And on the subject of the corner campers.... There must be some people out there on this very blog who do it. Why?? What is the appeal of just sitting in a dark spot waiting for people to walk past? Where is the excitement? Is it because you don't have friends you can move around tactically with or did your parents hit you a lot?

NecronomiconUK

I don't see why there is a substantially greater amount of people playing this Call of Duty as opposed to past iterations. The only thing differentiating CoD4's online game from it's predecessors is the perks, and to me that doesn't justify the absurd amount of buzz this game constantly receives.

Mech_Master

I would love to know how the PS3 figures compare. Sales of each version - how many play each version online a day. Would be very intresting, but then when the hell did anyone last release interesting statistics?

I love CoD4 but it is getting somewhat boring and I'm utterly sick to death of the repeated and tiresome corner campers. I love Halo3 as well and I've been getting a lot more of a kick out of that recently.

NecronomiconUK

CoD4 is the only game I own for 360 for a reason. If I bought anything else, it wouldnt get opened because Cod$'s multiplayer is just so damned good.

Derigor

And add the new maps! I'll be a happy camper then. Wait, I mean not a camper! No. I don't do that. At all. Honest.

Eville1

@enewtabie: i only liked the part as the sniper & in the plane, it just felt to dull. Oh yes i finnished it in 4 and a half hours to easy....on easy

invictus2006

Sometimes, just sometimes, i wish i owned infinity ward... sometimes...

LittlestLamshi

@invictus2006:
Well it did have a original story and not a rehash of previous games,so I'm not sure why you didn't like it.The ending was good and you didn't see it coming.

enewtabie

It's a great game and Infinity Ward deserve all the credit in the world for making such a great game. It's not unbalanced,and plays very smoothly. Traded in my copy of Halo 3 a month ago and this is pretty much what I play on Live.

enewtabie

@exkon: Last time I played H3 there were about 300,000 people online. Thats probably changed with the map pack being free now.

Tofu_Survivor

COD4 > Halo 3.

Makes sense, innovative well put together tactical shooter vs Halo 2 in a newer slightly uglier dress.

kingmanic

i hated single player so much that i didnt even bother playing online. Oh well back to Halo3

invictus2006

Man, that is so interesting. I'm just gonna listen.

ErskinPig

@ShadowFFVI: pretty much, and i love every minute of it

jp182

@Kanik: If games really taught people to kill, would people really risk pissing off what would have to be the greatest fighting force on earth?

mrantimatter

It's pretty much Counterstrike 2.0

ShadowFFVI

All my online friends on the PS3 have this... I can almost believe that the PS3 has more numbers... good to know know COD4 is doing so well though...

AGROS

1.3 million term papers/sales reports not being written.

Hubert Humphrey Methadone

@Kanik: They may bocome rich if they lvie in the UK.

[kotaku.com]

Oh, tabloids, wont you ever learn?

Shiryu

Does not compute.

cdr

1.3 million murderers in training.

Kanik

All they need to do now is add cross-platform support and allow Xbox 360 vs PS3 matches!

IronsUK

I still don't get it. How can this be comapred to the playbase on the PC? I mean, theres 52 player server full 24/7. surely XBL and PSN users are a mere fraction of the PC COD4 market, right? Im one of them (original game, proper CDKEY) and I have to say i fond 1.3 millions preety normal, as far as onlien FPSs go. Surely a first on a home console, but quite normal for a PC FPS.

Shiryu

@greygecko: a whole FUCKTON!

jun581

Makes sense for the PS3, what other game really could beat out COD4 on the system?

Kinda surprised about the number of player on the 360, I wonder what #'s Halo 3 puts up.

exkon

Thats a ton of people. Add to that the 850,000 or so who play Halo 3 every day and thats over 2 million people on XBL every day on 2 games...crazy.

