I’m having a hard time wrapping my head around this. The Call of Duty franchise has been written off by a lot of gamers as a yearly cash cow, but every single thing I’ve seen coming from Black Ops 2 is doing more and more to pique my interest. With the new Shoutcasting feature, it’s quite possible that Black Ops 2 will go from being an easily dismissed title to one of the most important eSports games on the market.
The inclusion of Shoutcasting in Black Ops 2 should elevate the title to being an eSports mainstay. Two players can serve as Shoutcasters (or commentators) watching over a multiplayer match by adding their expertise to the stream. You’ll have access to a plethora of tools, giving you an inside look into every facet of the match. You’ll be able to see where every player is (as well as their loadout), switch between third and first person perspectives, and use a picture in picture feature to give your viewers unprecedented coverage from the battlefield.
Don’t worry about players using the Shoutcast to get an unfair advantage during a game; Treyarch is way ahead of you. Players won’t hear the commentators during a game and the stream is delayed enough that the information would be useless for players in game. The option to turn off the stream completely and post it at a later time is available for certain kinds of matches, and is something I’m sure we’ll see utilized for some of the major tournaments.
It’s going to be tough to get the hang of all the interface controls. When you’re given all the tools of a professional sportscaster you have to expect a bit of a learning curve trying to get the hang of it. However, seeing some of the incredible things people have been able to do through YouTube, I have no doubt that we’re going to see some upper echelon tournament play coming from the world of Black Ops 2.
