Is It Really True That Hardcore CoD Players Only Play Shooters?

I've been hearing this claim for a while. Typically, though, this claim comes from those who never play Call of Duty, so I'm not convinced of its accuracy.

The idea, primarily put forth by the large anti-CoD contingency that stalks the Internet in vain hopes of convincing others that the series is evil, is that die-hard CoD fans play nothing else. Basically, they're casual gamers turned hardcore by the CoD phenomenon, and they only play online while ignoring just about any other new title that arrives. Then there's the minor concession that states that CoD gamers might play other games, but they're all shooters.

Now, given the rabid CoD followers out there, and the sheer amount of time fans log when playing online, I have to say, such theories do hold water. Then again, if we're going to play the numbers game, the idea that CoD fans only play CoD titles or other shooters doesn't quite hold up... I mean, there are just too many sales and too many people playing to make this assumption, right? Heck, I've played most all the Call of Duty games this generation, too (even if I don't really play online), but to say I only play shooters is just about the furthest thing from the truth.

I also happen to know quite a few CoD fans who play plenty of other games. It's true that most of them will spend at least a few months online with the newest CoD entry, but it's not like they're playing that one game all year until the next installment arrives. That being said, I know that such gamers exist, and I know they're usually - not always - the kind of people I really don't like. Too much of a sweeping generalization there, but I'm only going by my own small experience. At any rate, I'm not sure the haters out there are 100% correct in their assumptions.

What do you say?

Tags: call of duty, cod, call of duty games, gaming culture, gamers

5/3/2012 8:49:55 PM Ben Dutka

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Comments (43 posts)

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AshT
Thursday, May 03, 2012 @ 9:53:43 PM
Reply

I think its true that a lot of hardcore COD fans only play COD as all their friends are also playing the same

0 up, 0 down

WorldEndsWithMe
Thursday, May 03, 2012 @ 9:57:04 PM
Reply

I had two friends like this, Cod only, every year no matter how many awesome trailers I sent them, even from other military FPS. As a solid gaming citizen you just want to save these people from themselves.

It was a good feeling when I saved one of them, Dead Island was an easy task cuz he likes zombies but once I got him into Skyrim and freed him from the evil clutches of the most destructive (yet still superficially entertaining) gaming franchise of all time he opened himself up to more games.

It's refreshing when someone crawls out of that matrix and sees the world for the first time.

Last edited by WorldEndsWithMe on 5/3/2012 9:58:23 PM

8 up, 0 down

Palpatations911
Saturday, May 05, 2012 @ 4:25:47 AM

Oooo..I know the answer to this one.

No.

0 up, 1 down

H0TSHELLZ
Sunday, May 06, 2012 @ 1:34:31 AM

Yeah Skyrim had good reviews and alot of people liked it but your doing what all COD fans did you hypocrite.....You bugged your friends to get the game and they did, like mindless sheep being followers like COD fans right ???? GTFOH with that........Why even Comment on COD threads ??? I bet your a die hard COD fan inside and its just eating you up to talk bad about a game you wish you could play and be good at.

Answer: NO i play Infamous,God of War,and NBA2K also

0 up, 0 down

hellish_devil
Thursday, May 03, 2012 @ 9:59:26 PM
Reply

"...anti-CoD contingency that stalks the Internet in vain hopes of convincing others that the series is evil."

Is more like convincing the publishers, not others, that there are people that like games other than shooters. And tell them to stop being greedy and that having CoD-like sells is NOT guaranteed by just making a shooter.

0 up, 0 down

rogers71
Thursday, May 03, 2012 @ 10:15:35 PM
Reply

I love the COD games but, I only play the SP campaign and then hand the game over to my son who only plays online. I have a friend who is 40 years old. We grew up together and started gaming on the Atari. He use to love games like Tombraider, Resident Evil and NCAA Football.

Now, since the rise of COD, he doesn't like playing any other games. he states that he doesn't like the controls. I tried to get him to play the 1st Uncharted. He didn't even make it off the boat at the start of the game before he turned it off because the targeting system was too different from COD.

I think that you can make a case for both sides of this argument and be correct. People are creatures of habit and once they get use to one thing, they don't like to change. It's human nature.

6 up, 0 down

ulsterscot
Thursday, May 03, 2012 @ 10:24:16 PM
Reply

As a COD loyalist I generally play military shooters and a few scifi shooters (KZ,Resistance, Gears of War) but I also love Uncharted and Infamous. I just don't get rpgs though - i was given skyrim for the pc - looks pretty - but not my thing - i find that type of game tedious. Mass Effect 3 is about as far from my usual genre as im prepared to go.

COD and BF take up all my multiplayer time for sure.

Its all down to personal taste I guess.