Gray665

...so thats a lot, right?

greygecko

Sniping I can cope with, picking a (typically higher) vantage point and taking people out at long range with a rifle is fair game and requires talent. Sitting in the corner of a room or edge of a doorway with an RPD or other spam-a-thon gun is just frigging annoying and takes a lot of the fun out of an otherwise fine game.

NecronomiconUK

There's something pretty useful for when you come across a camper or sniper (even though I rarely do, the way some have previously mentioned... the matches I play are usually well balanced with more emphasis on assault weapons vs. sniper rifles) - it's the Death Cam,so you can see from where the person just sniped you.

Maybe it's the game types you play, but I've found no problems like that with Merc Team DM, Domination, Ground War gametypes.

dudeman5000

@Mr_Pointy: If the tool is camping in the same spot throughout the match, why not just chuck in a grenade or go in guns blazing and kill the little bastard? You know where they are located, so just kill them.

Ex_EA_Slave

@spinal77: while I agree it a valid tactic I also define my role in any match as one who hunts down players like this, epically snipers.

my Uzi weighs a ton!

Gadgetron

i love playing as SAS because the voices/accents are so hot.

MakeFragNotWar

@ChoZ3nWon:
Really? Wow,didn't see that during Beta.Neat.

enewtabie

This game is my SOCOM substitute. For me, it means it's really that good.

IntelSilver

Tons of PC players out there. TONS.

Project Thanatos

If you can Shit Talk online and beat someone at any game, The game becomes addictive. Fast Pace Online shooters are always appealing.

MXs219

I snipe. >_>

But only because Im going for the golden weapons.
I can believe it, looking at my friends list at least half of my firneds have played COD4, and at least 20 play it regularly.

CanaryWundaboy

@Mr_Pointy:

Thats called strategy...if it keeps happening to you and you don't go after that person to make him quit, he will keep using the tactic because its smart and it works.

Pretty much in real life if you ran around the "map" so to speak you'd be killed in 2 seconds flat too. Your complaint sounds eerily like those people who always used to complain about the smart tactician who would get set up somewhere in a good position witha sniper rifle and go to town.

spinal77

Gratz Infinity Ward!

Gadgetron

@enewtabie:
they did have vehicles in its early stages of the game but choose to take them out in order for a faster paced game... well in beta on vacant there was a glitch to where you could get into one of the cars on the outside of the maps and do a driveby.

ChoZ3nWon

@exkon: From www.bungie.net:

# Unique Players (Last 24 Hours): 885,355

Niroth

@Tons Of Fun:
I agree and I have a feeling some sort of vehicle will come up down the line from IW. It's all of their surveys about DLC.Hopefully..

enewtabie

Wow, I must be playing on a different server because I haven't run into many sniper campers. Like... none at all. Most like to use their assault weapon of choice and give precise shots instead. That being said, I love playing CoD4 online. I like the slightly realistic feel to it, where I *don't* have to unload half my ammo to kill one guy, while at the same time you get the RPGish system where you earn your weapons and special perks ^_^.

apu95

@ShaggE: Nothing like overkill with a specific weapon etc. to muddy a good gaming experience.

For me, thank Jeebus I can turn off ranged explosives (airstrikes and underslung grenade launchers) and grenades in SOCOM Tactical Strike...focus on the automatic weapons-fire, people...the gunplay is the shiznit in that game. None of this dancing through the bullets nonsense.

pylon_trooper

I knew the Halo hype train wouldn't last for long. It seems to me like people were more excited for Halo before it came out than they are now.

Halo 3 multiplayer is fun, but something about Call of Duty 4 just feels better, tighter, and more fun. Variety is nice but as a whole I prefer CoD4, which is impressive when you consider that the game has no vehicles and crazy weapons like H3.

Tons Of Fun

@Xiedo: Wow, great response. I agree 100%

Gray665

The perks kept me playing, but not for long. Most maps are just snipe-fests. In fact, I don't think I've played a round yet where the majority of players weren't camping in the sniper nests. There's nothing wrong with sniping, but holy hell..

