Activision Hate Understandable, But Unfair, Says Social Media Guru

[beema]

Except that's not at all why I hate Activision, you idiot "guru."
I hate Activision because they take franchises and run them in to the ground by trying to squeeze every last penny with minimal effort out of them. I hate them because they toss away talented developers like so much garbage after their original ideas have been vacuumed up. I hate them for overcharging for every tiny piece of shit content update one of their games releases.
Basically I hate them for their business practices, which make them a huge profit, but which are very bad for gaming culture.

Oh, and they are so totally building up an evil cybernetic army.

[Cz] rlytun

 

[Braedan]

So basically he throws his hands up and says "Haters gunna hate?" Awesome!
But regardless, I don't like Activision because of the way the screw over everyone and thing they touch, not because they're big. Valve is the big dog in PC land and they are loved by many.

Valve is worth $4 billion tops. Vevendi bought Activision for $19 million. Nineteen billion buys you a lot more hate than four billion ever will. Haters gonna hate. That's what haters do: they hate.

Heh, I did qualify it as "in PC land". But still, 4 billion compared to whatever billion Activision is worth? Doesn't change the fact that Valve is on top with PC games right now, they don't have near the hate.

 

[Littaly]

Is it just me or are we seeing a lot of these lately?

"Activision not evil!" Says some guy with connections to them!

I'm willing to accept what they're saying, but "we're a good publisher and we care about the games we put out" is not a statement you can take their word for, you've gotta take their actions for it. And for all the words, we've seen a disappointingly small amount of action.

 

[Inferno_622]

They want to kill creativity and turn everything into a franchise that can be exploited for more money. All the reason I need to hate them.

They. It's funny isn't it? Hating a company with thousands of employees because of a couple of dudes. I think that is what this press release was trying to point out - with smallers studios you often have a spokesperson that more or less does represent the thoughts of the whole developer/company (f.e.: Peter Molyneux, Cliffy.B), but because Activision is now both a publisher and a developer and a huge powerhouse within the gaming industy it is difficult to have that figurehead or spokesperson. It doesn't make every employee someone that wants to "kill creativity" (lol).

And if you think 'precious' indie developers - or, to umbrella term it - anyone that you think are the opposite of what Activison represents, do not create certain things in order to make money, then that is laughable.

 

[JDKJ]

So basically he throws his hands up and says "Haters gunna hate?" Awesome!
But regardless, I don't like Activision because of the way the screw over everyone and thing they touch, not because they're big. Valve is the big dog in PC land and they are loved by many.

Valve is worth $4 billion tops. Vevendi bought Activision for $19 million. Nineteen billion buys you a lot more hate than four billion ever will. Haters gonna hate. That's what haters do: they hate.

Heh, I did qualify it as "in PC land". But still, 4 billion compared to whatever billion Activision is worth? Doesn't change the fact that Valve is on top with PC games right now, they don't have near the hate.

But if the theory that the bigger you get, the more haters come crawling outta the woodwork is valid, ain't nobody gonna hate on Valve. They ain't big. Not in the Apple, Google, Microsoft, Sony sense of big. Let 'em get that big and watch the haters hate. Haters gonna hate. That's what haters do: they hate.

 

[matrix3509]

Ok Activision you're right. I don't hate you for being one of the biggest publishers.

I hate you because Gray Matter, Shaba Games, RedOctane, Sierra, Underground, Budcat, Bizarre Creations, Pandemic, and Infinity Ward. Those are just off the top of my head, I'm sure I could find more if I looked around.

 

[aashell13]

social media guru == some random guy who spends way too much time on facebook

Wait, I guess that makes me a "guru" too. and probably half of you guys as well.

This "guru" dislikes EA infinitely more than Activision, even though he sympathizes with the gist of comments regarding crummy CoD sequels and a general money over matter mindset.

 

[Shanecooper]

We probably wouldn't hate Actvision for being evil if they didn't insist on being so... evil, I suppose.
I can't really think of any situation where they've been "the good guys", but hardly a week goes by without being reminded just how collosally big wankers they are.

Giving Robotic limbs to crippled children may just be a step in the right direction though.

EDIT: I should have said:
I don't hate Activision because I don't want to be sued.

 

[RedEyesBlackGamer]

They want to kill creativity and turn everything into a franchise that can be exploited for more money. All the reason I need to hate them.