2 up, 0 down

WorldEndsWithMe
Thursday, May 03, 2012 @ 10:39:50 PM

With Blops II now you can play a Cod and a sci fi shooter at the same time!

3 up, 0 down

H0TSHELLZ
Sunday, May 06, 2012 @ 1:37:20 AM

Exactly I cant do the RPG thing its just plan dull to me but Borderlands helps.

0 up, 0 down

bigrailer19
Thursday, May 03, 2012 @ 10:41:08 PM
Reply

I play the crap out of every CoD wether it's zombies, mp, or the campaign. I will always stick up for CoD as well. I too like others wish something's to e fixed or maybe broadened, but I love the games.

With that said I've got many, MANY games in my PS3 library and they range from sports to move games and everythig in-between. So for me I just like all genres and enjoy a good game, that includes CoD.

Buy I too know there are people that only play CoD but there's a lot of reasons that could be, from not being able to afford every FPS or other genre of a game, or they simply only want to play CoD. Either way people are going to spend there money on the things they like, and that's all there is too it.

3 up, 2 down

H0TSHELLZ
Sunday, May 06, 2012 @ 1:44:17 AM

Its all about what you like personaly, thats why i dont know why some gamers hate on others because they dont play anything but what they play. I mean nobody gives the WOW players grief because thats all they play and want.

0 up, 0 down

AcHiLLiA
Thursday, May 03, 2012 @ 10:41:36 PM
Reply

I don't know, don't have any friends that play COD every day. I do have this one PSN friend who plays COD3 multiplayer almost everytime I log on, and I see he has alot of great game titles, strange in a way.

1 up, 0 down

playSTATION
Thursday, May 03, 2012 @ 10:44:55 PM
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the last call of duty game that i played was modern warfare 2 and quite frankly i dont miss it one bit.
this year am looking forward to last of us, lbp kart, lbp (vita), tomb raider, max payne and so many others - and on top of all these games i gotta get samsung galaxy 3. overtime here i come.

1 up, 0 down

Geobaldi
Thursday, May 03, 2012 @ 11:02:01 PM
Reply

It's true, for the most part, at least among my friends. One in particular has just under 700 hours logged on it so far according to his Steam profile, last I looked.

0 up, 0 down

Grathan
Thursday, May 03, 2012 @ 11:04:21 PM
Reply

If I ever get bored of playing the latest COD I could always pop in an older COD. Honestly I love games, have since early '80s, but %99 of games aren't even worth their install times.

1 up, 5 down

Doppel
Friday, May 04, 2012 @ 12:02:25 AM
Reply

There's quite a lot of COD players that don't really know better...

0 up, 1 down

Beamboom
Friday, May 04, 2012 @ 2:36:10 AM
Reply

I think it might have something to do with age. I suspect the gamers who spend most their time in one single game is overall younger than those of us who play multiple games during a year. Well, with good ole' Highlander being a notable exception. You are still cranking on a certain knight game, are you not? ;)

I am part of a group of around 7 buddies who often play online together. And for a good half of that group the yearly COD release is like christmas eve - a *major* event. No denying that. The rest of us just know that for a few weeks after a COD release those guys will spend their available gaming time on that game. Ah - and there is also one of these guys who spend most of his time in Battlefield, he's addicted (and a convert from COD to BF).

However, none of us *only* play one game during a period of a year. The thought is absurd. And to be frank, whenever I get one of the major games for me, like any BioWare game or a Fallout I too spend my entire time in that game for quite a while, so there's really not that different.

Last edited by Beamboom on 5/4/2012 3:03:26 AM

0 up, 0 down

Highlander
Friday, May 04, 2012 @ 10:21:27 AM

Mostly, but then I have the family playing it as well as friends. That said, Dead nation gets some time as did NFS Shift 2 recently. Let's not forget my Vita either.

0 up, 0 down

Beamboom
Saturday, May 05, 2012 @ 7:38:26 AM

... And that's why the COD fans keep playing for so long too: Cause their friends & family do. :)

Last edited by Beamboom on 5/5/2012 7:39:49 AM

0 up, 0 down

ulsterscot
Friday, May 04, 2012 @ 2:47:08 AM
Reply

i disagree with that - about 80% of my friends are over 40 and play only COD with a smattering of BF on thursday nights - its younger kids that have the time to play lots of games. Older guys like me only get to play occasinally and generally stick with the game we know - 'you can't teach an old dog new tricks' etc.

luckily i dont have kids - so i get to play a bit more single player games when the wife watches her shitty reality shows - but not as much as id like ...

3 up, 3 down

Beamboom
Friday, May 04, 2012 @ 3:21:03 AM

Hmm interesting point. That's why my buddies prefer COD, simply cause they know it so well, the handling and everything so they see little reason to play other MP games as long as cod gives them what they want.