ShaggE

@Mr_Pointy: Yeah, but I make it a point to take campers out wherever I see them (usually right after they took me out the last time).

Spoony Bard

except they're all from pirated versions

holysocks

@Xiedo:
I think it boils down to being more fun and COD4 is more fun than playing Halo.(At least for me and a few others)
Neither game is tactical by far.

enewtabie

@NecronomiconUK:

I don't get the appeal of corner camping either. It is so frustrating to be out there actively hunting people down only to have some tool camp in the same spot for the entire match get a victory for doing nothing.

In Team matches it's easy to counter. In Free-for-All, everybody is out for themselves and won't really make an effort to stop it. I can't count the number of times I've been killed by the same person in the same spot at the beginning, and then again, near the end of the match.

You check the scoreboard and see he has 25 kills and 2 deaths and eveybody else is in the 17-15 range or worse. It's terrible.

Mr_Pointy

@slomo788: I like your subtlety and agree wholeheartedly.

pylon_trooper

@kingmanic: Innovative? Tactical? What game are we talking about again?

slomo788

There are a few reasons why CoD4 online is so damn addictive. Yes, the single player is amazing - but that has nothing to do with it.

1) Tight gameplay - Everything is balanced; whatever weapon you are playing with (except a pistol), you never feel like you're outclassed. Much.

2) No WWII in sight. Nuff said.

2) RPG lite - I think this is the main reason people keep playing. The more you play, the more perks you get, the better rank you get. This is definitely where this game gets my vote. It's fun to play games like Team Fortress 2 or Unreal Tournament III, but when there is something to be gained, it reels you in like nothing else.

There is also the fact that on the XBox, most people seem to have the headsets. This is a good/bad thing. Good because you feel more connected to the community when you play, bad when you get the 5 years screaming into your headset (until you mute them...)

That said, I LOVE playing with fellow Kotakuites. So feel free to add me and play some CoD4!

Spoony Bard

@kingmanic: I would attribute COD4's popularity to being easy to get into, not higher innovation or tactical depth. Lower bar of entry and all that. Anyone knows the vast majority of XBL players are neither very smart nor tactical nor have great reflexes. COD4 is a perfect fit. You only need be smart enough to pick up an M16, understand it's "first shot or die," and be able to shoot somebody once. There's a lot more to it from there, but that's a fine starting and ending point for the casual player.

Opposed to Halo 3, where weapons are radically different and need to be understood, shooting first is not a guaranteed victory (and is actually sometimes stupid), and commonly one must track a target for 1/3 to 1/2 of the magazine.

Not to mention Halo 3 has more diverse weapons, vehicles, a lot more to do (in game modes and custom games), saved films, and Forge... but before playing Halo it's good to know how to play Halo. It's a lot more complicated on the basic level.

Xiedo

Has Infinity Ward released any sales numbers on COD4?

enewtabie

@cdr:

Free online gaming on PC & PS3 = more people playing...

Captain Fury

A lot of people seem to be throwing the word 'tactical' around in regards to this. Let's face it...it's not terribly tactical.

But a good game, nonetheless.

pylon_trooper

@Daizzy: I only "gave" $35.

Spoony Bard

Pfft I admit CoD4 is fun but is really anything new or innovate ?

At least Halo 3 introducted Forge and Saved Films which are two big features for a console game. It has a ranking up system and the matchmaking system in Halo 3 is alot better than in CoD4.

zonetrooper5

If every one of those players gave Infinity Ward $60, thats $78,000,000 in CoD4's sold for xbox 360... unless you want to count the people who aren't currently playing online...

Daizzy

Wow - that's a lot of people. I wonder how that compares to the number viewers for a popular TV show. No wonder advertisers want access to the online gamer market.

rawg

@flukielukie: I'd agree with your there. Halo is infinetly more tactical than CoD4 which more often than not feels like war of the headless chickens. The team games in Halo work so much better than CoD4, co ordinating warthog assaults while the mongoose whips in with the bomb carrier on the back just can't be beat.

