Treyarch's Community Manager Josh Olin was recently interviewed by End Gamer to promote the First Strike map pack, transcript can be found here.  
  
It'll be a bit of a tl;dr for most of you, so here's the relevant paragraph:

Personally, as a community manager who lives in the media or social media world every day, I think the social culture of video games is moving in a more negative direction as technology and social media continues to grow. Rather than growing with it, the trend seems to be devolving. More and more gamers seem to forget what this industry is all about.

It’s a creative industry – the most creative form of entertainment in existence. Too many developers who try new things are getting burned by “pundits” and angry entitled fans who look to be contrarian, sometimes simply for the sake of being contrarian. The only thing this attitude aims to achieve is stunt that creativity and innovation even further, which is something that no rational gamer looking to be entertained would want to do.     

He's right...

No he's right

Ha ha, Treyarch...

But I thought we did appreciate creativity. In fact, I don't think a lot of devs are creative enough.

sometimes they do and sometimes they don't. it depends on the product of the creativity and it depends on what you consider to be creative. just because people don't respond the way you think they ought to doesn't mean there exists culture of hating things that are good or creative.

Yep. He has raises a great point.

" He's right... "

He is absolutely right. Everyone is too focused on shitting on everything that doesn't go perfectly right and don't take the time to appreciate all the brilliant games we get to play every month. It seems people prefer to complain about games than play them. It's kind of ridiculous. 
 
Also, everyone's funny quips about Treyarch are exactly proving his point....

He's right, well generally speaking...
 
BUT FUCKING TREYARCH SHOULDN'T OPEN THEIR FUCKING MOUTHS

The community manager from a studio whose most impressive title to date is a rehash of a rehash of a rehash pops off about people not appreciating creativity and innovation. 
 
The irony, it is delicious.

He argues that gamers get angry and enraged, people then dump on them for "making rehashes" when they've probably never played a COD past COD4, if they've ever played one for more than five minutes.  
 
There are too many people in this thread being outright hypocrites about this. It makes you look incredibly stupid in hindsight.

I think he's right. There's certainly a lot of people who I don't think even really think about how a game is made but even a lot of people who are more in touch with video games are entitled, hyper-critical and unappreciative.

" I think he's right. There's certainly a lot of people who I don't think even really think about how a game is made but even a lot of people who are more in touch with video games are entitled, hyper-critical and unappreciative. "

" @Gamer_152 said:

" I think he's right. There's certainly a lot of people who I don't think even really think about how a game is made but even a lot of people who are more in touch with video games are entitled, hyper-critical and unappreciative. "

You don't think that a community manager behind the best selling game of all time...should take some criticism over kinda seeing the same thing again?  Seems to me like he should suck up a couple people going "man...how about something new??" "

I don't think the fact that he works for Treyarch makes anything he said less true. While they don't innovate much themselves, many gamers backlash hard when devs try to mix things up. Remember the hate Fallout 3 got from fans of the first two? Or the people who complain that Diablo 3 is too bright? What about the DMC reboot?
 
In a lot of ways fans can straddle innovation because they fear change. They just want what they already love and will bitch endlessly about it.

" @Doctorchimp said:

" @Gamer_152 said:

" I think he's right. There's certainly a lot of people who I don't think even really think about how a game is made but even a lot of people who are more in touch with video games are entitled, hyper-critical and unappreciative. "

You don't think that a community manager behind the best selling game of all time...should take some criticism over kinda seeing the same thing again?  Seems to me like he should suck up a couple people going "man...how about something new??" "

Basically this. I think he's right, to some extent, but he's also ignoring the fact that some game studios, including his, aren't being particularly creative. Sometimes gamers don't give credit where credit is due, and sometimes devs expect credit where none should be given. Terrible ports on several platforms across multiple games, almost no advancement in the series formula besides token changes, the tacking on of features included in other games, none of that really deserves credit. "

I think you guys are forgetting that behind Treyarch is Activision. Wouldn't be too surprised if Activision pointed at COD4 and said, "I wan't another one of these!". 
 
