Activision Publishing CEO Wants to "Humanize" the Company

[Dr. wonderful]

Spoiler

I don't know...something not right about him, almost like he hiding something. Do you guys trust him?

I could be wrong, but i'm not sure that's the right way to attach an eye-patch.

hey, I'm a writer, not a artist.

 

[Dectilon]

I don't think they understand this shit. Handling a leak well is good. Handling a leak well, but then bringing attention to it and patting yourself on the back is not good and makes it all look like it was a ploy.

 

[JediMB]

I read the title, and immediately started thinking about anthro characters.

Like, Activision-tan, or something?

 

[Sniper Team 4]

As everyone else has said, get rid of Bobby. If that can't be done, then for the love of all that is gaming, hire a PR specialist who's sole goal is to make sure Bobby runs everything by him/her BEFORE he goes out and says it in public.

Example: "I think paying for Call of Duty is a good idea. They enjoy playing it, so there must be a way to make money off of it."

"No. A thousand times, no. People do not want to even THINK about paying for something they currently get for free. Throwing in the idea that they'll pay for it anyway makes you seem like someone who only sees dollars signs instead of people. Bad. Instead, try this: 'Call of Duty is a great experience, especially the multiplayer. After all, it's the best selling franchise to date on both systems. We're currently looking into ways that can make it even better. For those who want even more, we're trying to come up with a subscription-based plan, while still leaving the basic multiplayer in tact for our other values consumers.' There, that would be better. Not only do you let people know they'll have a choice between the two, but you also remind them that we currently own the best franchise on the consoles."

"Hm. You're right."

 

[squid5580]

Why do we hate these guys again? I forget.

Because Bobby is honest and transparent and doesn't make game development sound like working at the Willy Wonka factory

 

[TitsMcGee1804]

shift your focus from your shareholders to whats best for the industry

I dont care if kotick is heading them, if they created clever and innovative games, i would buy them, as it stands they only seem to be interested in maximum returns. Understandable, its a business, i just think they need to understand long term profits in this industry come from customer loyalty

 

[INF1NIT3 D00M]

Why do we hate these guys again? I forget.

Call of Duty. Tony Hawk. Transformers Dark Of The Moon movie tie-in.
We don't hate the old CoD games, or the old Tony Hawk games, just the new stuff.
Even then, it's just a few bad eggs spoiling the whole bushel.

 

[The Random One]

Humanizing Activision

Step 1: fire Bobby Kotick.

Step 2: ???

Step 3: Continue profit.

Fixed.

It worked for EA, it can work for them.

 

[Canadamus Prime]

Ok first thing you need to do is get rid of this guy:
http://cdn.themis-media.com/media/global/images/galleries/display/47/47362.jpg
or at the very least don't let him speak in public anymore.

 

[Ldude893]

I was tolerant of Activision for a while.
Sure, Bobby Kotick said several very thoughtless things about video gaming, game development, and the company's followers and sure under his leadership he likes to milk franchises till even their bone marrow's drained out while producing the same exact game over and over again, and sure he cheated out on the Infinity Ward heads and denied them their deserved paychecks.
But then they canceled True Crime: Hong Kong. As someone who was anticipating for this game for months and happened to LIVE in Hong Kong, that finally burst my dam.

Unless Kotick has an epiphany or is kicked out of his post, or unless the company starts producing better quality games with more originality and innovation while keeping Kotick muzzled, I will be no fan of Activision.

 

[GrizzlerBorno]

The upcoming Call of Duty Elite [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/news/view/110483-Activision-Unveils-New-Call-of-Duty-Online-Service] is a prime example of the Activision dichotomy: forums exploded with rage over the idea of a subscription-based CoD service while at the same time, more than two million gamers rushed to sign up for the beta.

Well, that is sad, but true. Then again maybe it's NOT the (hypocritical)forum people who are subscribing. Maybe it's the stupid shmucks who would've subscribed anyway? Wishful thinking?

 

[SL33TBL1ND]

Maybe they should just fire Bobby? That'd solve a load of problems.

 

[Vyce]

Didn't this whole bad image mess start with the how they handled Infinity Ward (And the Call of Duty franchise for that matter, at least one a year?), and then cemented by Kotick and his apparent lack of PR?

 

[Blind Sight]

Well you could start by getting rid of the Rancor in the basement that you feed interns to.

 

[bakan]

[Eric Hirshberg approaches Kotick's office/sacrificial pit]

Eric: Uh, Bobby? We need to talk.

Kotik: [ala generic evil emperor] Why have you come without an offering?

Eric: Uh, right... [Motions two henchmen to throw a terrified intern into the sacrificial pit] Listen, I've been talking with some of our customers and we need to change this arrangement. First, you need to get rid of the pit. We're loosing interns and thus unpaid labor. Second, we need to talk about your public persona. Quite frankly, your evil assholishness is being compared to a number of extremely evil characters, including Darth Sideous, Sauron, and Dick Cheney.

Kotik: That was what I was going for.

Eric: Yeah... listen: That has to change. I'll end on this one, but expect more of this in the future. You need to shift more resources to new IPs instead of shoveling it to the poor sods whom you've hollowed out and filled with your essence. We're loosing good talent because you remove their humanity and feed on their souls once they've proven themselves to be useful. I'm thinking this is sending a bad message...

I like the idea of the sacrificial pit

But honestly I despite the sheeps who buy every little bit of franchises even more than the publishers themselves.

And the publishers should at least try out new projects and don't dismiss them like the new IPs Activision discarded to focus more on their cash-cows.

 

[Daverson]

I think humanizing is actually the whole problem.

Do you remember when they just published games? All you knew about Activision was that they got a small mention in the splash screens, and their sticker on the box, and they made millions!

Then, you had "Bobby Kotick says..." and suddenly everyone hates them.

So, here's a thought, if you didn't know anyone at Activision was even human, and they were quietly publishing games, not causing a ruckus by publicly decrying ABC or XYZ, you wouldn't care, would you? You'd buy games made or published by Activision and that'd be that.

Also, Solvemedia, I am not "ginned up" >=\
Don't even like gin that much... whiskey's much better...

 

[Sabazios]

Seem more human? Why not BE more human, like...give IW their rightfully-earned money?
(Oh well, they're going to get it anyway.)

How about stop eating smaller devs and then killing them, like slash and burn in the Amazon?

Why not stop being a plague to our collective unconsciousness, you harbingers of mediocrity?

 

[WhiteTigerShiro]

"I think that the case is drastically overstated in terms of the reality that I see," he said in an interview with Gamasutra [http://www.gamasutra.com/view/news/35319/Interview_Activisions_Eric_Hirshberg_On_Being_The_Bad_Guy.php]. "I see a very creative company that gives its developers the tools and the resources they need to do great things, that isn't afraid to [delay] games if that's what it takes to get them right."

That's all well and good, Mr. Hirshburg, but we're talking about Activision, not Blizzard. Just because your companies are merged doesn't mean that you can talk about one while referring to the other.