Activison predicts console-free future

By Robert Purchese Published 15 September, 2009

Plans to "take the fun out of making games".

Activision Blizzard boss Bobby Kotick has predicted a console-less future for his games, revealed a company culture of "scepticism, pessimism, and fear", and shown mouth rendering technology he thinks will transform the medium.

All this he did during a 45 minute speech at the Deutsche Bank Securities Technology Conference earlier today.

The bubbly brunette said to "expect many of our products to be playable independent of a console", according to GameSpot, explaining that an "untethered" Guitar Hero gives "more leverage" when it comes to DLC. To this end, Kotick has been impressed by set-top game-streaming services like OnLive.

Next, he used Call of Duty: World at War to illustrate how poor mouth movement is in games. But not for much longer, as Activision has new rendering technology for the next generation that will transform the medium. Kotick showed a clip of it in action.

Regarding the next generation, Kotick said he hadn't heard a thing from the platform holders, which lead him to believe pricing is the current priority for Microsoft, Nintendo and Sony.

Finally, Kotick talked about focusing his company on "profit and nothing else"; instilling a culture of "thrift" by employing staff that will "take all the fun out of making videogames".

For Kotick, an atmosphere of "scepticism, pessimism and fear" represents "mission accomplished".

His comments go some way to explaining why Activision bumped the price of Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 up to £54.99, and why DJ: Hero and Tony Hawk: Ride will cost £109.99 and £99.99 when bundled with their associated peripherals.

But as Guitar Hero 5 (£74.99 with guitar) tops the UK All-Formats chart - comfortably ahead of The Beatles: Rock Band - and his herculean Christmas line-up lurks in the wings, there appears to be little anyone can do to dent his confidence.

Picture of Robert.

About Robert Purchese

Bertie is Eurogamer's Senior Staff Writer. When he's not hunting down news stories he's often found playing with his kids or gabbling about fantasy games and strange online worlds.

Read more articles from Robert by visiting the Robert Purchese archive page.

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Comments (99) Latest comment 2 years ago

Comments threads automatically close after 30 days, but please feel free to continue chatting on the forum!

  • ZeroAX #1 2 years ago

    wow. what an asshole

  • Skurmedel #2 2 years ago

    For Kotick, an atmosphere of "scepticism, pessimism and fear" represents "mission accomplished".

    Is this a joke or a citation severely taken out of context? Otherwise he seems like a complete nutter.

    Isn't the total focus on profits what eventually bit EA in the ass? I mean it's only just now that they've gotten their reputation back.
    Edited by 1 at 15/09/09 @ 14:01

  • Gazza_UK #3 2 years ago

    So hes an asshole then

    edit: i see people where thinking the same thing :p
    Edited by 1 at 15/09/09 @ 14:02

  • Bremenacht #4 2 years ago

    Poor mouth movement is a game-breaker for me. I didn't buy any of the Halo games because I couldn't be sure that MC's mouth was in sync with his voice.

  • doragor #5 2 years ago

    "sceptimism, pessism and fear"... surely some mistake. he hardly said that did he?

  • presh #6 2 years ago

    Sadly, that's what you get when the words 'shareholder value' become more important than 'happy customers'.

  • Slipstream #7 2 years ago

    Their arrogance knows no bounds, seriously!

  • Skurmedel #8 2 years ago

    Here's the real comment:
    If that sounds like it would create a corporate culture that isn't all sunshine and hugs, then it's "mission accomplished" for Kotick. The executive said that he has tried to instill into the company culture "skepticism, pessimism, and fear" of the global economic downturn, adding, "We are very good at keeping people focused on the deep depression."

    Not quite what it sounds like in the article, but still, somewhat odd wording don't you think? "Work minions or your jobs will be gone!"

  • Bazfrag #9 2 years ago

    @doragor

    No mistake. Thats what he said. :( I bet people will be queuing up in their droves to work in such a welcoming environment.
    Edited by 2 at 15/09/09 @ 14:09

  • Venkman90 #10 2 years ago

    Google would like to have words with him I think.