Activision acts on what the people want, because people are money, so if the majority doesn't want change, Activision doesn't want change and then Treyarch can't change anything. Stop blaming Treyarch, they're doing fine with what they're getting.

The fact Call of Duty games are the best selling proves him right. Kind of weird coming from him, but it's fair enough. His company can put out a $60 expansion pack every year and sell millions of copies. 

" @Gamer_152 said:

" I think he's right. There's certainly a lot of people who I don't think even really think about how a game is made but even a lot of people who are more in touch with video games are entitled, hyper-critical and unappreciative. "

You don't think that a community manager behind the best selling game of all time...should take some criticism over kinda seeing the same thing again?  Seems to me like he should suck up a couple people going "man...how about something new??" "

"It’s a creative industry – the most creative form of entertainment in existence. Too many developers who try new things are getting burned by “pundits” and angry entitled fans who look to be contrarian, sometimes simply for the sake of being contrarian. The only thing this attitude aims to achieve is stunt that creativity and innovation even further, which is something that no rational gamer looking to be entertained would want to do.     

"Does he suffer from a complete lack of self-awareness?"

Since the whole call of duty is a rehash point has already been made several times over I won't make it again. 
He has a point though, but apart from the fact that the big majority of people are retarded there's another factor this is true... 
 
The most important factor in what makes a game good is the gameplay, you can be creative all you want if the gameplay doesn't feel good it doesn't make it a good game. Being creative when it comes to gameplay introduces another issue...people don't like to learn new stuff, you change the gameplay too drastically from the norm and it'll be "too convoluted and broken".

" @zameer said:

"It’s a creative industry – the most creative form of entertainment in existence. Too many developers who try new things are getting burned by “pundits” and angry entitled fans who look to be contrarian, sometimes simply for the sake of being contrarian. The only thing this attitude aims to achieve is stunt that creativity and innovation even further, which is something that no rational gamer looking to be entertained would want to do.     

"Does he suffer from a complete lack of self-awareness?"

What he says is absolutely spot on. You just have to look around the forums here for 5 minutes and you'll see examples of it everywhere.  BUT  You also make a pretty decent point regarding his own companies output. "

"Too many developers who try new things are getting burned..."

" @Enigma777 said:

" He's right... "

This. Regardless of the creative merits of the Call of Duty franchise, he speaks the truth. "

He should give a very specific example of what he's talking about.  Otherwise he's just blowing hot air. 

He reinvented the FPS, and all you people bought it. 
 
I don't understand people who hate COD...all of you buy it and bitch non-stop the months after.

 @SeriouslyNow: I guess we'll agree to disagree then. Maybe I'm thinking about this a bit too financially, but I always hear about games, some that I myself have played, that receive almost unanimous praise for being highly original in some way or doing something that no one else has, yet they don't sell worth shit. Then a game like Black Ops, which you say has a long list of issues and has angered a large group of players, is already one of the best selling games of all time. The next Call of Duty probably will be as well. People can aim all the criticism they want at shallow franchises that don't attempt to change the mold, but a much more powerful gesture would be to vote with your wallet, and in that regard it's blatantly obvious that people are more likely to vote for these sorts of franchises as opposed to something more original.
 
As for general opinion on forums and the like, I agree. People do seem to be more positive towards original titles as opposed to something like Black Ops, and from the sound of things this Josh Olin and co. deserve it. I just don't think any of that actually matters to most of these companies at the end of the day. This whole thing seems artificial. I obviously don't know Josh Olin. He could be a great guy and I'm sure that Treyarch and other companies working for big publishes genuinely want to make a good game. But I'd be willing to bet he doesn't actually care too much about criticism or entitlement from "pundits" and fans. They're in the business of making money and they do that exceedingly well.
 
 @zameer: You're absolutely correct, but I wasn't really speaking in absolutes. Obviously there are numerous exceptions.

