Dedicated Servers for Modern Warfare 3
Cynics are saying that it was only a matter of time before Activision capitalized on the thousands of Call of Duty online players.
Cynics were right, but that doesn’t mean that Activision hasn’t entirely stepped up its game to make it worthy of an extra $50 a year from fans. COD fans will still be able to play exactly as they had before, whether it was over the PlayStation Network, Xbox Live or their computer. If they buried their head under the sand and didn’t read anything about the game, life would go on normally. However, taking advantage of the free web portal means they could get access to enough content to keep their experience fresh for another eight years.
Improve:
Call of Duty has become such an establishment in the gaming industry that it’s intimidating for newcomers to pick it up. The Improve section will help new players acclimate to the fast-paced multiplayer version of the game. In a culture that doesn’t exactly cater to players having positive attitudes about new players being on their team, Improve could be the key to getting those noobs progressing up the skill levels.
Connect:
Everything is social these days. If a service isn’t offering you a way to connect with your friends, it’s going to fall behind the pack. Elite is Activision’s answer to the new social paradigm. You can friend your actual friends and online acquaintances and see their achievements. Actually, even if you don’t friend someone you can see their stats.
Connect also lets players create clans, groups of players that will level and compete together, as well as earn bonuses just for being in one if you’re a paid subscriber. If that’s not enough of a social element for them, they can also join different groups denoted by a hashtag and compete to be the best.
Essentially, the Connect portion is just facilitating what has already been happening among friends and extending it to acquaintances, strangers and people with similar interests.
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