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Still "a lot of talent" and vision at Infinity Ward boast Activision
Posted: 15.12.2010 11:32 by Simon Priest Comments: 8
Eric Hirshberg, Activision CEO, proclaims that despite Jason West and Vince Zampella being forced from Infinity Ward there's plenty of talent left behind.

That's even after the mass exodus of staff. Even patients fresh from a coma, unaware of their troubles, would know they're the "real deal" meeting them.

"I will say that the Infinity Ward that I’m meeting with today is one of the most talented developers in the world," decreed CEO Eric Hirshberg. "There’s still a lot of talent and a lot of vision inside that studio, and if I had just woken up from a coma and never read a press release about Infinity Ward and just gone to my meetings with them, I would have walked out and said, 'those guys are the real deal'.”

Hirshberg also praised fellow Call of Duty ward (pun optional) - Treyarch - for being able to meet the expectations of fans for the series. "Treyarch is of course going to remain a centerpiece of our efforts on Call of Duty, and they have been."

"From the beginning, they’ve been contributing. I think that they’ve broke through to another level with this game. I think that they really just put their head down, tuned out the noise, and got to a pretty elite level in terms of the game that they’ve delivered here."

"They will, of course, figure prominently into our future plans and management of the franchise," continued Hirshberg. Most critics and gamers have been impressed with Black Ops for its thrilling campaign story, set during the Cold War.

Then there's that other studio. "Sledgehammer, with Glen Schofield and their performance in Dead Space and what they’ve done in the past, I’ve nothing but high hopes for their contributions," added the Activision boss. "We’ve got an unprecedented level of talent contributing to this franchise." The next Call of Duty should be from Infinity.

Comments

By herodotus (SI Herodotus) on Dec 15, 2010
herodotus
For me the game is becoming more and more diluted, focusing on "fast food'-style gaming (cheap, sugar-flavoured, and colourful bells 'n whistles...without nutritional substance).
Would love to see IW given free reign to re-invent the franchise. "CoD: BO" should be the last in this present iteration.
By Eversor (SI Elite) on Dec 15, 2010
Eversor
I hope so.
By Arrecoolast (SI Core) on Dec 15, 2010
Arrecoolast
Thing is though that if Kotick and guys that think like him were fired, the games would be ALOT better. It's a shame really that they don't get fired. :(
By unsilviu (SI Core) on Dec 15, 2010
unsilviu
IW won't be the same... We can just hope their games will.
By herodotus (SI Herodotus) on Dec 16, 2010
herodotus
Remember that exceptionally difficult yet brilliant EP to the first "CoD", "United Offensive"? That of course was made by Gray Matter Interactive Studios which was aquired by Activision and a few years later merged into a spanking new company called Treyarch.
So there is still some hope for the gutted IW. A Phoenix from the ashes?
By Eversor (SI Elite) on Dec 15, 2010
Eversor
Maybe so. Ifinity Ward has always done a better job at the CoD games than Treyarch. Hopefully they will stay King.
By devel (SI Elite) on Dec 16, 2010
devel
I believe Cod might turn in the future something similar to Army of two, Medal of Honor and even Black! Remember black? Well.. perhaps not, but It is difficult to reinvent something that has already been reinvented. I guess IW has a challenging job at their hands..
By herodotus (SI Herodotus) on Dec 16, 2010
herodotus
And cue..."Call of Duty Online".
Hoorah!