NecronomiconUK

Call of Duty 4:
[vgchartz.com]
Resistance and Halo 3:
[vgchartz.com]

The reason why COD4 is so popular because it's a faster version of Battlefield 2 which was the juggernaut of PC gaming for many years. BF2's two main problems was the amount of time it took to get back into the action (which is why most BF2'ers played Strike at Karkand) and the fighting over vehicles (griefing, teamkilling, unbalanced vehicles) While BF2142 focused more on instant action, COD4 went a step further and took out vehicles and made it instant action/more arcade.

Halo 3 is popular for totally different reasons. Halo 3 is a straight up arcade shooter in the same vein as Quake 3/Unreal Tournament whereas COD4 is more of a fast/slim-downed squad-based shooter in the vein of BF2.

Tepoz

I'm tired of all of my friends list constantly playing this game, not even trying any other game...

They are like "Its the best game ever, nothing else needs to be played"

But people like me need different genres, and I feel like playing arcade games now and again.

I'm also bored of people calling CoD4 tactical, yes you can do some tactical things. But the majority of the game is who shoots first.

At least Halo lets you think about what to do to your opponents and if you think quick and take on 3 at once, you will feel very satisfied for thinking of a method out of there.

flukielukie

@balls187++: I bought it for the pc before i had a 360 and it looked like it came out my ass D: god i want a new pc

D Mitsuki

"Our UAV is online!"

Halo is dead. Long live Halo!

SigmundTheSeaMonster

We here at Activision feel we need to shun all other video games to make ourselves feel better.

We realize there is very little way to count the online player total for the Playstation 3, so we'll just go ahead and assume it's a billion. We think it's a safe call.

And since we're talking about it, the COD 4 website gets over a thousand hits a day. We only tell you this so we can make bloggers cry, and we will then use those tears to lubricate our money machines.

Hey EA! Bid on us!

Forcepowered

I can't believe that many people are playing COD4 with a controller.

Remember when FPS's on the console's were generally lousy?

I *LOVE* COD4 for the PC, but my damn 8800 GTS ($450 when I bought it) died for a 2nd time. It has a double lifetime warranty so it'll be replaced, but right now I'm running a single 8600 GT). With crap like this no wonder people are dropping the PC like it has SARS (RROD!)

balls187++

@NecronomiconUK: Don't listen! It's a lie! The cake is ALWAYS a lie T_T.

D Mitsuki

@NecronomiconUK:

Sweet. Thanks for that. I'm glad I've stayed at 55 then too! =D

dudeman5000

I think alot more people play this game because its easier as opposed to somthing like CSS or Halo, even if your not very good at first person shooters you can still kill your friends because they cant dance around or jump around or do all that cool stuff that goes on in other fps...I guess thats why I prefer to play CSS lol.

D Mitsuki

@dudeman5000: Yes, there is cake and all is good....

For those missing the humour..... you get sweet fuck all. Hence why I'm staying on 55 cos I really can't be arsed earning all my fave guns and doing the challenges again

NecronomiconUK

Sorry for the off-topic but, does anyone know yet what you get when you go through all the prestige levels?

Is there cake or something?

dudeman5000

I'm a fan of Halo, but is anyone really surprised? In 3, all of the weapons are nerfed! You cant tell me a spartan super soldier has such bad aim with an assault rifle, that it's useless from 50+ yards.
Also, CoD4's ranking system is more visible to the players, and being based on a reward-only system gives that extra incentive to play and rack up experience points.

@Kanik: Are you dating Jack Thompson?

Kickinstuff13

@Xiedo:
Thank you.

Coyotegrey

They're both good games, with different highlights and features. Arguing about why one takes more skill to play than the other is useless, as you're probably not going to sway anyone's opinion by insulting their choices.

Gordon_Shumway

I love corner campers. Once I know where you're at, you're fucked. They made flashbangs, smoke, stun, and frag grenades bounce off walls for a reason.