    But to that audience it fits, they work in banking, the idea of guys earning the same money for playing nerf wars dressed in shorts erks them (although it's a bullshit myth). He wants a company that is all profit, buy the big franchises and churn them out, essentially like the EA of old.

    Microsoft, Google, EA (recently) all have a great company culture, are they failures?

  • SleepyDeathFred #11 2 years ago

    I'm finding it very difficult to decipher what he means... Is he genuinely saying that he wants employees fearing for their jobs rather than enjoying them?

  • irve77 #12 2 years ago

    Hey people buy the games .. and other publishers push their games back to guarentee the sucess of COD:Mw2 at it's higher price point .

    He may be a twat .. but he's right .. time to stop buying the repackaged over prices crub that they put out and protest with the only thing they hold dear .. money !

  • MiniAmin #13 2 years ago

    Valve > Activision

  • HermitArcader #14 2 years ago

    Post deleted at 09:17:39 22-12-2011

  • Eraysor #15 2 years ago

    Somebody destroy this man. He makes EA look like a bunch of fairies.

  • sadakos_fury #16 2 years ago

    Is this a joke?
    Was he twirling his handlebar moustache while the games industry screamed, tied to the tracks of an oncoming train?

  • SleepyDeathFred #17 2 years ago

    I'm not sure I can remember any other company's representative openly admitting the contempt they have for their own employees. This is truly shameful.

  • tossetaz #18 2 years ago

    @sadakos_fury hahaha that cracked me up!! +1

    the gamespot article reads a bit different than the EG one - for one it seems like it's taken a bit out of context - i would love to see a video or an actual transcript of the speech

    he still seems like an ass-hole though - he looks like someone who would be working for Fox News
    Edited by 1 at 15/09/09 @ 14:19

  • LilithsCurves #19 2 years ago

    With all that money that Activision seems to be making, they can't afford a more decent "boss"? I wonder, is it the success that lures such people to the top or are they already there and become corrupted (seems like he is) by success.

  • BabyJesus #20 2 years ago

    Fuck off Kotick you obnoxious twat.

  • jefranklin18 #21 2 years ago

    Despite everybody's moral outrage, they will continue to buy Rock Band, COD and whatever rehashed crap is turned out. He has the consumer by the balls and is laughing in their faces.

  • Dizzy #22 2 years ago

    What????

    Is this serious?

  • TopKatt #23 2 years ago

    Wow, what a twat.

  • Darren #24 2 years ago

    Hmmm, I'm not liking the sound of this Bobby Kotick person and it seems like Activision are hellbent on getting everyone to hate them at the moment, what with the unpopular Call of Duty: MW2 price hike and the Brutal Legend fiasco. Also I know from personal experience that their after sales support sucks... I'm still waiting for a reply to an email I sent them three months ago.

  • Bazfrag #25 2 years ago

    "there appears to be little anyone can do to dent his confidence."

    How about not paying for a new guitar hero every month? Someone save Blizzard from this fuckwit before they are also forced to churn out "exploitable i.p's. Diablo 4: Fantasy Warfare 2 coming this fall....

    If i suddenly become a shareholder pls disregard the above ; )
    Edited by 1 at 15/09/09 @ 14:24

  • tossetaz #26 2 years ago

    @jefranklin18 you mean Guitar Hero, not Rock Band

  • Buztafen #27 2 years ago

    Tool?...Discuss!

  • mingster #28 2 years ago

    Cor you wouldn't want to work for that company.

  • MKorkia #29 2 years ago

    I predict Bobby Kotick free future once this recession is over.

  • Quickstick4 #30 2 years ago

    There is something im doing about it: not buying Activision products...although i may break and get MW2, god dam the publisher! If i could get the game direct from Infinity ward i would be happy.

    Valve seems to be the beckon on hope for the games world right now

  • hardtech #31 2 years ago

    The only game in Activisions libary I was considering was UA2 since I'm comic book geek but screw it, no more activision! Down with Kotick!

  • kendoji #32 2 years ago

    Haha I thought April Fools as well when I read this. Even though I know we're nowhere near, I made my brain retrieve today's date just to be sure!