Well, maybe it's not a question of age then. Maybe the bottom line is that we all - gasp - are different from each other, it's an individual thing? :)

Last edited by Beamboom on 5/4/2012 3:22:05 AM

1 up, 0 down

AcHiLLiA
Friday, May 04, 2012 @ 10:34:06 AM

"about 80% of my friends are over 40 and play only COD" Can't believe someone around that age will pull that off, since their is so many games out there that need more exploring and love.

Last edited by AcHiLLiA on 5/4/2012 10:35:23 AM

1 up, 0 down

bigrailer19
Friday, May 04, 2012 @ 2:39:13 PM

Alexander-

Shouldn't matter how many games are out there regardless of age. If someone only has time to play games once in a while and they are just fine with it being CoD then so be it. That's what this guy is getting at. I don't have the time to play every release that I used too, so I understand where he's coming from quite well. I buy the games I know I will enjoy and can jump in and out quick if need be, that includes CoD. Of course I can and have made time for games like Skyrim and ME3.

0 up, 0 down

AcHiLLiA
Friday, May 04, 2012 @ 11:04:52 PM

Well if his buddies are old time gamers, then I say it's pretty sad sticking with only FPS, that's just my opinion of course.

Last edited by AcHiLLiA on 5/4/2012 11:07:15 PM

0 up, 0 down

___________
Friday, May 04, 2012 @ 4:34:53 AM
Reply

the fact that over 50% of my friends list has been playing NOTHING but MW3 since release pretty much confirms that!
ill never understand how people can play the same game every day for 4+ hours a day for a year on end!
i mean how can you not get sick of it!?

0 up, 0 down

Russell Burrows
Friday, May 04, 2012 @ 7:36:51 AM
Reply

Humans are creatures of habit.
Women prefer for the most part crappy reality shows and thus a large part of tv shows are gee take a guess?? crappy reality shows.

And meanwhile gems that make you think and question go overlooked with few viewers.
Shows like AWAKE that make you stop and question just what is real.
A show like this derserves better but such is not to be unless folks watch it a bit.

I am talking about a tv version of Shrodingers cat.
Two versions of reality or two versions of flipping a coin made into a red universe and a green universe.

1 up, 1 down

komotaya
Friday, May 04, 2012 @ 8:17:08 AM
Reply

It seems that way for. Most of the gamers I know they either play a broad spectrum like me. Or they play only cod and madden or any sports game and I have always found that funny they wont play anything. Else and I wont play cod and I have never been able to get good at sports
Games so I stopped tryin, thy only game I got them to play was mk9 and caūe it was gory and fast pace

0 up, 0 down

PC_Max
Friday, May 04, 2012 @ 8:49:05 AM
Reply

I stopped playing CoD after number 3. lol. That was a long time ago when the focus moved to MP. I am not an MP fan overall but I have played Killzone series online off and in their history to see what it was like as well as other games such as Halo on the PC.

Its fun when you are playing with friends but beyond that... can't stand the mouthy in your face players. I am not their just to entertain them, but myself as well. lol. So I stay away.

Most of the people I know who play FPS games along with MP, do focus on those games. The reason being I can guess is they love being able to beat another player, even when the other is a noob or vet. Its an ego thing which if fine. You can compare it to trophies or achievements.

There are a few, and I mean only a few, that play FPS games as well as others, be they platformers or rpgs. I am one of them although like I said, I do not frequent the MP component of FPS games but do like Killzone and Halo series and have dabbled in to Resistance MP play.

Some have called MP social gaming. Yes, it can be a good experience and in my experience an abusive one. lol. All comes down to how and who you play with.

Too each there own, but if the market focuses more on MP at the sacrifice of single player, well it will survive I guess, just without me.

Keep playing!

0 up, 0 down

jimmyhandsome
Friday, May 04, 2012 @ 8:57:17 AM
Reply

I wouldn't consider myself a "hardcore CoD" player as I tend to skip every other release, and don't log in nearly as many hours as some people do. I think it has alot to do with online gaming, and the "addictive" nature that comes along with it.

For instance, people who play World of Warcraft ONLY play World ofWarcraft, and the only games that they buy are the expansion packs for it. An argument could be made that the annual releases of CoD are simply multiplayer expansion packs for the hardcore online gamers. I'm willing to bet that a decent portion of people who buy CoD don't even play the campaign and simply hop right into the new multiplayer.

Last edited by jimmyhandsome on 5/4/2012 8:57:59 AM

1 up, 0 down

Beamboom
Friday, May 04, 2012 @ 9:23:33 AM

Yup. None of my buddies play the COD campaign. None. Amazing.

0 up, 0 down

bigrailer19
Friday, May 04, 2012 @ 2:54:15 PM

Your probably right, an that's a good assumption. What's funny is although yes I do buy CoD to play MP. I always finish the campaign first, I actually really enjoy each!