They. It's funny isn't it? Hating a company with thousands of employees because of a couple of dudes. I think that is what this press release was trying to point out - with smallers studios you often have a spokesperson that more or less does represent the thoughts of the whole developer/company (f.e.: Peter Molyneux, Cliffy.B), but because Activision is now both a publisher and a developer and a huge powerhouse within the gaming industy it is difficult to have that figurehead or spokesperson. It doesn't make every employee someone that wants to "kill creativity" (lol).

And if you think 'precious' indie developers - or, to umbrella term it - anyone that you think are the opposite of what Activison represents, do not create certain things in order to make money, then that is laughable.

Aggressive much? And I want you to tell me how much money the NA branch of Arc Systems plans to make by localizing Arcana Heart 3. And the bigs are on record as saying that if something doesn't have a potential for sequels then it probably gets dropped.

 

[JDKJ]

They want to kill creativity and turn everything into a franchise that can be exploited for more money. All the reason I need to hate them.

They. It's funny isn't it? Hating a company with thousands of employees because of a couple of dudes. I think that is what this press release was trying to point out - with smallers studios you often have a spokesperson that more or less does represent the thoughts of the whole developer/company (f.e.: Peter Molyneux, Cliffy.B), but because Activision is now both a publisher and a developer and a huge powerhouse within the gaming industy it is difficult to have that figurehead or spokesperson. It doesn't make every employee someone that wants to "kill creativity" (lol).

And if you think 'precious' indie developers - or, to umbrella term it - anyone that you think are the opposite of what Activison represents, do not create certain things in order to make money, then that is laughable.

They don't do it for the money! They do it because they love gaming and gamers! They're our friends!

Haters gonna hate. That's what haters do: they hate.

Look, haters! I'm tapping Adriana Lima on the regular. Hate on that, bitches!

 

[RedEyesBlackGamer]

They want to kill creativity and turn everything into a franchise that can be exploited for more money. All the reason I need to hate them.

They. It's funny isn't it? Hating a company with thousands of employees because of a couple of dudes. I think that is what this press release was trying to point out - with smallers studios you often have a spokesperson that more or less does represent the thoughts of the whole developer/company (f.e.: Peter Molyneux, Cliffy.B), but because Activision is now both a publisher and a developer and a huge powerhouse within the gaming industy it is difficult to have that figurehead or spokesperson. It doesn't make every employee someone that wants to "kill creativity" (lol).

And if you think 'precious' indie developers - or, to umbrella term it - anyone that you think are the opposite of what Activison represents, do not create certain things in order to make money, then that is laughable.

They don't do it for the money! They do it because they love gaming and gamers! They're our friends!

Haters gonna hate. That's what haters do: they hate.

Look, haters! I'm tapping Adriana Lima on the regular. Hate on that, bitches!

You're trying to set a record for how many times "haters gonna hate" can be said in a single thread, aren't you? XD

 

[Irridium]

We don't hate Activision because they're big, we hate them because they push out sequel after sequel and never try anything new.

I don't like them because they're in the best position anyone can hope for. They have the constantly revenue stream from WoW, they have the billion dollar Call of Duty franchise, and what do they do with all this wealth? They squander it on sequel after sequel and don't put any of it into making a truly interesting and unique game.

 

[Braedan]

But if the theory that the bigger you get, the more haters come crawling outta the woodwork is valid, ain't nobody gonna hate on Valve. They ain't big. Not in the Apple, Google, Microsoft, Sony sense of big. Let 'em get that big and watch the haters hate. Haters gonna hate. That's what haters do: they hate.

No they aren't Microsoft big, but I guess I was giving an example in a specific field.
In cell phones though, I haven't seen any rage towards Nokia, even though they were running away with the cellphone market. I do see a fair bit for Apple though.

 

[Inferno_622]

They want to kill creativity and turn everything into a franchise that can be exploited for more money. All the reason I need to hate them.

They. It's funny isn't it? Hating a company with thousands of employees because of a couple of dudes. I think that is what this press release was trying to point out - with smallers studios you often have a spokesperson that more or less does represent the thoughts of the whole developer/company (f.e.: Peter Molyneux, Cliffy.B), but because Activision is now both a publisher and a developer and a huge powerhouse within the gaming industy it is difficult to have that figurehead or spokesperson. It doesn't make every employee someone that wants to "kill creativity" (lol).

And if you think 'precious' indie developers - or, to umbrella term it - anyone that you think are the opposite of what Activison represents, do not create certain things in order to make money, then that is laughable.