  • kendoji #33 2 years ago

    Anyway, I'm sure this article is heavily skewed towards making him sound like a cock. Not that I mind.
    Edited by 1 at 15/09/09 @ 14:36

  • BabyJesus #34 2 years ago

    He is a cock, they could make it balanced, and he'd still sound like a cock. Because he is one.

  • HuggyAtHome #35 2 years ago

    Wow. What a tool. He must sleep with one eye open because one day those disenchanted devs are going to turn nasty. I suspect he was playing to his audience somewhat too - they would have really got off on that kind of sentiment.

  • miiiguel #36 2 years ago

    wow... If those were quotations I think he must have also said: "muahahahahaha!"

  • actionfitz #37 2 years ago

    "Finally, Kotick talked about focusing his company on "profit and nothing else"; instilling a culture of "thrift" by employing staff that will "take all the fun out of making videogames".

    For Kotick, an atmosphere of "scepticism, pessimism and fear" represents "mission accomplished".

    Cunt.
    total unadulterated seething Cunt.
    This shithead raises my bile like no other.
    let him take the fun out of making games, let him run his company with "an atmosphere of "scepticism, pessimism and fear" - lets see how much of the industry's' best talent will work for him for very long.
    Let him price the average guy out of buying his overpriced and over rated games.
    I'll never buy another 1st-hand Activision game. Fuck em. I'll be sure to make his company does not get a penny from me ever again. I'll buy pre-owned or not all, and I wont be resubbing to wow (prays to the gods for The Old republic to not suck).

  • smernicki #38 2 years ago

    what a dick

  • KDR_11k #39 2 years ago

    Taking all the fun out of making videogames? Are they changing the company motto to "Arbeit macht Frei" or what?

    I felt genuinely bad when I bought Spiderman Web of Shadows (DS) and noticed I had just paid money for an Activision game. I'd have to chalk Prototype up as a positive point for them if they hadn't fired the whole dev team after the game was done, now I have no regrets about hating them.
    Edited by 1 at 15/09/09 @ 14:53

  • TopKatt #40 2 years ago

    Someone needs to invent some technology that will render his mouth permanently shut.

  • HuggyAtHome #41 2 years ago

    Awesome thread - but not one for the kids I fear. I suspect he is also trying to take the fun out of playing video games too.

    The Daily Mail needs to get 'outraged/disgusted' at something like this in the same way as they do about Bankers or Utility companies and then ruin the guy over a protracted 4 week campaign of ire and bile.. Doesn't matter if it is all taken out of context, it hasn't stopped the middle England tabloids in the past.

    Anybody know any fleet street hacks??
    Edited by 1 at 15/09/09 @ 15:10

  • Bigglesworth #42 2 years ago

    He was talking to a bunch of German banking corporates. This is exactly what they want to hear.

    edit: But, er, yeah, what a cock. (Don't neg me! =))
    Edited by 1 at 15/09/09 @ 15:00

  • El-Dev #43 2 years ago

    This guy has been on a slippery slope since his "Activision won't make PS3 games anymore" outburst. Though that did make him some sort of cult hero for a while in some corners of the internet. Now maybe everyone will despise him, or else fear being called an Activision Fanboy or being in the ADF.

    He's a knob though.

  • InvisibleCrane #44 2 years ago

    Am I the only person here who does not hate Activision, granted I don't have an opinion on Robert Kotick but honestly all attitude by gamers towards the company just makes my mind boggle. Boycotting Activision will not work and you and every other gamer out there needs to relise that

  • Sanxo #45 2 years ago

    Well, you should expect that sort of talk to analysts -- they do not want to hear about devs lounging around being fed grapes by scantily clad virgins. They want to hear about profitability and reduced cost-bases and all that stuff -- one way of doing that is to grind the workforce into dust.

    I thought Google had taught the IT sector that well-rewarded employee = happy employee = motivated and productive employee.

    The guy is undoubtably a tool tho'.

