Does The Call Of Duty Series Even Need Advertising Anymore?

Normally when a new video game comes out, it requires an enormous amount of money for advertising, public conferences to be held, and fresh details to continously be leaked. However, every November without skipping a beat, gamers call out "sick" to work, miss school, make excuses to their families, and wait in line for what seems like an eternity... just to get the new Call of Duty game on release day. Why is this? Is it because of the huge amount of money used to market the game? Is it because of the tremendous amount of in-game footage released to the public while it was still in production? Is it even because of the new features this one has to offer over last year's? Or maybe because of the upgrade in design and programming? While all of these reasons do help maintain interest in the series, are they really the prime selling points?

What if Activision decided not to spend any more money on promoting their franchise? What if all they did was tell us the release day and a vague description of the plot? Would it still sell? Most likely it would! After several installments, it has become quite clear of what Call of Duty has to offer to gamers. Every year a new bar is set higher than before, and every year it is once again reached.

When someone goes to the movie theaters, it is likely they have seen the trailer for what they are about to watch. However, how many people actually make sure they see three different trailers, read 20 different reviews, and listen to two interviews with the director before they make the decision to go? In fact, a lot of times people see movies that they are not even familiar with, just because their friend told them it was good. How many times have you spent money on seeing a movie in theater or buying it in a store just because the plot sounds interesting?

The truth is that the Call of Duty series has been placed so high on a pedestal, that just the faint mention of the words will draw attention. Most the advertising is probably word of mouth, and free promotion is practically guaranteed amongst the online community. Video games, in general, have become such a major medium that if a future Call of Duty game were to be released without advertising, the major media networks would publish stories about it, essentially promoting the game themselves.

So I ask you: "If Activision released a new Call of Duty game, and provided you with only a release date and an era for which it takes place, would you still buy it? If not, what would be the minimum amount of information you need before making a decision?"

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