EA and Activision Settle Infinity Ward Dispute

[Andy Chalk]

EA and Activision Settle Infinity Ward Dispute

Activision and Electronic Arts have settled their differences, but the Infinity Ward lawsuit goes on.

The lawsuit over Activision's dismissal of Infinity Ward co-founders Jason West and Vince Zampella is less than two weeks from a courtroom, but one big player in the game will no longer be taking part. Activision announced last night that it has reached a settlement with rival publisher Electronic Arts, which it added to the dispute over claims that it "set out to destabilize, disrupt and to attempt to destroy Infinity Ward," the studio behind the monster Modern Warfare [http://www.amazon.com/Call-Duty-Modern-Warfare-Xbox-360/dp/B00503E8S2/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1337267404&sr=8-1] series.

"Activision and Electronic Arts have decided to put this matter behind them," Activision attorney Beth Wilkinson said in a statement. Details of the settlement were not revealed, but Robert Schwartz, a lawyer for West and Zampella, said the settlement is proof that EA - and, by extension, his clients - did not behave inappropriately.

"Activision dragged EA into the case hoping to distract from Activision's wretched conduct towards West and Zampella," he said. "In dismissing EA today, Activision admits that it was never going to convince anyone that EA conspired with West and Zampella to breach their contracts or did anything else improper."

EA may be out but the ugly, convoluted lawsuit will carry on, as the Infinity Ward co-founders claim they're still owed millions in unpaid bonuses, while Activision seeks damages for the havoc caused by their sudden departure from the studio they founded. Wilkinson, a former Assistant U.S. Attorney who took part in the trial against Oklahoma City bomber Timothy McVeigh, took over as Activision's lead attorney on May 10 and requested a 30-day delay in the trial to give her time to catch up. That request was denied, however, and the case will begin on May 29.

Source: Bloomberg [http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-05-16/activision-electronic-arts-settle-modern-warfare-claims.html]


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[DeepComet5581]

Activision, Y U so stupid?

This is almost becoming too surreal to believe. I fail to see how Activision's Legal department haven't cottoned on to what a train wreck their relationships with developers and public alike has become.

EVEN IF Activision are cleared of wrongdoing against West and Zampella, nobody will trust them again and certainly won't work for/with them again.

Really dug yourselves a hole here, haven't you?

 

[WanderingFool]

Activision, Y U so stupid?

This is almost becoming too surreal to believe. I fail to see how Activision's Legal department haven't cottoned on to what a train wreck their relationships with developers and public alike has become.

EVEN IF Activision are cleared of wrongdoing against West and Zampella, nobody will trust them again and certainly won't work for/with them again.

Really dug yourselves a hole here, haven't you?

Spoiler: Please... Activision isnt digging themselves a hole...

THEY'RE BLASTING!!!​

 

[McMullen]

Did anyone else feel a sudden rush of panic when they saw the EA and Activision logos joined as if the companies had merged?

Or maybe it's been done before and I'm just late to the party. In any case, I feel like I just saw the face of Cthulu or something.

 

[Aiddon_v1legacy]

After hearing about the hacking operation Acti tried to pull, this has gone bonkers

 

[The White Hunter]

Did anyone else feel a sudden rush of panic when they saw the EA and Activision logos joined as if the companies had merged?

Or maybe it's been done before and I'm just late to the party. In any case, I feel like I just saw the face of Cthulu or something.

I opened the article, saw the picture and thought "oh shit EA ate Activendiizzard! D: Gaming will be ruined forever!"

 

[Andy Chalk]

I think it's fascinating how easily and well the two logos merge.

 

[shintakie10]

I've said from the start that Activision made a horrible mistake addin EA into the lawsuit. Sure if it worked theyd get tons more money out of it, but it weakened their case considerably because it went from a clear cut contract dispute to a convoluted mess.

 

[Awexsome]

From the logo the first thing that came to my mind was this:

Spoiler

This is the thing that really made me think of Activision as scumbags. CoD itself is still fun for me and although it's overproduced, it doesn't make me hate them that they give their fans lots of games they want. But that canning of the heads of their golden goose over those bonuses... that's a real dirty trick.

It makes me nervous about Bungie partnering with them for publishing their next game but it's a good thing they're equal partners and not owned like IW was.

 

[DeepComet5581]

Activision, Y U so stupid?

This is almost becoming too surreal to believe. I fail to see how Activision's Legal department haven't cottoned on to what a train wreck their relationships with developers and public alike has become.

EVEN IF Activision are cleared of wrongdoing against West and Zampella, nobody will trust them again and certainly won't work for/with them again.

Really dug yourselves a hole here, haven't you?

Spoiler: Please... Activision isnt digging themselves a hole...

THEY'RE BLASTING!!!​

Digging with Nuclear Warheads, indeed.

The metaphor still stands, just word it how you like.

Frankly, though, this kind of self-destructive behaviour is bordering on Corporate Negligence. They don't want to take responsibility or make work more difficult, so they try and take the lazy way out, which has ultimately backfired and has left them in this shambles.

Meh, the sooner Activision and that c*** Kotick crash and burn, the sooner the integrity of the entire industry can start to suffer from EA's misgivings.

Captcha: keyboard. Yes, Captcha. Yes it is.

 

[Metalrocks]

now that would be a disaster if ?A and activision would work together. i still dont mind the COD games as such. still play black ops. at least better then MW3.

i think activision really tries everything to be the worst company now. they dint like it when ?A took it away from them. maybe they should give both of them the award so they can be happy about it.
they would do anything to make more money.