  • paulf #46 2 years ago

    talk about preaching to the converted (ie bankers will love that shite) , good luck on recruiting anyone until you change your philosophy though and also be ready for the customer backlash

    @InvisibleCrane - there once was a company called Ratners that sold crap jewelery, that was until their boss was caught on tape saying that people were idiots for buying 'crap jewelery' - said company no longer exists. When they are focussed on profits boycotts are an effective way of saying 'we're not taking your shit, don't rip us off' - obvious they only work if done en masses though

    I think the people at the blizzard side of the business must cringe everytime this guy opens his mouth, but Im sure the shareholders love him

    edit typos
    Edited by 1 at 15/09/09 @ 15:45

  • carlitoswagon #47 2 years ago

    I can't believe he actually said these words from his own mouth!! Granted they were designed to lick the ball-bag of the corporate but he really has no fucking shame.

    Wish I could kick him in the nuts.

  • BabyJesus #48 2 years ago

    Kotick would of known those comments would of been released outside of the room, the fact is...he doesn't care.

    The day that piece of lard vanishes from gaming will be a great day.

  • SeesThroughAll #49 2 years ago

    Never thought the day would come that this kind of comments would come out of a company other than EA...

  • woodnotes #50 2 years ago

    Kotick will drive out and keep all the talent far, far away from Activision at this rate. And when there's no more sequels left to milk, he'll have a mental breakdown and come back as Mr Nice Guy - a bit like a typical Neighbours plot-line.

  • menage #51 2 years ago

    Glad I don't care about any of their games and plastic crap.

  • InvisibleCrane #52 2 years ago

    So by that logic it's evil to make money in the games industry, because without money there would not be an industry to begin with

  • Br0ken_Engli5h #53 2 years ago

    You poor fools, it was all foretold in Revelations:

    And on that shore I beheld more beasts, and their number was four. Scepticism, pessimism and fear, leadeth by he of shit hair and middle-aged paunch and who spake like a cunt.
    "I will smite thee five and fifty pounds for modern warfare, and you will fucking like it."

    and the people were smited thusly, and like it they didn't.

    It's the beginning of the end! D:

  • Waffleaber #54 2 years ago

    Anyone else look at the Forbes profile picture and see this guy?

  • schnide #55 2 years ago

    Boycott.

  • Skurmedel #56 2 years ago

    Invisible: Well, I don't know how it is working for Activision, maybe he is a God of Sunshine over there; handing out chocolate and nectar of pure happiness to his employees, but if that were my boss I would be pretty alarmed. Thankfully he isn't.

    This is not so much of a direct concern for you, but it might indicate where their games will be going quality wise. I believe that happy employees make better stuff, and "focus on profit" does not usually mean great stuff for the consumer.
    Edited by 3 at 15/09/09 @ 15:53

  • anomagnus #57 2 years ago

    guys, as much as i hate the fucker, hes going to die at some point, even if it is old age, which means he'll have to leave the industry at some point.

    But as others have said, the man takes the idea of a cunt, and just RUNS with it, literally taking it to new heights!

  • OdinsEinherjer #58 2 years ago

    The Gaming Industry s Hitler...I wouldn't b surprised if he secretly worshiped the Black Sun.

  • Olemak #59 2 years ago

    Strengthens my conviction that my ongoing one-man boycott of all things Activision Blizzard is completely correct. I can live without Modern Combat 2 just fine, and that is the only thing they have to make my resolve falter anyway. At least now that they got rid of Brutal Legend.

    Tossers.

  • Freek #60 2 years ago

    At this point, he's probably just flame bating everyone to get his name in the press again.

    I can't imagine him talking like that when you have the likes of Infinity Ward in your company. You want to be nice to the people holding your license to print money.

  • Hantheman #61 2 years ago

    All news sells, good or bad. Perfect way of building up interest in activision games.

  • Avaloner #62 2 years ago

    Hmmmm lets hope his plan leaves Blizzard untouched.

  • cianchristopher #63 2 years ago

    He can probably push around some of the devs he's got there, but I'll wager that Infinity Ward are not going to stand for that shit! Remember, they are the people who left 2015 en masse to found their own company and they can do it again.

    So fuck Bobby Kotick, there's only one way he's headed and it's down, down, down......

  • Alterego-X #64 2 years ago

    What. The. Fuck.

    Ok, Activision is officially the Company of Evil.

