Are you boycotting activision

[Creepybard]

Things they've said and done (many through Bobby Kottick):
The whole [http://www.bit-tech.net/news/gaming/2010/03/05/activision-responds-to-infinity-ward-lawsui/1] Infinity Ward [http://www.gamesradar.com/xbox360/modern-warfare-2/news/kotick-infinity-ward-founders-may-never-be-productive-or-successful-again-feelings-are-hurt/a-20100927102253716065/g-20090326142018906090] debacle. [http://www.wired.com/gamelife/2010/12/activision-infinity-ward-lawsuit/]

Pushing for more titles which they can "exploit on an annual basis" [http://www.penny-arcade.com/2007/12/5/]

"I would raise game prices higher if I could" [http://www.destructoid.com/kotick-i-would-raise-game-prices-higher-if-i-could-143049.phtml]

Hinting at franchises like Call of Duty becoming subscription-based [http://ps3.ign.com/articles/106/1068433p1.html]

And the Escapists' own Shamus Young wrote a fine article on Kotick's failure as a CEO [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/articles/view/columns/experienced-points/8169-Experienced-Points-Age-of-Kotick.2]

Now, I can see Bobby Kotick as a dick here, but the CEO being a some sort of money grubbing corporate psycho should't really be a game breaker. It's one thing when the CEO of a company acts like you would expect a CEO to act, namely as a money grubbing corporate psycho, but to boycott an entire company, a collective of thousands of people, working hard to make the best products they can, simply because the guy waving the cattle prod is annoying? That's like refusing to tip the slaves that make your clothes because you hate the guy that whips them. Now the hate for EA, for the grievous atrocities their marketing department has perpetrated in the name of profit? The horrible crimes they have committed against all the artists in the medium, both working for them, and for other people, to say nothing of the ones to come in the future, that have rippling effects across the entire gaming medium and in the way the world views such a new and budding art form? THAT is more than enough reason to boycott a company.

P.S. I have been watching a LOT of Extra Credits tonight, so this might be a little exaggerated, but still, EA is starting to get on my nerves with their infuriatingly juvenile marketing tactics.

 

[KenzS]

Boycotting is for "conformist non-conformists", which I am not.

 

[Magicman10893]

I don't agree personally with Activision, they killed two great series. Guitar Hero and Tony Hawk. Why? Because they decide to cash-cow all our beloved games by releasing new unfinished titles and expansions every 6-12 months.

I'm glad that Blizzard is telling Activision to take a hike and stay out of their business, I don't want to see an expansion for Starcraft 2 coming out every single year to kill the franchise.

Dude, we're dealing with Activision here. If they had it their way they'd assign three different companies to the StarCraft franchise and release full sequels every 3 months!


OT: After that abortion that was Modern Warfare 2 and the recent canning of the True Crime reboot that was one of the games I was looking forward to the most in the next year or so (behind Mass Effect 3, Dragon Age 2, Skyrim, Red Faction Armageddon and possibly Saints Row 3), I'm not buying another Activision title ever. Even if they somehow manage to acquire Bioware, Rockstar and Bethesda.

They run every awesome franchise into the ground by over stimulating the market with it until people lose all interest. Guitar Hero was awesome up until Guitar Hero 3, then it just started to turn into a nightmare. Tony Hawk was awesome and American Wasteland maintains to be one of my favorite games on the PS2, but then they just utterly destroyed it. Now they are murdering Call of Duty, which up to Call of Duty 4 was one of my favorite shooters ever, then they just slowly started to torture it by releasing World at War, Modern Warfare 2 and Black Ops. Activision literally killed my childhood.

 

[tthor]

I would say I'm boycotting them, but i can't remember the last time i've even purchased an activision game

 

[Jonny1188]

Now, because I think boycotting a company means that you would otherwise buy their product if it weren't for moral objections, I am not boycotting Activision - I just don't like Activision products. I just checked my physical game library, and the companies I have on my shelf are Konami (2), EA (1), Take-Two (2), Valve (2), Ubisoft (3), Zenimax (1) and THQ (1). For the most part, the only companies I like are Take-Two, Valve and Ubisoft, because they produce blockbuster games, but they offer great, unique experiences. Activision provides the blockbusters, but with no artistic depth to make a game an experience - there just isn't any soul there, which showed most famously with the Guitar Hero franchise.

It's not that their a big company. It's not that Bobby Kotick can't shut his god damn mouth. It's that they're not good at making games, except for Call of Duty's multiplayer, although I attribute that to other parties - they just stole the formula and are going to ride that pony with their $15 add-ons and annual releases until it's ground up into a fine pony powder between their fat, smug, unoriginal, untalented legs.

