The reveal trailer for Call of Duty: Infinite Warfare is quickly becoming one of the most disliked YouTube videos of all time, but that doesn't appear to be any cause of concern for publisher Activision.
In a recent investor meeting, Activision CEO Eric Hirshberg said that despite the negative reception to the trailer, early preorders for the game are off to a strong start.
"The fact is, while it's very early, preorders are off to a very strong start," Hirshberg said in response to an investor question. "Views of the reveal trailer that you referred to are up and, in fact, the number of likes per view on the Infinite Warfare reveal trailer are also the highest we've ever seen.
"We've seen this in the franchise before. The reveal trailer for Black Ops II, which took the franchise into the future for the first time, had the most dislikes of any reveal trailer we had ever made at that time. And that, of course, went on to become our most successful game ever."
Hirshberg stated that the game industry is like no other, having some of the most vocal fans of any entertainment medium. He goes on to say that Call of Duty as a franchise has never been stronger.
Much of the trailer's dislike-to-like ratio stems from the franchise's continued focus on sci-fi (much to the disappointment of some fans). Hirshberg had something to say about that.
"We have more people playing Black Ops III, a game that takes place in the future with boost jumps and fictitious weapons and all the rest, than any game in our history," he said. "So what we know for sure is that if we always just did what worked in the past and never took any creative risks, we wouldn't have a franchise. The day to worry is the day we stop trying new things."
Hirshberg also addressed the issue of Activision's deciding not to sell Modern Warfare Remastered outside of Infinite Warfare's pricey special editions, a point that has further angered many of the same fans who aren't interested in Infinite Warfare's futuristic setting.
"...of course we know that there are people in our community who are nostalgic for the boots-on-the-ground-style gameplay, and that's why we made Modern Warfare Remastered," he said. "But we also have millions of people in our community who want to have new innovative experiences in the game each year and Infinite Warfare is going to deliver that. And the good news is this year we found a way to deliver both in one package while keeping our community together."
The number of dislikes on the video only continue to rise. Since reporting on the reception to the trailer yesterday, more than 100,000 additional dislikes have been added to the video, compared to roughly 20,000 new likes. It appears Hirshberg's responses (especially his non-answer with regard to Modern Warfare Remastered) have done little to turn around the trailer's negative reception on YouTube, as the dislikes continue to come in.
