Pachter: History, Press Will Keep Black Ops Behind MW2

Call of Duty: Black Ops is guaranteed to be a massive blockbuster but despite Activision's prediction that it will surpass last year's Modern Warfare 2 in terms of sales, analyst Michael Pachter remains skeptical.

Activision has said the new CoD is in line to break MW2's records; the new Treyarch total has already broken pre-order records. But the Wedbush Morgan analyst says Black Ops won't leapfrog MW2 for two important reasons: firstly, it's not made by Infinity Ward and secondly, the press will only look for reasons to criticize the game for not being MW2. Pachter elaborates by saying Treyarch is known as the "other" CoD developer, simply because the Infinity Ward CoDs have scored higher in general and as a result, have sold better. He goes on to add:

"I don't know whether the gaming press will suddenly become more charitable than they have in the past, but my read on them as a group is that they are a hypercritical and bitter lot, and I think that they have the potential to find many things wrong with Black Ops, chief among them that the game is not Modern Warfare 2."

He then mentions that after going through reviews for EA's Medal of Honor, it seems clear that everyone has Black Ops on the brain. Ergo, reviewers may have MW2 on the brain when reviewing the new CoD. Pachter finishes by saying that if the newest CoD can average 90%+ in terms of review scores, it might have a chance of surpassing MW2, strictly due to "a larger console installed base." But he does say the competition is pretty stiff this holiday season, what with Halo: Reach and Medal of Honor already selling very well.

You know, I just want to say one thing- not once did we compare MoH to any CoD in our review. We did that for a darn good reason.

Related Game(s): Call of Duty: Black Ops

Tags: call of duty, black ops, medal of honor, michael pachter

10/26/2010 9:04:32 PM Ben Dutka

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Comments (45 posts)

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WorldEndsWithMe
Tuesday, October 26, 2010 @ 9:46:53 PM
Reply

Got to agree with pac-attack here. ANY FPS is basically criticized for not being MW2 these days. I also don't see it selling as well. The Medal of Honor reviews in a lot of places pretty much bashed on it for not being MW2, even if they never mentioned the title.

10 up, 0 down

Qubex
Tuesday, October 26, 2010 @ 10:49:22 PM

Must admit, Pratcheski may be onto something there... agreed. Black-Ops should do very well. Like many of the AAA FPS's, you can't just count on sales for the holidays, but the continuous "drip-drop" sale effect well into 2011 and even 2012. There are many avid game collectors that want these titles and want to play through them in good time.

Those sales numbers will tick up... for a long time to come after release I would think.

Q!

"play.experience.enjoy"

0 up, 0 down

WorldEndsWithMe
Tuesday, October 26, 2010 @ 11:30:36 PM

Wait... did I just agree with an analyst?

2 up, 0 down

Qubex
Wednesday, October 27, 2010 @ 12:14:49 AM

Agreed to some extent with both yourself and Pratcheski ... in that initially it may have been difficult for "Black-Ops" selling in huge numbers immediately... don't get me wrong here, the initial sales numbers will be good enough... but continuous sales further down the road will permit overall sales numbers to grow... :)

Q!

"play.experience.enjoy"

Last edited by Qubex on 10/27/2010 12:16:42 AM

0 up, 0 down

Milonakis
Tuesday, October 26, 2010 @ 9:53:13 PM
Reply

I don't see it doing as well because 6 year olds with a thing for guns and 360s don't care about history. They care about high powered snipers with laser sights and all the modern things. I always have liked treyarchs stuff better because it has some historical fact in it.

2 up, 0 down

Jawknee
Tuesday, October 26, 2010 @ 9:59:51 PM
Reply

Didn't this get more preorders than MW2?

Who care's anyways. I just watched some HD footage of the KZ3 beta. I couldn't believe how much better it looks. The graphics are effing amazing. That game looks nothing short of amazing and Sony's recent comments about their 1st party devs knowing how to use the PS3 ring truer than ever.

4 up, 1 down

booze925
Tuesday, October 26, 2010 @ 10:49:48 PM

THAT actually looks awesome.

1 up, 0 down

NoSmokingBandit
Tuesday, October 26, 2010 @ 11:24:52 PM

KZ3's online multiplayer looks better than KZ2's single player campaign. Idk how they do it, but its insane.

2 up, 0 down

Jawknee
Tuesday, October 26, 2010 @ 11:28:36 PM

My mouth hung open, still, the entire video. Amazing how these exclusives just get better and better.

