Bobby Kotick Wants to Take the Fun Out of Making Games

[Worgen]

all the more reason to only buy used games if they have the activision logo on them

Ill bet after making a statement like that he goes around to all the forums and masterbates to everyone hating on him

 

[Hallow'sEve]

*Note to self: don't buy...activision...ANYMORE

 

[dekkarax]

Who let him out of his cage?

Also, how many times have you guys used that picture now?

 

[GamingAwesome1]

Maybe he's trying the Uwe Boll way of making his name famous. Just spewing out as many dumb, stupid and crowd angering statements as possible, there is no such thing as bad press after all.

Yeah, you've got a point, I can't forget the guy's bloody name. So whatever he's pulling, it's working.

 

[John Funk]

You mean he has a lot of blisters?

Heh, you know what I meant.

You mean you've never heard the word calloused used to describe one's attitude towards others?

Calloused? He sure as hell doesn't look and sound battered and worn through years of experience in the business. He just looks, well, evil. Really, he does. I can't look at that face (not joking here) without feeling, literally, slightly nauseous. How can someone be like that guy? I just learned that he was the CEO of 4Kids Entertainment, why does that nót come as a surprise? That company was just as vile!

I think he's that way because he's allowed to be that way. Sadly, assassination on the grounds that someone is a douche is illegal. It's the state of our society today. People like that only come about when the fear of getting an ass kicking is minimized. I guarantee you that if he had to worry about his head going up on a pike, he'd be more mindful of his words.

Oh come on. Don't you think threatening actual bodily harm is going a bit too far, here?

 

[Arkhangelsk]

Oh, Bobby Kotick. Why not just take off your costume and admit that you're Satan?

 

[The_ModeRazor]

That's not evil. That's just stupid.

 

[NezumiiroKitsune]

He does this on purpose. Look, now you ALL know about Activision.

I already knew about Acivision, ActivisionBlizzard now being the biggest games development and production company in the world. All thats changed is I now don't want to buy his games knowing the people who made them actually had to endure active morale crippling. Imagine how most of his employees feel? They have to go into work and be MADE to not have fun. Does he go round the office and shoot anyone who's smiling?

I was once taught that psychopaths don't always become murders or cannibals. They just have no capacity for empathy and enjoy the suffering of others (which of course often leads to the murders and cannibals). They are also reknown for being generally intelligent. They therefore make excellent buisnessmen. It is possible he is psychotic and suffers from an inability to understand how people work or care about other people. Or maybe he's just a cruel son of a *****. But I hope Guitar Hero and WoW crumble and his employees strike. I hope he goes bankrupt and small developers start seeing some of what that corporate blackhole has been draining for years.

Insomniac, the creators of Ratchet and Clank and Resistance games, are still very much in the black and going strong and they have won awards for, essentially, employee happiness and fufillment. The work environment encourages inspiration and taking pleasure in your work, which is why I believe there games (especially the Ratchet and Clank series) are so excellent. So good they defined gaming for me. Yay Insomniac ^_^

 

[DragonsAteMyMarbles]

"Technology has not yet reached the point where gamers can develop real emotional attachments to on-screen characters"?!
In the words of the great Stephen Fry, that is arse-gravy of the worst kind.
How many gamers do you know who admit to crying while playing Final Fantasy VII (you know where)? Exactly.

In my little world at least, it's the writing that makes you care about the characters. Take Mass Effect - your party members especially are characterised really well, to the point where I would take Garrus along wherever I went just because I liked the guy. And Ashley, despite her combat effectiveness, would always stay behind due to her being a xenophobic *****. She had her redeeming features, of course, but her attitude toward her non-human allies was a bit much.
Not to mention that I genuinely regretted killing Wrex on my first playthrough, especially when I learned it was possible to talk him down.

I don't need flashy, ultra-realistic graphics to connect with game characters, thanks.

There isn't anything I can contribute to the "evil corporate prick discussion" that hasn't already been said, sorry.

 

[Krakyn]

Bobby Kotick knows what the masses want; they don't care about quality, they care about buying the thing of the moment, the popular item. Kotick and Activision are like the Abercrombie of the games industry. Their product isn't necessarily good, but all the hipsters want it (or at least they did four or five years ago).

And just like I think Abercrombie is a disgrace to the clothing industry, feeding off the fear of social alienation of teens and aging 20 somethings, so are Kotick and Activision to the games industry.

I personally believe that the entertainment industry should put their hearts into their products rather than just repackage the same old junk to make a profit. Obviously Kotick isn't doing anything illegal, but he's being a greedy, sleezy fuck.

 

[Covarr]

Michael Eisner had the same attitude while he was at Disney. This caused them to churn out shit like The Return of Jafar and Cinderella 2. Now, Bob Iger is Disney's CEO, he's all about fun and creativity, and the company is producing better products and making more money.

The fact is, better products tend to make more money. Just compare Twilight Princess to Anubis II, the difference in quality correlates to the difference in sales. TP is a better product and has sold better. And what made TP better is that it was made by people who are passionate about what they do, like Miyamoto, whereas Anubis II, like all shovelware, was made by skeptics hoping only to make a quick buck.

P.S. Thanks

 

[PlasticPorter]

"In the near future... Corporations control everything... and make no effort to conceal it..."

 

[kotorfan04]

Well screw this, I am quitting WoW, those bastards at Activision aren't going to get my 15 a month.

 

[IrrelevantTangent]

In my little world at least, it's the writing that makes you care about the characters. Take Mass Effect - your party members especially are characterised really well, to the point where I would take Garrus along wherever I went just because I liked the guy. And Ashley, despite her combat effectiveness, would always stay behind due to her being a xenophobic *****. She had her redeeming features, of course, but her attitude toward her non-human allies was a bit much.
Not to mention that I genuinely regretted killing Wrex on my first playthrough, especially when I learned it was possible to talk him down.

Exactly! If a game's developer has made it so you establish that kind of connection with a character in their game, even if it's only as superficial as "I have Person X in my party 'cos I like his character" then they've succeeded as far as characterization goes. Mass Effect is a great example of how lifelike and endearing video game characters can be, and the fact that Mass Effect was made by BioWare, who was known for their great characters, also helps.

 

[IamQ]

I wonder for how long his evil plan will last.

He will force them to make sequel after sequel with no joy in doing so, making Fifa and Madden seem like new franchises compared to their games.

Hopefully he will realise it though before it's too late. I mean hes already ruined Crash Bandicoot and Spyro the Dragon.

 

[Sewblon]

Mr.Kotick either has Asperger's syndrome, or thinks he is Snydly Whiplash.

 

[jebussaves88]

They should untether Guitar Hero though. It would do well in its own right.

 

[theultimateend]

Permalink

See I read this and I wonder. Just how someone can have this train of thought and still not understand where Piracy gets much of its fuel?

Well screw this, I am quitting WoW, those bastards at Activision aren't going to get my 15 a month.

While I too don't play right now (for different reasons) I'm not quite sure Activision would notice if Blizzard went under and Vice Versa. These sort of companies don't need people to pay them, they just seem to exist. My guess is they have printing presses.