"  @SeriouslyNow: I guess we'll agree to disagree then. Maybe I'm thinking about this a bit too financially, but I always hear about games, some that I myself have played, that receive almost unanimous praise for being highly original in some way or doing something that no one else has, yet they don't sell worth shit. Then a game like Black Ops, which you say has a long list of issues and has angered a large group of players, is already one of the best selling games of all time. The next Call of Duty probably will be as well. People can aim all the criticism they want at shallow franchises that don't attempt to change the mold, but a much more powerful gesture would be to vote with your wallet, and in that regard it's blatantly obvious that people are more likely to vote for these sorts of franchises as opposed to something more original.
 
As for general opinion on forums and the like, I agree. People do seem to be more positive towards original titles as opposed to something like Black Ops, and from the sound of things this Josh Olin and co. deserve it. I just don't think any of that actually matters to most of these companies at the end of the day. This whole thing seems artificial. I obviously don't now Josh Olin. He could be a great guy. But I'd be willing to bet he doesn't actually care about criticism or entitlement from "pundits" and fans. They're in the business of making money and they do that exceedingly well.  "

" Sorry Pach, but once again no.  Do your job goddam correctly and show some depth of analysis.  Compared to the excessive marketing budget of blockbuster titles, smaller indie titles like Super Meat Boy have almost no budget at all and yet some of them seem to sell very well.  People do vote with their wallets, it's just that the onslaught of aggressive marketing of blockbuster titles with AAA marketing budgets means that people go with what they know first and foremost.  Once again, it's the same with all forms of entertainment - ALL of them.  Black Ops had issues AFTER it sold, not before.  People didn't know of these issues UNTIL they had spent their money.  This is how broken shit has always sold well because no matter how broken it was, it was properly and effectively marketed.  That doesn't equate to people not wanting creative game ideas.  It equates to the effectiveness of a good marketing campaign and that's all.  You're not agreeing to disagree, you're disagreeing and ignoring the reality of what I'm saying.  That's not the same thing. "

" @SeriouslyNow said:

" Sorry Pach, but once again no.  Do your job goddam correctly and show some depth of analysis.  Compared to the excessive marketing budget of blockbuster titles, smaller indie titles like Super Meat Boy have almost no budget at all and yet some of them seem to sell very well.  People do vote with their wallets, it's just that the onslaught of aggressive marketing of blockbuster titles with AAA marketing budgets means that people go with what they know first and foremost.  Once again, it's the same with all forms of entertainment - ALL of them.  Black Ops had issues AFTER it sold, not before.  People didn't know of these issues UNTIL they had spent their money.  This is how broken shit has always sold well because no matter how broken it was, it was properly and effectively marketed.  That doesn't equate to people not wanting creative game ideas.  It equates to the effectiveness of a good marketing campaign and that's all.  You're not agreeing to disagree, you're disagreeing and ignoring the reality of what I'm saying.  That's not the same thing. "

Right. And you know where people will be next year at this time? Complaining about their copy of Modern Warfare 3. "

" @Fjordson said:

" @SeriouslyNow said:

" Sorry Pach, but once again no.  Do your job goddam correctly and show some depth of analysis.  Compared to the excessive marketing budget of blockbuster titles, smaller indie titles like Super Meat Boy have almost no budget at all and yet some of them seem to sell very well.  People do vote with their wallets, it's just that the onslaught of aggressive marketing of blockbuster titles with AAA marketing budgets means that people go with what they know first and foremost.  Once again, it's the same with all forms of entertainment - ALL of them.  Black Ops had issues AFTER it sold, not before.  People didn't know of these issues UNTIL they had spent their money.  This is how broken shit has always sold well because no matter how broken it was, it was properly and effectively marketed.  That doesn't equate to people not wanting creative game ideas.  It equates to the effectiveness of a good marketing campaign and that's all.  You're not agreeing to disagree, you're disagreeing and ignoring the reality of what I'm saying.  That's not the same thing. "

Right. And you know where people will be next year at this time? Complaining about their copy of Modern Warfare 3. "

And that will be a testament to the power of Activision's marketing machine and not to the lack of desire for creative ideas.  The same is true of MS products, AVATAR and the Star Wars prequels.  All lacking creativity at some level, all having lots of visible issues and ALL of them heavily marketed.  The industry needs to stop lying about what drives sales. "

