Kotick Wishes Xbox Live Was More Open

[Logan Westbrook]

Kotick Wishes Xbox Live Was More Open

Bobby Kotick says that the closed nature of Xbox Live means that Activision cannot improve the Call of Duty franchise like it wants to.

Modern Warfare 2 was the biggest entertainment launch in history, and months after its release it's still being played heavily on Xbox Live. But despite what you might think, that doesn't make Bobby Kotick happy, because it's Microsoft, rather than Activision, that is benefitting from it.

Between November 2009 and April 2010, gamers have logged 1.7 billion hours of online play on Modern Warfare 2, and Kotick believes that the majority of Xbox 360 owners are playing for Gold memberships on Xbox Live because of the Call of Duty series.

"We've heard that 60 per cent of [Microsoft's] subscribers are principally on Live because of Call of Duty," said Kotick. "We don't really participate financially in that income stream. We would really like to be able to provide much more value to those millions of players playing on Live, but it's not our network."

Kotick has expressed his desire for a Call of Duty subscription service before [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/news/view/101503-Kotick-Wants-Call-of-Duty-Subscriptions-Tomorrow], and told the Wall Street Journal last month that he believes that such a service would provide a much more "compelling experience" to Call of Duty fans. Getting games with subscriptions on to consoles isn't impossible, Square Enix brought Final Fantasy XI to the PlayStation 2 and Xbox 360, and is bringing Final Fantasy XIV to the PS3, and considering the amount of money Call of Duty must make for the platform holders, it's hard to imagine that Sony and Microsoft wouldn't be interested in some kind of arrangement.

Source: Financial Times [http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/b50ee912-8782-11df-9f37-00144feabdc0.html] via Edge [http://www.next-gen.biz/news/kotick-frustrated-by-xbox-live-model]


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[Adzma]

Kotick almost seems like a comic book villain at times. Personally, I couldn't care less about what happens to COD, but I understand the principle. As if Activision doesn't make enough money without slapping subscription fees on top.

 

[Onyx Oblivion]

What's next?

Are porn sites going to want more control from internet service providers because 60% of internet traffic is used for porn?

That statistic is made up, but you get the idea.

 

[DeadlyYellow]

I like how it seems to start out innocently enough, but then the real message emerges.

"We're not getting MORE money from it!"

I imagine Kotick's conferences go something like this:

 

[Mechsoap]

so he wants to take of fees on xbox....or he wants to stop fees at cod? im confused...

 

[sephiroth1991]

Whos the lesser of the two evils?

 

[Baby Tea]

Geez, Kotick is really trying to scrape every penny out of consumers, eh?
Nevermind already having a hefty profit at the end of each quarter, he just wants more.

Somebody on the board of directors make a motion to shut this guy up. He is not someone who should be talking to media, or anyone with access to the outside world. Going from "We want to change our image of being jerks!" to "We want to rip every cent from our customer base with over-priced map-packs and needless subscription fees." isn't smart PR.

I earnestly hope that Infinity Ward's departure, and eventual new game development, teaches Kotick some humility.

 

[Sebenko]

I think you missed a word or two from the title.

Kotick Wishes Xbox Live Was More Open To Exploitation

fix'd

 

[Miumaru]

Why bother making this article? Should just be Kotick says something. It was probably greedy and inhuman. End of title. Just add again every new time. I swear, he does this on purpose. He must have the same mental defect that people like Bush and that Iran president guy have.

 

[Jared]

So basiucally all he is saying he wishes he could be the one charging those fees instead of MS...so he can line his pocket with gold?

Greedy Bas***d

 

[Azhrarn-101]

What's next?

Are porn sites going to want more control from internet service providers because 60% of internet traffic is used for porn?

That statistic is made up, but you get the idea.

you may be closer to the truth than you would be comfortable with.
37% of the internet is Porn [http://io9.com/5566761/37-of-the-internet-is-porn]

But it is clear that Kotick is whining about the fact that he can't milk the players more than his company is already doing. Really, that man must be one of the worst things to happen to the industry in decades.

 

[HK_01]

Sure, 60% subscribe just for COD ,sure...

Kotick has expressed his desire for a Call of Duty subscription service before, and told the Wall Street Journal last month that he believes that such a service would provide a much more "compelling experience" to Call of Duty fans.

Does this make any sense to any one of you? How does paying more provide a more "compelling experience"?


Edit: I thought Activision wanted to improve its image? They should tell Kotick that he's not helping.

 

[Miumaru]

so he wants to take of fees on xbox....or he wants to stop fees at cod? im confused...

He wants people to pay specifically for CoD and thus directly to Activision (and any other games he could milk) instead of just a general fee to Microsoft.

 

[xyrafhoan]

Didn't Kotick already slap an outrageous price on the MW2 "stimulus" map package? Not to mention the $70 (in Canada) price of a brand new copy... And, theoretically, couldn't he just do it again if he wants ongoing revenue from his war-themed money printer?

Every time Kotick opens his mouth, he says something ridiculously greed-driven. Okay, yeah, a business has to make money, but do you really have to tell consumers and industry partners how much about how you want to bleed your customers dry of all of their dollars?

 

[Azhrarn-101]

Didn't Kotick already slap an outrageous price on the MW2 "stimulus" map package? Not to mention the $70 (in Canada) price of a brand new copy... And, theoretically, couldn't he just do it again if he wants ongoing revenue from his war-themed money printer?

Every time Kotick opens his mouth, he says something ridiculously greed-driven. Okay, yeah, a business has to make money, but do you really have to tell consumers and industry partners how much about how you want to bleed your customers dry of all of their dollars?

This is the man who said he wanted to take the fun out of games development, remember?
He lives for nothing but his greed, I doubt he's technically human.

 

[the_pleasure_is_mine]

So he's pissed that he's not getting enough money from people subscribing to someone elses service... so he wants his own service.

Seriously Kotick. Go fall off a bridge.

 

[The DSM]

New flash Kotick: CoD isnt the only game on Xbox.

It runs just fine, oh and that number is probably made up by the people he got to find people want to pay to play CoD...

Im sure this is the onyl franchise they have left...

 

[Mechsoap]

so he wants to take of fees on xbox....or he wants to stop fees at cod? im confused...

He wants people to pay specifically for CoD and thus directly to Activision (and any other games he could milk) instead of just a general fee to Microsoft.

here i was hoping xbox where history....*whimper*

 

[Zing]

Getting games with subscriptions on to consoles isn't impossible

That's when people didn't pay for Gold and such.

I'd drop MW2 in a heartbeat if a subscription fee was added, and I'm quite sure mostly all of my friends would too.

Kotick is honestly an idiot. That's before he's a greedy tool.

I guess it's hard to get an idea of what people can afford to pay while you sleep on your bed of money.

 

[xyrafhoan]

Didn't Kotick already slap an outrageous price on the MW2 "stimulus" map package? Not to mention the $70 (in Canada) price of a brand new copy... And, theoretically, couldn't he just do it again if he wants ongoing revenue from his war-themed money printer?

Every time Kotick opens his mouth, he says something ridiculously greed-driven. Okay, yeah, a business has to make money, but do you really have to tell consumers and industry partners how much about how you want to bleed your customers dry of all of their dollars?

This is the man who said he wanted to take the fun out of games development, remember?
He lives for nothing but his greed, I doubt he's technically human.

I fear for the future, where Kotick slaps subscription fees and microtransaction fees on every game Activision makes. Someone has to tell him the World of Warcraft p2p model seems to only be working out for World of Warcraft.