Now that Activision is officially under the ownership banner of Microsoft, that also means a good number of big Western games are there too. One of the biggest is the Call of Duty franchise. While many in the industry see this move along with the Bethesda purchase as Microsoft buying up the industry rather than growing it, that means rival companies have to work harder to either buy other developers or work with some of their older franchises. This is why we are going to take a look at Sony in this instance. Sony has a plethora of dormant game franchises. Many of which are due for a return assuming they want to put effort behind them. It just so happens one such franchise is currently owned by Sony is particularly needed right now. And given proper attention, this franchise can serve as a counter to Call of Duty. That franchise is Socom.

Before anyone jumps to conclusions, let me explain why I say it can counter Call of Duty. Let’s just get this out of the way. Call of Duty is a juggernaut of a franchise and no FPS franchise is going to get close in terms of earnings or market appeal. Even in down years, the franchise sells tons more than any of its competition. But the way to counter Call of Duty is by being everything Call of Duty is not. For example, the game doesn’t really rely on teamwork. Just look on YouTube, minus the cheaters, there are still a ton of people on YouTube, twitch, and other video sites showing people just mowing through opponents and getting insane kill streaks. Then there’s the lack of a learning curve that makes COD easily assessable to almost anyone. This is probably the biggest reason the franchise blew up the way it did.

But the caveat is COD’s strengths are exactly what some gamers have complained about over the years. Whether it be the lack of a need for any real teamwork, the unrealistic gameplay, or the abundance of children, it may give Sony the opening they’d need

This is where the revival of Socom can come in. They won’t succeed by trying to be COD. But they can succeed by being everything they’re not. And one thing that means is going back to the basics of what the franchise was. But that comes in a number of steps

Bring back Zipper and the original devs

This by no means is a simple task. Zipper Interactive was closed back in 2012. Life goes on. People have lives to lead and bills to pay. So getting any of the older crew back on board is a tough task indeed. And that’s assuming they’d want to come back in the first place. But if by chance they can get even a small number of the developers from the original 3 Playstation 2 Socom games it would be a big plus. However, even though this sounds good in theory. We have to take note of the infighting that was happening at Zipper. Socom 4 had a poor showing and the lack of leadership at Zipper was blamed for that (releasing during the PlayStation outage didn’t help) If Zipper is to be reformed, a clear chain of command has to be set. It’s ironic that a developer making a military game focused on teamwork had their own teamwork issues.

Consult Military Personel

This is probably the most important aspect that made Socom what it was back in the day. Socom was a game where the only way you won or got anywhere was with tactics and coordination with your squad members. To flesh this out, Zipper Interactive used to consult with various tacticians both current and retired through the armed forces. In an age where everyone is trying to chase the twitch, arcade-style FPS, or third-person game, this is the kind of thing that would set Socom apart. It would bring a sense of realism that could really draw in the shooter gamer who cares about tactics and combat strategy. To be honest, the moment they veered away from military consulting was when things went south for the series.

The first game should have a cheaper price tag

This one might rub some people the wrong way. But we have to understand that the Socom franchise has been dormant for a number of years now. And the last outing, Socom 4 put a very bad stain on the franchise. And unfortunately, Socom 4 is the last memory gamers have for the series. So if the series is going to be brought back, the price of entry needs to be lower at least for the first game should this be a franchise revived. The lower entry fee might give the game a chance to flourish early on. It would give people more of a reason to take a chance on the game. The biggest reason I feel the price should be lowered here is trust. The brand is wounded. So consumer trust has to be rebuilt. Lower entry fees mean a better chance of people willing to take the plunge. Then if it does well and consumer confidence is regained, then the next entry to the game can be set at a more standardized price.

Stay true to what Socom is

I hinted at this before, but they can’t veer off the path of the Original Socom games again. Be everything COD is not. COD is about twitch gameplay. Socom is about teamwork. Any one skilled player can run rampant in COD. Even skilled players have to be patient in Socom. These are not bad things. COD focuses on simplicity, which is why it’s so mainstream. Socom focuses on tactics, which is why strategic gamers liked it. Socom should ONLY return if Sony and the developers understand this series is not meant to be COD.

Socom still has people longing for the old days of the franchise to return. Now is a good time to give the series some focus. If Sony is smart, they can use the profits made off of the now Microsoft-owned COD franchise to fund Socom. Making something that was old new again just might give Sony that one multiplayer game that can be a powerhouse and exclusively theirs.