Lixie

@Spoony Bard: Better idea. Let's team up.

Xiedo

I call B.S. on that, on a average night there may be 40,000 to 70,000 people (around 12am) on COD4 360. Halo 3 will have double that approx. the same time. Give me a break with all this COD4 beating Halo 3. It's not.

Poltergeist13

@Xiedo: QFT.

Gray665

@Xiedo: Oooh, YOU'RE the guy. I'm coming to get YOU and your dirty camper buddies!

Spoony Bard

I honestly haven't played Halo since COD 4 came out. It's just that good. Perhaps it's the fact that you can continually unlock cool new upgrades and abilities. I like the RPG aspect, but also, I think the people who play it are generally more mature. I can't even begin to describe some of the idiocy I've had to put up with members of the Halo community. Granted, I've come across a few choice individuals on COD 4 as well, but far fewer.

Also, I like the mature context of the game and the modern weapons. They handed the game perfectly -- now for those new maps they keep promising.

That and my Xbox 360 coming back from the repair center for the 5th time. Damn you red ring of death!!!!

DugDawg

@Xiedo: Pussy :-P

NecronomiconUK

I have to laugh because I am a corner camper, totally. I'm the guy lying prone in the corner or next to debris with an RPD and a UAV Jammer. I'm the guy shooting you in the back, off your radar, before you even know what's happening, 15 times in a match. Grenades don't even keep me down. I just change positions or hold the high ground.

That's me. And that's how to play COD, people. In a game where face-to-face encounters are decided by a fraction of lag, whoever has "luckier" hip-fire, or whoever has (or doesn't have) Juggernaut/Stopping Power, by not taking all precautions to get that first shot you're just asking for it.

Want a game where head-on dueling is fair game and camping is discouraged? Play Halo. The perfect accuracy model ensures fair duels. Weapon spawns and map design don't allow camping. Too hard to shoot somebody more than once? They just added SWAT to playlists. Have a ball.

Xiedo

60 FPS FTW....that and the sprnit button of course.

dubz

@Tofu_Survivor: When i played Halo 3 there was hardly anyone on maybe 300,00(this was 9 pm on a friday night) I loaded up the halo 1 DEMO DEMO On my computer and there was more people people playing the Halo 1 DEMO than Halo 3. I can understand why though:)

Barf#1

@Captain Fury: I call BS. Being free doesn't automatically equal more players online. WoW anyone? Has a monthly subscription so its not like people are worried about paying to play a game online. This guy most have been misquoted because the 360 version, last time i checked was still the best selling version out of all platforms. PC + PS3 may combined give same numbers, but not together.

Tiberian

@Xiedo:
Bungie called...They want their community manager back.
The boat is sinking and you may want to jump off.

enewtabie

@Nexus6: Total BS on what? I don't see you referencing anything I said.

All I can say is that the number of times a player ends a fight in a double-death melee is directly proportional to how bad that player is at Halo. Double-death melees usually happen when one player gets into melee range when they shouldn't have.

If you don't like having to track a moving target, that's understandable. I also know you're exaggerating here, but last I checked Spartans/Elites can jump their body height and they can only jump. There are no acrobatics in Halo. Halo ppl can barely run. That's doesn't make for an impossible target. Certainly more challenging than COD4, but not impossible.

Xiedo

Oh & I never camp & consistantly average 20/5 kd. Its all about timing, accuracy and BALLS .

Nexus6

@Xiedo: I'd have to call total BS on that. If anything not having shields makes you think a lot more about stepping out in the open. Add in Search & Destroy and it becomes a whole different experience. The only thing Halo has going for it is its vehicles. When I shoot someone I want them to die not jump 30 ft in the air and start doing olympic acrobatics until they're cornered and have to fight only to lose when you both melee each other at the same time.

Nexus6

@NecronomiconUK: I really don't play Halo much anymore. The weapons are underpowered in large part and unbalanced. The sniper rifle and shotgun are fine, but the AR and BR suck. If the total armor were reduced to some degree and there were more vehicles available, it could be a lot better. Some maps like Valhalla are complete trash b/c of campers. I'd say it's easier to camp there than any place in COD4.

