‘Social future for console games’ says Activision boss

Triple-A titles merged with social gaming is the future for console games, Activision Blizzard senior VP Brian Ward has said.

“We’re still pretty focused on the console space in the way that I mentioned – big ticket console games as well as the social, casual and mobile space,” said Ward speaking to siliconrepublic.

The Activision boss added the shape of the gaming world is changing and that to succeed titles had to be at the very top of the charts.

“If you look at the charts today by genre, whereas four or five years ago having any title in the top 10 of any genre was doing well,” he said.

“And now that’s concentrated on the top two in each genre. Fortunately we have two or three in each genre and we’ve trimmed our slate accordingly to get rid of the ones that were not in the top tier.”

Ward said the studio would also be focusing on digital delivery, and that Call of Duty: Elite looks to address these new market trends.

Elite is an upcoming free/subscription based multiplayer service by Beachhead studios for Black Ops and Modern Warfare 3.

It features career stats, cross device messaging, daily competitions, DLC and various social networking options such as console, mobile and tablet apps.

Elite will be released alongside Modern Warfare 3 on 8th November.