14 DAY TRIAL // Bobby Kotick, the Chief Executive Officer of publisher Activision Blizzard, has said that his company is not ready to actively take measures specifically designed to eliminate used game sales, instead relying on extra content for already launched titles in order to make money from them.
Kotick stated in an interview with Joystick, that, “I think we’ve probably done more to try and create innovative ways for people to pay for their games. We’re not doing anything to suppress used games today. What we’ve tried to do is to really support our audiences and, you know, when you talk to players, they like the idea of having a currency. They like the idea of being able to take a game they no longer want to play and use it to get a credit to buy new games.”
The CEO did not miss the chance to take aim at rival publisher Electronic Arts, saying that, “We can do some of these things that EA and others have done, we actually don’t think it´s in the best interest of the gamer, and so we’ve chosen not to.”
The figures back Kotick's ideas, with Activision saying that the Call of Duty series has managed to sell more than 20 million dollars worth of Map Pack downloadable content, with the best performers being the ones released for Modern Warfare 2, which sold at a price point of 15 dollars.
In order to enjoy DLC like the Stimulus Pack players need to get a copy of the game, which can be obtained used, and then pay for the downloadable package.
Anecdotal evidence suggests that the supply of second hand Call of Duty titles is pretty limited in the first months on sale.
Electronic Arts has tried the opposite, giving DLC for free to all those gamers who buy the game new and only taking money upfront from those who want to use new content with used titles.