    I mean, they couldn't possibly be even bigger douchetards than that!

  • uiruki #65 2 years ago

    I see he hasn't done his research on why Activision was created in the first place; disgruntled programmers who had taken all the crap they could stand from Atari.

  • hardtech #66 2 years ago

    It seems history may repeat itself if Uiruki's comment is anything to go on...

  • carlitoswagon #67 2 years ago

    @Von_Adder

    That pic proves money can't buy everything :) Actually, I'd be afraid to have a shit on that face in case it came alive and tried to bite my balls off!
    Edited by 1 at 15/09/09 @ 17:02

  • smernicki #68 2 years ago

    "bumping up prices is stupid.
    Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 i'll wait until it comes down to £20
    /about 6 months time ;)

    given how well the original MW is selling for, and that it's still in the charts for pretty much full price, i think you might have to wait quite a while longer before it's 20 quid...

  • orpheus #69 2 years ago

    What a massive faghat. The very idea of 'untethered' games is supremely daft: the consoles they run on are several years and millions of squids in development alone, not to mention raising the ire of Sony/MS when one of their most popular lines is no longer available on their system.

    Activision Blizzard are fast becoming one of the most corporate, cocksucking developers of all time. The whole fucking industry's heading for the toilet, and numpties like Kotick are the floaters you just can't seem to flush.
    Edited by 1 at 15/09/09 @ 17:43

  • ChaK #70 2 years ago

    I can only add +1 to everybody saying 'is this a fucking joke'

    Can't trust my ears (eyes in fact) on that one. Waiting for next escuse declaration

  • metalangel #71 2 years ago

    Well isn't this a happy coincidence. I predict an Activision-free future for my console, as I'm SKEPTICAL of all their plastic accessory-based rubbish, PESSIMISTIC that COD6 will really be better than 4, and very much AFRAID they won't be getting any of my money.

  • curtlikesmeat #72 2 years ago

    It's a shame Blizzard had to get involved with this type of company, surely they represent the opposite ends of gaming.

  • Rack #73 2 years ago

    It's hard to think anyone would eat this up, it's far easier to retain your best employees by keeping them happy than by any other method.

  • Fab4 #74 2 years ago

    A quick kick to the nads would dent his confidence. He's just another reason why I wont be buying another CoD game....money fixated shithead.

  • pinochet_cz #75 2 years ago

    who's the fu*king Kotick?

  • Pablo2k5 #76 2 years ago

    What a cunt.

  • knocker #77 2 years ago

    Not denting his confidence ? Cutting through the hardman executive personae for a second he seems to be trying a little too hard to bring investors onside. Compare his language to a boss who feels secure in his position. Desperate.

  • Kiigan #78 2 years ago

    In fairness, there are some importants parts of the Gamespot piece that are omitted here, and it changes the meaning somewhat:

    Gamespot said:
    "The executive said that he has tried to instill into the company culture "skepticism, pessimism, and fear" of the global economic downturn, adding, "We are very good at keeping people focused on the deep depression."

    Makes a bit more sense with the bit in bold, doesn't it? It's hard to tell from a sentence taken out of context like that by a gaming site, but he's speaking at a Deutsche Bank tech conference about how his company is focused on the bottom line and being mindful of the global economic climate.

    As for "taking the fun out of making games" my interpretation is that he's talking about being thrifty as a company - ie they aren't like fucking Google with a bunch of child-men zooming around on segways and pissing about with nerf guns or whatever. He's trying to make his company sound like a serious business that focuses on the bottom line. Sounds about the right tone to adopt when speaking at a Deutsche Bank event, no?. If only he'd known that mouth-breathing gametards would be poring over his every word, perhaps he'd have mentioned a new rifle for Modern Warfare 2 or something. Speaking as a mouth-breathing gametard, it seems clear we weren't the intended audience.

    But carry on with your righteous indignation by all means chaps :)

  • Redeye #79 2 years ago

    However you look at Kotick's words, the meaning is no different; he's not interested in creatives enjoying their work so that they bring the best possible entertainment to the table, he's only interested in flogging licences to death in order to scrape every last coin from gullible consumers.