2 up, 0 down

LimitedVertigo
Tuesday, October 26, 2010 @ 10:12:05 PM
Reply

Welcome to the Hannah Montana of games. I'm embarrassed as a gamer that games like this get so much exposure and support.

Last edited by LimitedVertigo on 10/26/2010 10:12:10 PM

4 up, 2 down

Jawknee
Tuesday, October 26, 2010 @ 10:15:41 PM

That is how i feel as a musician sometimes too. :(

5 up, 0 down

kokoro
Tuesday, October 26, 2010 @ 10:46:25 PM

@LV could not agree with you more.

2 up, 1 down

WorldEndsWithMe
Tuesday, October 26, 2010 @ 10:17:25 PM
Reply

I hope it's good, cuz I know 2 CoD slaves that are gonna make me play. At least I won't hafta buy it though.

Last edited by WorldEndsWithMe on 10/26/2010 10:18:34 PM

1 up, 0 down

kokoro
Wednesday, October 27, 2010 @ 2:04:40 AM

What the hell. That was not the post I replied to. It was something completely different! Someone posted an advertisement about sports wear and I replied "wrong site mate".

What the??

@WEWM

Yeah my younger brother is completely obsessed with the series, so I'll probably be dragged into a split screen battle at some point.

Last edited by kokoro on 10/27/2010 2:06:46 AM

0 up, 0 down

Lawless SXE
Wednesday, October 27, 2010 @ 2:12:40 AM

LOL kokoro, don't reply to the spammers, their posts just end up getting deleted by Ben anyway.

1 up, 0 down

WorldEndsWithMe
Wednesday, October 27, 2010 @ 3:45:23 AM

haha, and now your comment falls to the bottom of this thread. That's a second reason not to post under the spammers, things get moved around.

0 up, 0 down

Underdog15
Wednesday, October 27, 2010 @ 8:48:25 AM

Anyone who says "wrong website mate" underneath my post, admits to being a sillynanny with nothing to show for himself save a paperclip and basket of strawberries.

Yes, I daresay, if you write "wrong website mate" under my post this very instant, you also claim to wish you were an active member of LV's basement shinanigans.

0 up, 1 down

Ben Dutka PSXE [Administrator]
Wednesday, October 27, 2010 @ 9:59:50 AM

DON'T REPLY TO BOTS. THEY'RE NOT PEOPLE.

All of it disappears as soon as I see it, anyway.

0 up, 0 down

Underdog15
Wednesday, October 27, 2010 @ 10:39:10 AM

Aw, Ben, you deleted Kokoro's post making my joke incredibly unhilarious!

0 up, 0 down

Temjin001
Tuesday, October 26, 2010 @ 10:48:14 PM
Reply

I don't know what to think on this. I, for one, am less interested in CoD now that IW is essentially gone. But with the strong pre-order sales and the heavy exposure--this was MS's lead game demo at E3--plus, the fresh take on the setting, I won't be surprised if it surpasses their previous record holder.

But, I don't really care. lol.
I don't plan on playing this one unless a review happens to reveal something that may make it worth my time. I liked MW2 a lot as a rental. But to this day, I still don't own a CoD game. (I did own MW1 but traded it in for something)

Last edited by Temjin001 on 10/26/2010 10:48:40 PM

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WorldEndsWithMe
Tuesday, October 26, 2010 @ 11:09:41 PM

A multiplat as a lead showing... so sad.

1 up, 0 down

Jawknee
Tuesday, October 26, 2010 @ 11:18:15 PM

MS really are amateurs. Sony kicked their ass this year at E3.

EDIT: Temji you can already predict what the reviewers are going to say. It doesn't matter how uninspired, over done or mediocre these games are, if it has Halo, Call of Duty or Gears of War in the title, they are going to give it glowing reviews.

3D Castlevania? Mediocre

Halo Calls of War? "Excellent!"

Last edited by Jawknee on 10/26/2010 11:20:50 PM

1 up, 0 down

Temjin001
Wednesday, October 27, 2010 @ 9:57:08 AM

Yeah, Jawknee, I expect it to get good reviews. But there'll need to be something in the body of the review that really catches my interests--I don't know what that would be--in or for me to take the time to play it.