" @Fjordson said:

" @SeriouslyNow said:

" Sorry Pach, but once again no.  Do your job goddam correctly and show some depth of analysis.  Compared to the excessive marketing budget of blockbuster titles, smaller indie titles like Super Meat Boy have almost no budget at all and yet some of them seem to sell very well.  People do vote with their wallets, it's just that the onslaught of aggressive marketing of blockbuster titles with AAA marketing budgets means that people go with what they know first and foremost.  Once again, it's the same with all forms of entertainment - ALL of them.  Black Ops had issues AFTER it sold, not before.  People didn't know of these issues UNTIL they had spent their money.  This is how broken shit has always sold well because no matter how broken it was, it was properly and effectively marketed.  That doesn't equate to people not wanting creative game ideas.  It equates to the effectiveness of a good marketing campaign and that's all.  You're not agreeing to disagree, you're disagreeing and ignoring the reality of what I'm saying.  That's not the same thing. "

Right. And you know where people will be next year at this time? Complaining about their copy of Modern Warfare 3. "

And that will be a testament to the power of Activision's marketing machine and not to the lack of desire for creative ideas.  The same is true of MS products, AVATAR and the Star Wars prequels.  All lacking creativity at some level, all having lots of visible issues and ALL of them heavily marketed.  The industry needs to stop lying about what drives sales. "

" He reinvented the FPS, and all you people bought it.  I don't understand people who hate COD...all of you buy it and bitch non-stop the months after. "

In case of Amnesia, the fan appreciation and Steam promotion even secured Frictional's financial future:  http://frictionalgames.blogspot.com/2011/01/four-months-after-amnesias-release.html.   

If you listen to the type of gamers who spend their days playing games like CoD, I agree with what they're saying.  But considering these guys are responsibility for a great deal of rehashes, I don't understand why they're the ones complaining about this.  And on the flip side, look at games like Minecraft, which are made by small development teams, without publishers or advertising, are completely unique and creative.. and go on to sell millions. 
 
Gamers will buy into original and unique ideas, but they also have to be good.  I don't care if a game is really inventive or "artsy" if the gameplay sucks.

" He's right, well generally speaking...  BUT FUCKING TREYARCH SHOULDN'T OPEN THEIR FUCKING MOUTHS "

Treyarch tried something creative?

" I don't see anything wrong with the general message he is sending. If a series stagnates, people complain. If a franchise tries to freshen up with new and creative ideas, people complain. He wasn't addressing the gameplay issues in his comment. He was merely responding to the criticism against creativity in the gaming industry, and making a correct point that without this creativity games would all be a generic and boring mess. Sometimes the "new ideas" don't work, but they have to try something fresh every now and then.     "

" @danimal_furry said:

" I don't see anything wrong with the general message he is sending. If a series stagnates, people complain. If a franchise tries to freshen up with new and creative ideas, people complain. He wasn't addressing the gameplay issues in his comment. He was merely responding to the criticism against creativity in the gaming industry, and making a correct point that without this creativity games would all be a generic and boring mess. Sometimes the "new ideas" don't work, but they have to try something fresh every now and then.     "

Its just, Treyarch have never been creative. Let a creative dev say this. Treyarch just let IW try new things then they copy and expand on that. Unless they think their zombie mode was innovative, lol. They're part of the problem, then they complain about a problem they propagate. Its silly. Let Platinum say this, they earned the right. "

He's the Community Manager! He has nothing to do with the game creation.  
 

 Too many developers who try new things are getting burned by “pundits” and angry entitled fans who look to be contrarian, sometimes simply for the sake of being contrarian. The only thing this attitude aims to achieve is stunt that creativity and innovation even further, which is something that no rational gamer looking to be entertained would want to do.    

Who gets to wade through more hate messages than the Black Ops community manager? Of course he feels that way. And in the long run, he's right, but it still seems funny that the guy with the least creative game of the year has to come out and say that.

Regardless of the games he makes, his words are correct.