    Well, here's shit in your eye, you greedy fuck - never another penny from my pockets.

    And to anyone who's working for him and might be reading this: GET OUT. GET OUT NOW.

  • actionfitz #80 2 years ago

    hmm. im considering browsing through my embarrassingly large games collection and trading in every activision game I own.
    Just my little contribution to make sure Gamestop etc dont run low on pre-owned Actibastard games, and have to resort to selling 1st hand copys :p

  • zedzee #81 2 years ago

    Did this guy just single-handedly piss off his customers and chop Acti's Xmas sales in half with those stupid - big up the bankers - comments?!

  • mrmonkey1980 #82 2 years ago

    taking the fun out games is like taking the chocolate out of a chocolate doughnut... and the doughnut for that matter. He's in the wrong business.

  • Br0ken_Engli5h #83 2 years ago

    @Kiigan
    The thing is it could be easily dismissed as such if it wasn't for Activision's attitude to games and gamers of late.
    Yes, it's a business and in these hard times it pays to play it safe, but surely being clinical in making games only makes you churn out soulless, spiritless shite. I'd be willing to bet that all the best games were a true labour of love for the devs involved, even if making a decent return on the game was high up on the list of priorities.
    It's little things like attention to detail, where you can tell somebody really sank their teeth into it, that can save even a really flawed game.

    Anyway, you have to admit that it was probably the most retarded thing you could say in relation to making games.

    ....and the bloke is still a cunt.
    Edited by 1 at 15/09/09 @ 23:53

  • RobotRocker #84 2 years ago

    @ Kiigan

    Start up your own creative industry. Shit it up by forcing your workers to adopt white collar pollicies and assembly line production while removing all creativity out of the work place. See how many people will stay on then.

    Google is a multi-billion dollar company simply because it fosters this enviroment. The staff still need to hit deadlines but allowing them thier expression lets them think of new ideas to keep the service relevant. Most google things we take for granted are made simply because a designer thought of it during his lunch break.

  • man.the.king #85 2 years ago

    Kotick's single-minded focus on short-term profits will eventually lead to some drastic changes within Activision, all of them bad for the company. Sadly, the pig-headed CEO himself will probably have jumped ship with a handsome severance package by then.

  • Icyclectic #86 2 years ago

    Wow, that sounds really horrible when taken out of context and slightly rephrased. I'm sure Mr. Kotick is a total ass with not the faintest idea of what makes games fun to play.

    However...

    I think I understand the point he's trying to make. He's being ruthless about keeping Activision afloat, and reassuring the company's shareholders. It's easy to underestimate how vulnerable the gaming industry is. Add to that a industry-wide employee culture that still emphasizes "fun", and "creativity" over budgets, deadlines and consumer demand, and you've got a real risk of gaming companies going out of business.

    This strategy of "profit first, fun later" may steer Activision clear of bankruptcy. Whether anyone will still want to work for him when the economy turns around, is another matter.

  • Eraser #87 2 years ago

    This whole news article is like a collection of unrelated sentences.

  • Br0ken_Engli5h #88 2 years ago

    This is an actual transcript of a conversation overheard between between Kotick and pals, yesterday*:

    "Creativity? Meh!
    I shit on the chest of creativity. Van Gogh was a little too "creative" and look what happened to him. He stalked his best friend and cut off his own earlobe.
    .....Oh, and and he was shit at doing impressions too. I prefer that Bobby Davro bloke"

    I fail to see how he'll get himself out of this one.





    *probably

  • Xerx3s #89 2 years ago

    "Activison predicts console-free future"

    I predict an Activision-free future.

  • Kiigan #90 2 years ago

    Many excellent, well-considered points guys.

    If I worked at Activision, like most of you here I'd be disgusted to think that the execs at the top who make the financial decisions for the company (let's call them "money men";) are so concerned with things like profitability, keeping the company in the black, ensuring salaries get paid and future games get funded. What a bastard! What does he think the games business is, a business or something?