0 up, 0 down

PS360
Friday, May 04, 2012 @ 10:10:03 AM
Reply

Probably true, the majority of Call of Duty gamers may indeed only play COD and other shooters, but my question is, so what? If it wasn't for these shooters they may not even own a console.

Also, if a guy/gal only plays call of duty all year around, who cares! What is the big deal? I myself usually only play only a handful of games NHL, Gears 3, Killzone, and of course COD. All be it, I own alot more games but they just don't see alot of playing time.

However, I would not knock someone or '' not like '' someone because they only play 1 game year after year. That is just foolishness and well, childish.

2 up, 0 down

ethird1
Friday, May 04, 2012 @ 10:26:46 AM
Reply

I know people who only play MMORPGS. I know people who only play SRPGS. I know people who only play action/platform games. Everyone has a right to play what they want to play.

Some people have all the time in the world to play everything and some only have time to play one or two games.

This site, and certain people, have a hard on hatred for COD. It is childish.

3 up, 1 down

Underdog15
Friday, May 04, 2012 @ 11:03:48 AM

Who in this thread has a hard on hatred for CoD? And please find me some proof that this site is the same way.

Quote please.

Sweeping generalizations are even more childish.

Last edited by Underdog15 on 5/4/2012 11:04:42 AM

1 up, 1 down

jimmyhandsome
Friday, May 04, 2012 @ 11:47:48 AM

That is a broad generalization, but a good amount of comments on each and every CoD article are from people who aren't CoD fans- "haters" of the series if you will. It's very ironic, because if people were to go onto say, an article about Uncharted or some other popular game, and constantly slam it, they would be hammered for "trolling". There is def alot of CoD hate out there, and it usually comes from PS3 fans for some reason.

2 up, 0 down

bigrailer19
Friday, May 04, 2012 @ 2:48:07 PM

Although I think ethird went a little broad concerning the whole site, he is right there are people around here that just won't cut CoD some slack. Everyone has a right to their own opinion and he has some very valid points.

So if he's new around here, he'll get used to the CoD demise from some and will realize that concerning the whole site, it's pretty CoD friendly.

1 up, 2 down

Ben Dutka PSXE [Administrator]
Friday, May 04, 2012 @ 10:55:17 PM

Nobody has ever posted an article on PSXE "hating" on Call of Duty.

And the posters here are diverse. Some like it, some don't, but you won't find mindless bashing anywhere.

And that's because we don't allow it.

0 up, 0 down

H0TSHELLZ
Sunday, May 06, 2012 @ 1:51:52 AM

Ask worldendswithme how he feels about COD ?

Check ALL cod threads and Bet you can Read the HATE in his comments.

"but he doesnt like them lol"

0 up, 0 down

wackazoa
Friday, May 04, 2012 @ 11:04:24 AM
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Seems to me that is what would make them hardcore COD gamers, correct ?

1 up, 2 down

Boger
Friday, May 04, 2012 @ 1:52:46 PM
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I've played, and beaten, every COD released. Black Opps II, preordered. I doubt I have more than 2 hours total online time between all of them. I don't care for Uncharted's online either. But, I still go back to Killzone 3's and Battlefield 3's multiplayer. Hell, I even bought the download version of Killzone's multiplayer, I have the retail disc, just so I could play it whenever the mood strikes (don't have to take BF3 out).
I know a ton of people love call of duty's multiplayer. But the whole spawn die, spawn die thing just irritates me. I also know you get better with practice, I just have never been able to get into it. I want to say also that I never quit an online match no matter how poorly I'm doing. I'm not a poor loser, it's just not fun for me.
Call of duty seems like everybody for themselves. Battlefield and Killzone, people seem to work together more.

2 up, 0 down

skinrender
Saturday, May 05, 2012 @ 5:56:21 AM
Reply

No it is not true. I play alot of DCUO I am in a league where many play cod, funny things is that they all play cod on xbox, but dcuo on ps3. (yes dcuo is only on ps3) but they say community on xbox is alot better than the ps3 community.

0 up, 0 down

Strife
Saturday, May 05, 2012 @ 4:10:23 PM
Reply

I believe most hardcore COD players do also play other games but only for a limited time in their gaming day/week. This is because playing different games for too long (especially other FPS and 3rd person shooters) change your playing style and make it hard for them to stay on top of the each COD match when they're back. Also, I do believe that the non-gamers enticed by the COD phenomenon only really play COD when they are gaming.

0 up, 0 down

j587
Thursday, May 10, 2012 @ 6:09:40 PM
Reply

Im a huge FPS fan and thats really all I play online. I will play other games Like GOW, NCAA, and Skyrim to name a few but by the end of the night I'm always shooting someone in the head. I would say they probably do play other games, but the only ones they play online is FPS

0 up, 0 down

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