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Story by Stephany Nunneley

Thu, Sep 08, 2011 | 22:40 BST

Berger: Elite’s creating a “true community,” of healthy respect and socialization

The Call of Duty: Elite beta has been encouraging camaraderie between other CoD players, Activision has observed.

According to the firm’s digital VP Jamie Berger, instead of hurling insults and participating in other unacceptable social behaviors you hear so much about on XBL, during the service’s beta, Berger said participants are being “supportive” and “talking to each other”.

“One of the most interesting things to me is how positive people are in the service,” he told Gamasutra. “I’m most excited that within it, people are being supportive; they’re actually talking to each other, and amongst each other.

“They’re so happy to actually have a place to be part of a community, not a message board… They’re actually behaving very much like people who just want to be social and have fun, not people who want to flame each other.”

Berger is of the opinion, like most folks, that anonymity through online promotes hostile behavior because it is easier to get away with. Call of Duty Elite bypasses this in a way which allows participants to get to know one another in a more friendly environment.

“It creates a social contract,” he said. “How can we start behaving as if we live in a neighborhood? You try to treat your neighbors with respect. When you create a true community, that, to me, is the difference between ‘social gaming’ and a community.

“I’m really excited about that aspect. It starts breaking a lot of the bad assumptions about what a shooter is. It breaks down those anonymous walls and turns it into something where you start knowing each other.”

Call of Duty: Elite launches alongside Modern Warfare 3 in November.