What do video games, war, and Totino’s Pizza Rolls have in common? Wristwatches. Well, that and a recent update to Activision’s latest release Call of Duty: Modern Warfare (2019). That’s right, gamers with a penchant for pizza snacks—or a little more cheddar in their bank accounts—can feast their eyes on timepieces when customizing their characters. Totino’s is offering an in-game wristwatch through a U.S.-only promotion that will likely expire after the holiday season. Activision has released a Battle Pass for intrepid gamers to further customize their characters and earn new in-game rewards—wristwatches included. But what is the function of these timepieces in Call of Duty? How might they affect gameplay in the future? As a time-centric business we’re here to narrate and speculate some possibilities with you today.
More Form than Function
From every report circulating online it seems these new timepieces are primarily featured for aesthetic purposes. However, they will employ some fun functions both in and out of firefights. First off—whenever players equip their watch on their character—it will display their local time in-game. Being techier watches (it is “Modern” warfare), they’ll also have an in-game elimination counter and fit-bit style pedometer (better count those fictional calories). But for some nostalgic fans, there’s one quirky old-school feature. In the game’s wristwatches players will also be able to raise and feed their own digital pets—like the old Tomagotchi toys from the late 90s and early 00s. With a large online community comprised of folks both younger and older, this feature will either be a nice throwback or educational experience in classic casual gaming. Details on this final feature are mostly hearsay but Call of Duty as a franchise has been known to program plenty of easter eggs into each game.
Form and Function?
What’s great about digital smartwatches and wristwatches generally is their ability to take on multiple functions (think James Bond, with mechanical watches). A countdown timer, pinging your teammates, or remotely calling in support on the field are just a few speculative ways this game could update its wristwatches for gameplay purposes. With so many modern tools/weapons available already, the watches in Modern Warfare could fundamentally change gameplay modes or eliminate time-related HUD (heads up display) features. Furthermore, the Call of Duty franchise has historically released WWII-era video games. With this tie to historical warfare they could easily implement earlier 20th century wristwatches into the game—if they continue to keep watches around for purely aesthetic/timekeeping reasons. For many horological fans this could be an opportunity to customize their Modern Warfare characters in a unique way that speaks to their wristwatch tastes. No matter what the developers decide to do with this new feature, it will be interesting to see how they march this popular franchise forward. Having a few gamer geeks on-staff here at TimesTicking we hope that more wristwatches are released—simply for the joy and history of watchmaking. Perhaps one day we’ll see a military issued Omega or Longines from WWII on display. Perhaps Vietnam or Korean War era timepieces from around the world will also make an appearance. One can only hope as more ordnance drops from Activision.
Times Ticking has been in operation for more than 30 years, since 1982. We have performed watch repair for customers both locally and internationally. If it Ticks! We KNOW it! Our team of watch repair technicians have a combined experience in watchmaking of over 120 years.