0 up, 0 down

booze925
Tuesday, October 26, 2010 @ 10:51:28 PM
Reply

i always welcome skepticism. either way though, im buying day 1.
afterwards, its killzone 3

0 up, 0 down

Kangasfwa
Tuesday, October 26, 2010 @ 10:51:59 PM
Reply

I like how he called the press "bitter." Some critics are becoming noticeably 'biiter' and hypercritical as this generation goes on if the game is not in the genre the critic enjoys (like if the game isn't open-world, MW2, or is a JRPG).

Another thing to appreciate about the reviews here. Ben or Arnold may not like a game, but as long as the game is good they'll recommend it for its audience.

0 up, 0 down

Jawknee
Tuesday, October 26, 2010 @ 11:05:43 PM

Yup, that's why this site is great. Reading IGN's Lords of Shadow review, its apparent Daemeon just didn't like the game so he let that cloud his review. Ben didn't dig it much either but he gave it more credit than most supposedly "objective" review sites.

0 up, 0 down

Alienange
Tuesday, October 26, 2010 @ 11:23:05 PM
Reply

The sales numbers that MW2 brought in prove that it is exactly what people who enjoy fps want in their game. So yeah, other fps will be compared and panned if not up to snuff.

As for Black Ops, well, it'll be ok no doubt, but I think Pachter is right. No matter how good Treyarch's product is, they'll always be treated like the retarded little brother by the critics.

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Jawknee
Tuesday, October 26, 2010 @ 11:25:57 PM

Which is kind of sad in this regard since Black Ops looks better than MW2.

1 up, 0 down

Alienange
Tuesday, October 26, 2010 @ 11:41:24 PM

What part?

Personally I think the multiplayer looks good with its approach to perks and weapon upgrades. The singleplayer trailers look ok. Nothing more spectacular than what we saw in MW2 trailers.

In the end it comes down to level design. Something IW had mastered before the breakup. Treyarch level design has always been kinda weak in my eyes. What is there to make me think BO will somehow be better?

0 up, 0 down

Jawknee
Tuesday, October 26, 2010 @ 11:45:17 PM

That heli mission in Black Ops looks pretty cool. I will give you the level designs in World at War were pretty weak.

0 up, 0 down

WorldEndsWithMe
Tuesday, October 26, 2010 @ 11:32:02 PM
Reply

Sorta off topic but any news on if we get a second weapon besides the magnum in Killzone 3?

0 up, 1 down

Jawknee
Tuesday, October 26, 2010 @ 11:46:28 PM

None that i know of but i would like to see more guns, including side arms in Killzone 3. The variety of weapons and the fact you couldn't customize them was kind of a draw back in Killzone 2.

0 up, 0 down

spiderboi
Wednesday, October 27, 2010 @ 12:29:21 AM

yeah. more guns! disliked the fact that you only had one sniper, one shot gun and only 2 assault rifles per side. but experience overall is top notch!

0 up, 0 down

DIsmael85
Tuesday, October 26, 2010 @ 11:37:07 PM
Reply

I'm pretty sure a good chunk of people on here will still play this. *recalls some old articles about this* I don't think it being behind MW2 will hurt it at being successful for the sheer fact that it's a "Call of Duty". We'll see I suppose.

0 up, 0 down

AcHiLLiA
Wednesday, October 27, 2010 @ 1:02:06 AM
Reply

Well, if young teens don't like the fact that this game is not going to be modern, those people should just stick with MW2.

1 up, 0 down

Jawknee
Wednesday, October 27, 2010 @ 1:56:41 AM

eeeh, i don't think thats correct. World at War looked quite a bit different than MW2. It was higher res and sharper. Doesn't look the same to me.

I supposed they culd have just optimized it differently too i guess. World at War is 720p and automatically upscales to 1080p while MW2 is 600p upscaled to 720p.

0 up, 2 down

___________
Wednesday, October 27, 2010 @ 2:03:15 AM
Reply

it wont be history that holds it back, to be honest i dont think the shamble between IW and antivision will effect it either.
only the developer will, tryarch 1 has half the fan base IW does and 2 have not released a good game in god knows how long!
W@W was ok, QoS sucked!
tryarch have never really been held in the same league as IW, they have always been overshadowed by IW so black ops will be no exception.

0 up, 0 down

Lawless SXE
Wednesday, October 27, 2010 @ 2:09:10 AM
Reply

I think that the buyer mentality is focussed more on the Modern Warfare title than that of Call of Duty, so I would be very surprised if BO outsold MW2 by that fact alone. On the other hand, I've seen more advertising for BO than I did for MW2, so it may not be entirely out of the realms of possibility.