Aggressive much? And I want you to tell me how much money the NA branch of Arc Systems plans to make by localizing Arcana Heart 3. And the bigs are on record as saying that if something doesn't have a potential for sequels then it probably gets dropped.

I'm just trying to mirror the aggressiveness that people channel in Activision's direction. It's always worth pointing out that "making money" is at the heart of every business strategy. To take a more recent example, before the release of Portal 2, there were many people on even these boards that had doubt in the sequel, because it "didn't need to be made." It's the same with Left4Dead 2 - many people thought it didn't need to be made and that any changes in gameplay could be patched in if need be, or turned into DLC. To this day you'll get people prefering the first game anyway.

Sure, both games have been very successful post-release, but the point I am trying to make is even with the dudes at Valve, making money is what needs to be done to avoid layoffs, even if it involves making sequels to games that were considered complete without them. Check out Obsidian. Their most recent release was basically Fallout 3 with better everything plus super mod support, but they've been hit with layoffs too.

I'm sorry I can't reply to the second bit of your post because I am not aware of Arc Systems. I'm imagining it is for the fans rather than for the money?

 

[matrix3509]

They want to kill creativity and turn everything into a franchise that can be exploited for more money. All the reason I need to hate them.

They. It's funny isn't it? Hating a company with thousands of employees because of a couple of dudes. I think that is what this press release was trying to point out - with smallers studios you often have a spokesperson that more or less does represent the thoughts of the whole developer/company (f.e.: Peter Molyneux, Cliffy.B), but because Activision is now both a publisher and a developer and a huge powerhouse within the gaming industy it is difficult to have that figurehead or spokesperson. It doesn't make every employee someone that wants to "kill creativity" (lol).

And if you think 'precious' indie developers - or, to umbrella term it - anyone that you think are the opposite of what Activison represents, do not create certain things in order to make money, then that is laughable.

Wanting to make money is understandable, they are a company after all. Losing your job because the games you've been told to make for the past number of years are no longer popular and aren't selling well is something else. Go and tell a RedOctane employee that its okay they lost their jobs while Kotick not only kept his job, but got richer.

In other words we don't hate the developers. We hate fuck-nuggets like Kotick who want to "take the fun out of game making". People who understand nothing about what makes gaming special, and who only understand the rising and falling of the stock-price and dividend payoffs.

 

[Irridium]

I don't like them because they're in the best position anyone can hope for. They have the constantly revenue stream from WoW,

That's not true, if what the guys at Blizzard are to be believed - that they have complete autonomy or something.

Sad thing is, there's a company that's not doing anything productive with an ever-growing mound of money either.

Yeah, Blizzard has free reign over development. But they're still merged with Activision. There's no way Activision is letting them keep all the money WoW makes.

 

[Kargathia]

The issue is that commercial success and artistic quality are not always the same thing, and that in order to be so big Activision will prioritise what they think will give them commercial quality - and that might involve artistic quality, but not neccessarily.

It is exactly the same thing as any other successful publisher out there is doing. Activision just somewhat sucked at maintaining the fairy tale of that their management cares more about games than about money.

And in the end: it's just more fun to envision an evil corporation on the brink of world domination, led by Satan in human guise.

 

[JDKJ]

But if the theory that the bigger you get, the more haters come crawling outta the woodwork is valid, ain't nobody gonna hate on Valve. They ain't big. Not in the Apple, Google, Microsoft, Sony sense of big. Let 'em get that big and watch the haters hate. Haters gonna hate. That's what haters do: they hate.

No they aren't Microsoft big, but I guess I was giving an example in a specific field.
In cell phones though, I haven't seen any rage towards Nokia, even though they were running away with the cellphone market. I do see a fair bit for Apple though.

You might as well compare my money to Warren Buffet's money.

Apple ended its most recent quarter with nearly $66 billion in cash, increasing its war chest by an astounding $6.1 billion in just three months. Their cash pile is worth more than the combined market capitalization of Nokia, Research In Motion and Motorola Mobility.

Sixty-six billion in cash -- and that's just counting the cash -- buys a lotta hate. Haters gonna hate. That's what haters do: they hate.

 

[eljawa]

still hoping for a Tony Hawks Underground 3, or Star Wars Battlefront 3 Not sure if Activision is still involved with the Star Wars franchise though.

the battlefront games were developed by pandemic and released by lucasarts...so blame one of them

i have no hate towards any company

except for media conglomerates