 

[GotMalkAvian]

I'm glad that Blizzard is telling Activision to take a hike and stay out of their business, I don't want to see an expansion for Starcraft 2 coming out every single year to kill the franchise.

You mean the other 2/3 of the campaign that are each going to be released and likely priced as a full retail game?

 

[GotMalkAvian]

I'd like to say that I'd boycott Activision for their actions, but I'm willing to admit now that if they publish a game that I really want I'd cave and buy it. Luckily, it looks like I'm sort of boycotting Activision by the sole fact that they're no longer releasing any games I want to play, and have killed off pretty much every franchise that I used to enjoy.

 

[Spade Lead]

If It isn't Gran Turismo, fly super-awesome aircraft, or drive really fast, I don't care who makes it. Anyone heard the latest on Ace Combat 7?

 

[DRSH1989]

Activision caned True Crime: Hong Kong... reason enough for me to not like them.

 

[Insideout Ink Demon]

I've been boycotting Activision since before I knew they were evil.
I've been boycotting them because they're games suck

This would have been my vote if there were vote buttons.
churning out sequel after sequel does not get my pants as wet as it does for the CoD and guitar hero fans

 

[Specula]

My two least favorite companies are EA and Activision. They're both huge corporations, and they both employ asshole tactics to get their money. The difference between the two is that EA actually makes a good game every so often.


And lets face it: Activision would be dead without COD.

They screwed up D3 and SC2 by deciding to make them in the first place. The stories were closed sufficiently and the story of SC2 is just... Woefully, woefully inadequate and disappointing.

 

[Yuno Gasai]

I don't generally pay much attention to which game developers/publishers are which; what I look at is what their games have to offer, and whether it's anything I'm interested in.

If it is, fantastic - I'll think of buying that title. If not, too bad - I won't buy it.

 

[hawkeye52]

im boycotting the CoD series but not anything else they might make and publish since im more boycotting the developers rather then the publishers but they are still both bastards

 

[Ryuu814]

*wonders once more why Publishers get the blame and not the Developers*
I'll look at the Activison, but I won't boycot them as

1) they are a business and they are always out to make money
2) they are a publisher. They don't make the games as far as I'm aware

Why should I punish the Publisher and not the Developers who make the games? Yes Activision are evil as they charge the £10 map packs for the CoD series but apart from that I blame the Developers of a game if a game fails

*see Zero Puntuation where it seems Square is in the firing range and not the dev feelplus*

 

[SovietSecrets]

No. Why would I boycott? I like their games for the most part.

 

[Phototoxin]

I boycott EA since you get a game then 2 months later need to pay for the other half of it.

 

[TheRightToArmBears]

I'll boycott Activision when they stop making games I enjoy, thankyou very much.

I like Call Of Duty.

 

[Savagezion]

*wonders once more why Publishers get the blame and not the Developers*
I'll look at the Activison, but I won't boycot them as

1) they are a business and they are always out to make money
2) they are a publisher. They don't make the games as far as I'm aware

As publishers they own the rights to the game. WIth those rights they can just decide tomorrow to fire an entire dev team for no reason other than, they don't think it will make *enough* profit. Activision has done this a lot. The point there is the brand and the title is entirely up to them. Activision has the ability to make sure the next CoD uses water pistols instead of real guns. The new ghostbusters game was looking awesome and getting good (p)reviews but they axed it because they didn't see any potential to exploit sequels. Guitar Hero is another great example. Whether you personally liked it or hated it, alot of people enjoy the title and are interested but oversaturation (their fault) of the market actually caused less sales. It would have been smarter for them to come out with an online song purchase system or even to just release less sequels and spin offs. But they just axed the title because they were pouting that Rock Band did better this last time around.

Why should I punish the Publisher and not the Developers who make the games? Yes Activision are evil as they charge the £10 map packs for the CoD series but apart from that I blame the Developers of a game if a game fails

Well, it depends sometimes. For the most part that is a healthy outlook on it but sometimes the publisher will screw over the dev team. I won't buy another Civilization game upon release as long as 2k has it because of this. If the game sucks, it is the developers. But often bugs and half-assery is really the publisher pushing the game out before it is finished to get the revenue to go on a quarterly report.

As for Activision, they don't have much that interest me atm. Have your cake and eat it too I guess if they do, buy used and save yourself a whole 5 dollars. lol.

 

[spartandude]

I never brought guitar hero and MW2 was horrible so im not likely to buy the next GH or CoD game

 

[gbemery]

No not really. I think the last game I bought from them though was Civilization: Call to Power...I so wish the second one didn't suck so that they could have made a third and better one. I also wish that Sid would take some ideas from CCoP.