Okay so let me try making an analogy. Video games are to entertainment the same as movies, books, paintings, etc. The people behind making them get to try new things for the sake of being different. But what happens when a company, like Infinity Ward, or a director, writer, artist, yadda yadda, strikes gold with one of it's creations? Do they cease to become masters of their craft simply because their ideas have stagnated to make replicas of their said prized creation?
In my opinion, no.
I feel that just because someone doesn't want to make the same thing over and over again doesn't necessarily make it a bad thing. I mean, there certainly is a craft to master when it comes to sales, whether a person sells multibillion dollar corporations or they sell lemonade, and just because they might not like selling their product doesn't mean it gives them the right to just up and quit. Most people do what is needed to survive, not because it is what they enjoy doing. Video game developers have the best of both worlds. They are not only providing for themselves and their families, but they also get the opportunity to full invest their time in do what makes them happy.
Now, I'm not saying Activision is right by doing what they did. I'm as in the dark about the whole situation as anyone else, but it's apparent to me that just because one realizes they no longer like what they are doing doesn't give them the right to up and change the status quo just because. Sometimes it happens out of necessity, for instance because of lackluster sales, and sometimes it happens because changing the status quo can revolutionize an industry, but attempting to change things because you are bored seems quite selfish to me, especially when it is proven that the status quo works.
If Infinity Ward wanted to make different games, they should have pitched the idea to Activision to expand the company. From my understanding, they don't even need to do that, they can just hire people themselves. One team works on the Call of Duty series, while the other works on whatever else. It's a win-win. But instead, from the rumors that have been circulating, they were upset about compensation, so they pitched their company to other publishers. That's not how the business world works, my friends. I like Infinity Ward. They make quality games, but that gives them no right to jump ship, at least not without going down the proper legal channels.
Activision may be evil, but they certainly aren't stupid (I think someone here wrote that in an article). If they ousted top brass of video game's biggest franchise ever, they more than likely had a very plausible reason. So, before placing all the blame on one side of the fence, I think it behooves all of us to sit back and wait for more information about the situation, otherwise the person pointing the fingers at so-and-so is no different than the morons who defended Apogee when they got sued after 12 fruitless years.
