be the first game to see downloadable content arrive on the Xbox 360 one month before it launches on the PlayStation 3 and on the PC.
Phillip Earl, who is the executive vice president and general manager of the Call of Duty division at Activision, stated, “Our Treyarch Studio is doing something special with Call of Duty: Black Ops, which is why we're thrilled to announce this Xbox LIVE agreement. This agreement reflects our shared and continued focus on creating the most compelling and exciting content releases for fans around the world.” Marc Whitten, who is a corporate vice president of Xbox Live, added that “With the release of game add ons and map packs coming first to Xbox 360, Xbox LIVE is the place to play Call of Duty for years to come.”
The move is part of Microsoft's strategy to control as much of the sales of the profitable first person shooter genre. It's very likely that the most hardcore of Call of Duty fans, who are interested in the multiplayer side of the videogames and always crave for more maps and more options for the gameplay they live, will gravitate towards the Xbox 360 version of Black Ops.
It will be interesting to see whether Sony aims to make a similar deal with Electronic Arts for the rival shooter Medal of Honor, ensuring that at least one big franchise will sell more copies on the PlayStation 3.