    Personally I'd like to see game devs granted charitable status. My idea is that Lenny Henry, Jonathan Ross, and a token games guy (Peter Molyneux?) could host "Games Aid", an event that sees people all over the country raise funds for our ailing game devs. Perhaps occasionally they could cut to some clips of Billy Connolly welling up on camera as he travels the country and sees for himself the tragic state of various games studio's balance sheets.

  • autogunner #91 2 years ago

    opressing employings and large corporate competition are old '90s ideas that got us into all this trouble in the first place, as well as focusing on the bottom line to the exclusion of all else. kotick is blind to this very startling fact and will be left behind over the next decade as the new business model takes over. a very dangerous move by acti-blizz in my opinion.

  • metalangel #92 2 years ago

    Personally I'd like to see game devs granted charitable status. My idea is that Lenny Henry, Jonathan Ross, and a token games guy (Peter Molyneux?) could host "Games Aid", an event that sees people all over the country raise funds for our ailing game devs

    That would be great! Molyneux would berserk as usual and declare that Games Aid would raise so much money they'd not only save all the devs but eliminate poverty and suffering in Africa.

    After months and months and months of talking up a good fight and how much good they were gonna do, he'd reveal that after weeks of delays and budget overruns they'd only managed to buy a crutch for a blind kid in Africa with two working legs, and that the crutch had broken in transit.

    Nevertheless, Eurogamer would declare Games Aid a resounding success and award it 10/10, Molyneux would pledge to fix all the problems in Games Aid: GOTY, and spend another three years putting together 'Games Aid 2' which had all the same problems. Millions would ignore the glaring issues because it would have a cute puppy as a mascot.

  • penhalion #93 2 years ago

    How the frak does a moron get to the top of a company! Seriously! I mean we know that the intelligent people at Activision must spend a lot of time keeping him from touching anything but, still.

  • AphoticCosmos #94 2 years ago

    I despise this man, I really do.

    The sooner that he is sent packing from Activision, the better. What a fascist loon.

  • Rodriguez #95 2 years ago

    Why bother to be the head of a business in a creative and expressive industry like videogames if you want to suppress that very creativity that makes the industry what it is!?? It's like a catch 22 situation. Plenty of other companies still make profits and creative games. Batman is currently selling shitloads, but it's also a great game that has clearly, to anyone who's played it, had a lot of TLC put into by the developers. Fallout 3 was awesome, The Orange Box was all kinds of goodness and the GTA games are superb. Creating an oppressive working environment for his workforce is a really shitty way of running any company or business and hopefully it'll backfire in his face when creative people either leave or avoid joining Activision, and like EA in the bad old days the quality of their products will slip down a black hole. Either way, I don't buy/play Guitar Hero games, will be buying Operation Flashpoint 2 rather than MW2, don't play WOW and besides Call of Duty: World at War, which came free with my 360 Elite last year, I own no other Activision games and don't plan too either!

  • RedSparrows #96 2 years ago

    'Compensation for 2008'

    Compensation? Christ, why's it called 'compensation'? They could at least use a less charged term for earning $15,000,000 a year.

  • Rack #97 2 years ago

    It won't backfire in his face because he's clearly planning to leverage as much short term gain as he can so he can cash in stock options and leave before all the long term consequences to these decisions come in and completely screw over all the shareholders. The only way this can even reduce the amount of gain Kotick gains from doing all this is if MW2 itself tanks, which I can't possibly see happening.

  • IronCladChicken #98 2 years ago

    @Rack
    I completly agree man - It's excatly the sort of move a manager would make to gain short term profits (by paring down the product range to titles known to reap a decent profit), sweet talking the share-holder (i.e. talking about nothing but profits). Whilst ignoring the long term issues (i.e. once casual consumers get tired of the existing line, core consumers dislike, the talented developers leave for better working environments, etc..) - Then jumping ship before the shit really hits the fan.

    It's a terrible long term plan, but if you are playing a short term game - it'll do the job in a pinch.
    Edited by 1 at 17/09/09 @ 16:17

  • craziii #99 2 years ago

    is blizzard immune to this? I remember this same"bobby" corrected himself immediately after his dumb outburst when the merger was announce.

    this is also pretty dumb.

    how did he become the president? you don't speak words like those out loud.