Spartan1308

Well, I still like Halo 3 better. Great vehicles, more diverse maps (although there are too many symmetrical maps), fewer, but more diverse weapons, and a theater outdoes COD4 in my book.

Mini-Boss

@Ex_EA_Slave:

If their position allows it, I will do exactly that. However, most times they set up in an area with no other entrances with their red dot site constantly on the point of entry ready to fire at the first sign of movement.

It's easier to just go around him and not waste my time or give him another kill the only he can squeeze one out.

Mr_Pointy

@spinal77:

Your rationalization sounds eerily like those people who have no relexes or skill and camp in a dark corner next to spawn points.

I have no problem with snipers. You can easily avoid them and sneak up to take your revenge. Corner/Spawn campers are the weakest of the weak and get their asses kicked in team matches where their one tactic is useless.

Mr_Pointy

@Nexus6: yeah but mostly just balls....BALLS

excel_excel

@Xiedo: I can track a moving target just fine but when playing Halo i'm always faced with retards who constantly jump around like coked up rabbits & it frankly gets annoying. You claim that Halo's gameplay mechanics discourages camping but more than a handful of times have I seen people just sit in one area for a weapon or camp a room with or without the sniper rifle/energy sword and rack up kills solely based on their campfire & tent mounting prowess. On the other hand Call of Duty 4 has a great camping deterrent called kill cam where if your good enough you can clean out campers with extreme prejudice. Its one thing to find a good sniping position but its another to hide the whole game with an rpd.

Nexus6

@Nexus6: A kill-cam will reveal where the person was at time of death. Thirty seconds later, upon reaching that position, they could easily be gone or repositioned to kill again. That's it. Not great at all, IMO. Just a "here's what happened in case you care" feature. A "do you think that guy was stupid enough to stay in the exact same spot?" feature.

In Halo, when camping, access is lost on a variety of power weapons. Most power weapons are located in highly vulnerable areas in the first place. Risk = reward. There are very few dead ends, unlike COD4 where places to put "back to wall" are a dime a dozen. Hiding in tight or unusual spaces is also pretty useless unless you have a power weapon. Whereas in COD4, hide in a corner with an RPD it is easy to waste a whole group of soldiers caught unaware. Try doing the same thing with an AR or BR in Halo.

Xiedo

A "do you think that guy was stupid enough to stay in the exact same spot?" feature. You'd be surprised. I will say that Halo CE's multiplayer was a blast but I couldn't seem to get into Halo 2 or 3's multiplayer. I'm just glad Infinity Ward provided an option for people who enjoy a different type of experience & as someone who use to play counter-strike on a regular basis, COD4 delivers as a next gen equivalent . Anyway we'll agree to disagree.

Nexus6

I like CoD4, but I'm fucking mystified at its seemingly universal popularity for multiplayer. I liked the single-player, but can't stand the mp.

@Nexus6:

That's an interesting take, that it's the next-gen equivalent to Counter-Strike. I can see that. (Haha, and I hated CS, too. That makes sense.)

Strangelove

@Xiedo: Hmm. Interesting idea. Better to have you on MY team. :)

Spoony Bard

I am not saying this to be a fan boy but on an average day if you look at Halo 3 and COD4 there is usually 250,000-390,000 people on line at any time for Halo 3 (it's lower for both at quite times) and maybe only 120,000-200,000 for COD4. I think COD4 had a lot more Unique users but Halo 3 has a very active group of players all the time.

Again not trying to be a fan boy, even though I don't like COD4 online it's still a great game and the single player is some of the best ever.

sargemat

Why can't Sony/IW provided accurate figures for PS3...I find it hard to believe that theres no way to pull these numbers?

Cayno

wonder who many people will go online with gta4 idk but should be in the billions

jack-tha-reaper