Take Two Boss Criticizes Yearly Release Schedules

[The Wooster]

Take Two Boss Criticizes Yearly Release Schedules

Take Two CEO Strauss Zelnick reckons yearly-release schedules and subscription based services like Call of Duty Elite aren't sustainable.


Talking at the UBS Media and Communications Conference; Zelnick didn't specifiy exactly which franchises he was criticising. He had, however, just finished discussing a certain Activision franchise - Hint: it rhymes with 'mall of booty' - which just so happens to have a yearly release schedule. Take from that what you will.

"If you start trying to stamp these products out annually, we don't think that's consistent with a high-quality result," he said. "If you give consumers something every year like clockwork, even if it's fantastic, there's a high chance they're going to get tired of it."

I'm assuming 2K Sports, which has been pumping out yearly sports titles like nobody's business [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_video_games_published_by_2K_Sports] since Take Two acquired them from Sega back in 2005, is exempt from this criticism. Rockstar, Take Two's other major developer, is relatively frugal when it comes to sequels, however.

Zelnick also questioned the viability of subscription based services; specifically mentioning Activision's absurdly successful Call of Duty Elite program.

"I can't tell whether it's relevant yet. I'm kind of skeptical, frankly," he said. "I suspect that we want a different experience on our big screen than we do on our middle-sized screen than we do on our mobile screen, because I think we use them at different times and they mean different things. I do think an intellectual property can thread through, but only if it is really high quality."

Gamestop sold around 600 thousand Call of Duty Elite Premium subscriptions in the first week of release, and that's only a small fraction of total sales. The service proved so popular that registrations had to be closed after scores of users looking to sign up crashed the servers. [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/forums/read/7.322155-Too-Many-Users-Bork-Up-Call-of-Duty-Elite-Registration]

"Right now, it's an option," said Activision's Jamie Berger while talking about developers implementing services like Elite; and presumably fanning himself with a wad of cash. "In three to five years, it won't be."

Source: Gamespot [http://m.gamespot.com/newsDetails.rbml?id=6347151&platform=0&region=null]

Permalink

 

[Kinguendo]

"In three to five years, it won't be." sounds like a threat when coming from Activision.

Do we know whether they were saying it wont be doable in 3 to 5 years or that all services like that will be subscription based?

 

[The Wooster]

"In three to five years, it won't be." sounds like a threat when coming from Activision.

Do we know whether they were saying it wont be doable in 3 to 5 years or that all services like that will be subscription based?

Very much the latter. Considering how absurdly successful Elite has been, I'd be very surprised if Activision's imitators don't implement it in their upcoming games.

 

[mjc0961]

"If you start trying to stamp these products out annually, we don't think that's consistent with a high-quality result," he said.

Sounds like he forgot that each game gets closer to 2 years of development. The games are released yearly, but that doesn't mean that they are made in a year. Activision has multiple developers making the games for a reason.

 

[Roboto]

Cars follow a yearly release schedule and that seems to have been very sustainable...

 

[Kinguendo]

"In three to five years, it won't be." sounds like a threat when coming from Activision.

Do we know whether they were saying it wont be doable in 3 to 5 years or that all services like that will be subscription based?

Very much the latter. Considering how absurdly successful Elite has been, I'd be very surprised if Activision's imitators don't implement it in their upcoming games.

Ah, what a shame.

However, given the creators of Battlefield 3s response to ELITE we can at least hope they will resist the implimentation of such methods. Provided EAs views dont supersede theirs.

 

[The Wooster]

Cars follow a yearly release schedule and that seems to have been very sustainable...

People don't tend to crash videogames though.

UNLESS THEY'RE FROM BETHESDA!

DOH-HOHOHOHOHO! [http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-v4aj5vP__lQ/TdVyv1GFpsI/AAAAAAAAP80/aoehEe9pG6g/s1600/Statler%2Band%2BWaldorf.jpg]

 

[Korten12]

"If you start trying to stamp these products out annually, we don't think that's consistent with a high-quality result," he said.

Sounds like he forgot that each game gets closer to 2 years of development. The games are released yearly, but that doesn't mean that they are made in a year. Activision has multiple developers making the games for a reason.

Yeah, it seems like a lot forget that. MW3 (just as an example) didn't just start this year, but soon after MW2 ended giving it a bit longer time.

 

[Darkmantle]

I feel like activision is becoming the atari of our age.

"I won't become the thing I hate" indeed eh?

 

[RhombusHatesYou]

"If you start trying to stamp these products out annually, we don't think that's consistent with a high-quality result," he said.

Sounds like he forgot that each game gets closer to 2 years of development. The games are released yearly, but that doesn't mean that they are made in a year. Activision has multiple developers making the games for a reason.

Yeah buuuuuuut many people would argue, for example, that there's a significant difference in quality between Infinity Ward and Treyarch... not that it appears to affect sales all that much.

 

[CaptOfSerenity]

Well, if Take-Two is trying to get me to like them, it's working.

 

[Tireseas_v1legacy]

Activision's real response: *maniacal evil laughter*

 

[duchaked]

meh...Elite. I couldn't have said NO faster

 

[Iron Lightning]

It doesn't matter much to me whether it's sustainable or not. The biggest problem is that yearly releases = shitty games and that's something I cannot sanction.

 

[scar_47]

I've got to agree with his main point a year even 2 means theres little time for mechanics to be messed with, take Cod the obvious example how different are the mechanics between MW and MW3 there really aren't any major ones. Assassins Creed has run into this as well they added 3 new mechanics and only 2 were really new the bombs and defense game where as the hook blade was more of an upgrade. I'm not saying you can't make an amazing game in a year or two but you have so little time that any really big change becomes unfeasible.

Take for example Bioshock Infinite the devs spent around 2 years getting the mechanics right and designing the world that amount of time spent tweaking really pushes a game from great to amazing. And I think people are really starting to feel sequel burnout with a lot of these series look at the amount of Cod gripes where people complain its the same game. Its like eating the same food every day it gets old quick games just took a little longer to reach that level. I don't see yearly sequels lasting more than another 3 or 4 years.

 

[robert01]

I want to agree with him because I feel the same way, but right now sales of franchises that push out a game a year aren't reflecting this statement. Maybe over time when people wake the fuck up and see that they are getting spoon fed the same shit year after year they will care, but inside, I don't see this happening. I think greed has shaped the game industry into what it is. I think this release-a-year model is here to stay, at least for now, longer than 3 -5 years

 

[Keldon888]

Really a game every 2 years from 2 companies isn't that bad a setup. Like someone said, cars do it and 60 bucks a year isn't that much of a drain. Some people won't like it, but that's their decision.

Subscriptions however I feel wont work out, with MMO's going free to play left and right I just don't think theres an audience for subscriptions, and while Elite sold 600k+ in a week, that is out of 6.5 million games in the first day. Subscriptions could be a niche, but wont ever be the whole model.

 

[EHKOS]

Whatever, they're bringing the Darkness back and the last promotion they put out was amazing. They can say whatever the fuck they want.

 

[kebab4you]

"If you start trying to stamp these products out annually, we don't think that's consistent with a high-quality result," he said.

Sounds like he forgot that each game gets closer to 2 years of development. The games are released yearly, but that doesn't mean that they are made in a year. Activision has multiple developers making the games for a reason.

"If you give consumers something every year like clockwork, even if it's fantastic, there's a high chance they're going to get tired of it." Was it really TO hard to quote the next part also? >_<