Activision: We're Still the Same Fun Bunch of Guys

Andronicus

Terror Australis
Mar 25, 2009
1,846
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Two words: New IPs (acronyms are totally, one word, right?)

Stop remaking, rehashing, rereleasing every single game in your back catalogue, and enough with the sequels. You guys are number one in the market, as Mr. Winters pointed out; you're in the remarkably rare position to take a lot more risks in this industry.

At the moment, all it looks like is that you're doing this for the money. And hey, that's fine, money's good, money pays the bill. But it actually looks like money is the sole reason you are making games. That's how it comes through across, and until that stops, nobody is going to willingly stand up for you. This is our pasttime, this is our lives; gaming is magic to us, and all you seem to care about is monetising it.

The point I'm trying to get across is that, regardless of how nice you guys may be, it's all about public perception. You can't get away with just saying that you're nice. You've got to show that you care. Take risks. Appeal to different audiences. Make a game that obviously isn't designed to appeal to the biggest number in whatever recent survey you've done. Hell, it doesn't even have to have all the cash at your disposal pumped into it (although it would be nice); at least it shows that you care.
 

Taunta

New member
Dec 17, 2010
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PROTIP: If you have to convince people that you're a good person, you're not a good person.

In other news,
 

SL33TBL1ND

Elite Member
Nov 9, 2008
6,467
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Hey, I think the development teams owned by Activision are all nice guys, but management clearly only knows how to handle money and nothing else.
 

Agayek

Ravenous Gormandizer
Oct 23, 2008
5,178
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irishda said:
I haven't really seen Activision do anything bad, unless you're a fan of guitar hero or geometry wars i guess
Activision is the single largest factor behind the creation of the bland, unoriginal sequel-factory that most of the AAA games industry has become. And their CEO is a walking PR disaster.

The hate for Activision is excessive, in my opinion, but it most certainly has valid criticisms/complaints at its heart.
 

irishda

New member
Dec 16, 2010
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Agayek said:
irishda said:
I haven't really seen Activision do anything bad, unless you're a fan of guitar hero or geometry wars i guess
Activision is the single largest factor behind the creation of the bland, unoriginal sequel-factory that most of the AAA games industry has become. And their CEO is a walking PR disaster.

The hate for Activision is excessive, in my opinion, but it most certainly has valid criticisms/complaints at its heart.
I don't see that, except for the CEO PR part. The IPs they've dropped were original, but disasters. I have yet to see anyone enjoy Wet. And just look at the legions of fans clamoring for sequels. If you read through the March Mayhem threads, any of the votes not concerned with Mojang usually went along the lines of "ZOMG, Elder Scrolls V! Look at the trailer!" or "Mass Effect 2 and/or 3!" or "Bioshock: Infinite!" or "COD:MW2, COD:BO!". Gamers don't care about original ideas, they want what they already know they like. People may say they want to see original ideas made by indie developers with a fresh perspective. But, at the end of the day, the hardcore gaming crowd is mostly fanboys that want to see their favorite AAA developers put out another sequel to their games. "When is Half-life 3 gonna get here???!" "Portal 2! Yes, there's definitely gonna be cake now!"

I'm not saying Activision shouldn't try to look for fresh ideas, I'm just saying they're not breaking any less new ground than anyone else.
 

Agayek

Ravenous Gormandizer
Oct 23, 2008
5,178
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irishda said:
I don't see that, except for the CEO PR part. The IPs they've dropped were original, but disasters. I have yet to see anyone enjoy Wet. And just look at the legions of fans clamoring for sequels. If you read through the March Mayhem threads, any of the votes not concerned with Mojang usually went along the lines of "ZOMG, Elder Scrolls V! Look at the trailer!" or "Mass Effect 2 and/or 3!" or "Bioshock: Infinite!" or "COD:MW2, COD:BO!". Gamers don't care about original ideas, they want what they already know they like. People may say they want to see original ideas made by indie developers with a fresh perspective. But, at the end of the day, the hardcore gaming crowd is mostly fanboys that want to see their favorite AAA developers put out another sequel to their games. "When is Half-life 3 gonna get here???!" "Portal 2! Yes, there's definitely gonna be cake now!"

I'm not saying Activision shouldn't try to look for fresh ideas, I'm just saying they're not breaking any less new ground than anyone else.
I wasn't trying to say that Activision was the only publisher that didn't innovate or whatever. Simply that they have had the biggest impact in the creation of the sequel-focused industry. I'm honestly fairly ambivalent on that point. It can be both good and bad, depending on the situation.

The one thing I will say they do incredibly poorly in that regard though is the rate at which they churn out sequels. The yearly sequel thing is great for short-term cash influx, but it will exhaust the consumer base quite quickly. It's already happened to music games, and it will likely happen to COD pretty soon.

Focusing on sequels of successful IPs (as long as it's not exclusively so) is not a bad thing. The way Activision does it certainly is though.

And I really don't care about them dropping IPs or whatever. Matter of fact, I fully support that. Only the successful IPs should be considered for sequels. Squeezing out as many sequels as you possibly can before the consumer-base is sick of your product is not a sustainable business model though.
 

Ickorus

New member
Mar 9, 2009
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You know why so many people hate you Activision?

- Rehashing the same old shit on a yearly basis.
- Ridiculously high pricing on DLC map packs.
- Having Satan as your CEO.
- Running previously good franchises into the ground as you attempt to squeeze every last penny out of it.
 

(LK)

New member
Mar 4, 2010
139
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If you have to remind the public that you still are something you used to be, then no, you aren't.
 

Alar

The Stormbringer
Dec 1, 2009
1,356
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Blizzard, please, just go publish for yourself.
The Night Shade said:
Yeah right if this is true then i'm Santa Christ
I believe in Santa Christ...
 

Trasken

New member
Mar 30, 2010
120
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They bought bizarre crations and then killed them when they didn't create COD numbers on their last game, also killing with them any hope we might've had for PGR5
Soooo damn you activision, especially your evil overlord kotick
 

Plurralbles

New member
Jan 12, 2010
4,611
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then act like it you bastards!

Oh wait.. no, because that was a boldfaced lie! What a spit in the face.

Go ahead and ruin everything I've ever loved! Kill Starcraft 2. You castrated it already...