I also have no doubt that it will be roasted by the critics for doing things differently to MW2. It's a sad but inevitable fact. Oh well. I will continue to wait for Sony to drop the two must-have FPSes of next year, Resistance 3 and Killzone 3. And of course I'll pick up Medal of Honour when the price drops a bit.
Peace.

0 up, 0 down

SmokeyPSD
Wednesday, October 27, 2010 @ 6:23:42 AM
Reply

I don't care about the gaming critics at large or Black Ops. Gaming would be better with greater quality journalism and just... no games like black ops.

0 up, 3 down

Bloodysilence19
Wednesday, October 27, 2010 @ 8:41:09 AM
Reply

i think Black Ops will outsell Mw2 cause of the fact Mw2 was so broken with glitches, campers, and hackers that the game its self got boring real fast. Black Ops alone will do well do to its zombie mode, cause everybody loved the zombie mode in WAW. than that game mode called wager mode something like that, looks like that could be a key point of players buying more of Black Ops than Mw2. time will tell Black Ops comes out real soon, so we shall see if it sells.

2 up, 0 down

Steel
Wednesday, October 27, 2010 @ 2:17:44 PM
Reply

I for one am excited for Treyarch to take the reigns on this one, but i seem to be somewhat alone on that one.

Ultimately I am actually taking the side that Black Ops will out sell MW2. And honestly, probably by a fair amount, and this is my take on why:

Though gamers as an entity have begun to evolve into tougher reviewers and are starting to be much harder to please, there is also the fact that a fair amount of gamers also are lead by the "new and exciting." Truthfully, I think we would be surprised at how many gamers will buy this game for one reason: Its a NEW COD. They will simply be compelled to get the newest version. I was actually just talking to my girlfriends brother who I will be playing Black Ops with the most I am sure, and he was not even aware of the departure from IW to Treyarch. Now granted, he is not a hardcore gamer in the same right as me. He rarely reads reviews and for the most part doesn't keep up with the news. However he is a gamer at heart, and has a love for COD.

My point with this is that though a lot of us are aware of the huge changes that are coming down the pipe, there are a fair amount of gamers that actually choose to be uninformed, and will not think twice about buying a game because its the next in the series. If you liked the first one, whats not to like about the 7th one right? ;)

Hype and controversy sell any product. That is fact, and I think that Black Ops has enough hype to drive it around the world several hundred times. I just hope Treyarch employees are not sitting in their offices right now going “holy hell, we should have done better, I had no idea there would be so much talk about this game.”

1 up, 0 down

White_Mocha
Monday, November 01, 2010 @ 10:19:57 AM

i'm with you on that, Steel. i wanna see Treyarch take the entire series because of what i've seen in the past. Even though it's back in the day, they are still inventing ways to make their iteration of Call of Duty great. and they give a good amount of gameplay and hours involved in that gameplay.

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Steel
Wednesday, October 27, 2010 @ 2:20:17 PM
Reply

I think its also safe to say ( and I am not saying I agree here) that MW2 got a ton more positive feedback than negative from the masses so there WILL be a large amount of consumers who will buy this game with the mentality of "Damn, the last one was awesome! this one has to be even better!!!!!" Sad, but true I think.

1 up, 0 down

Hezzron
Wednesday, October 27, 2010 @ 2:41:05 PM
Reply

I'm not expecting BO to outsell MW2. Fans in the know will be a little cautious about a Treyarch production, and there'll be plenty of casual gamers that will probably pass on BO thinking they basically have it already in MW2.

0 up, 0 down

White_Mocha
Monday, November 01, 2010 @ 10:17:58 AM
Reply

i would take Black Ops over MW2 any day. hell i'd take WAW over MW2. my reasoning is because i like a challenge. i got a challenge with MW2 but not as much of a challenge as with WAW.

Do you know how hard it is to beat veteran difficulty on WAW? i haven't beaten it yet and i'm stuck in the trenches. i beat MW2 in a day on veteran difficulty.

graphics definitely help the cause because there are explosions everywhere and gunshots, but i hope Black Ops gives a good amount of challenging toward the player.

0 up, 0 down

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Pachter: History, Press Will Keep Black Ops Behind MW2

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