They aren't evil. They are profit driven.
Look, a business magnate bribing government officials to steal public water for use in factories is evil because water is a life necessity. An energy monopoly pointlessly increasing energy rates to the point where little old ladies freeze to death in a cold snap is evil.
A video game publisher increasing the price of a VIDEO GAME? Evil? You're gonna call that "Evil"? That's not evil. Heartless? Cold? Maybe (but if you ever thought that a video game publisher was supposed to be your friend... well I don't know what to say).
And besides "Because they publish some of my favourite games" is not a valid, logical point. If their business practices are the same (and in general, they operate in a very similar way) then they are both equally "evil".
For life necessities, I am a semi-socialist. The poor (especially poor kids) do not deserve to die or be denied an education, and the rich can certainly afford to pay a bit more in taxes to accommodate public services (which they might have to depend upon one day themselves. Just because you are rich now, doesn't mean you are rich forever. You won't believe the amount of millionaires who blow their entire fortune then turn to the same public welfare services they so relentlessly despised when they were rich).
But when it comes to life's luxuries I am entirely, absolutely, utterly, ruthlessly capitalist. You don't NEED video games to have a good life. You Don't - no one has died or has been prevented from having a good job and family due to video games (in fact, quite the opposite - video games have killed (very few) people, ruined (quite a lot of) families and destroyed (a staggering amount) jobs due to addiction).
Video games are made by the developer and published by the publisher. They made the game. You didn't. You didn't have to lift one measly finger to make the game. What right do you have to DEMAND that they provide it at a price YOU find pleasing? What moral or legal right do you have to the game? You don't have any. Not one. If you don't like the price..... don't buy the game. You know that's an option. You know you DON'T have to buy the game if you don't like the price/content/publisher.
A Porsche dealer charges far more for their car than the cost of manufacturing, and no one raises a bit of fuss. It's seen as normal that a luxury car costs a lot. Games are an entertainment luxury - they are not the only form of entertainment (although they are a particularly good form of entertainment) and they certainly aren't the most expensive forms of entertainment and leisure (holiday and air travel top that list). But I don't find anyone angrily demanding that the airline provide the tickers cheaper and accuse Qantas or Delta of being "evil", even when, when you really think about it, air-travel should be more of a "right" than video games (I don't actually think air-travel, except for medical or political reasons, is a right).
I don't like the way Activision treated IW. Was Activision legally wrong in denying the bonuses to IW? Probably. Maybe. I don't know, I haven't read the employee contracts, and I'll bet, neither have you. We'll have to wait for the court-case. But don't pretend that EA wouldn't do exactly the same thing.
All companies want to make money. That's their purpose. That's why they were made. A lot of developers want to make games AND money - that's why they got jobs as developers. They sink a lot of money into making these games - I don't think you actually have an appreciation of the sheer amount of money that is needed to make modern day games the way most people like - you can say "well what the modern market wants is STUPID", but it's still want the modern market wants and developers cater to the modern market - they don't have a legal or moral imperative to cater to the whims of a small and diminishing segment of the market, because that makes no business sense, and like it or not, video game developers DON'T RUN ON FAIRY DUST! Or Fan appreciation Emails! Or Wishful thoughts! You can't pay your lead programmer in fanboy points or community love - they've got families and houses and mortgages and they need to do grocery shopping to! You know, because they need to eat!
Let me put it another way: You don't NEED to go to Disney land. Do you have a RIGHT to demand that Disney give you tickets at a cheaper price then they are being sold at? Why can a luxury car dealer be allowed to make a big profit selling an unnecessary product that is not needed for life, liberty or happiness, yet a video game developer can't?
The video game community has this bizarre, weird feeling of entitlement. You are not entitled to games YOU DID NOT MAKE YOURSELF. End of story. The maker and the publisher has the right to charge what they want for THEIR CREATION, especially when said creation is A LUXURY (a luxury in the sense that you don't need it to have a good life. Plenty of people have never played Video Games in their entire life and are juuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuust fine!)
I agree, if you don't like the price, don't buy the game! I didn't buy Black Ops for the initial Australian selling price, because it was way too expensive. I didn't go on a populist rant about how evil the company was, I just said "nope, too expensive" and I waited for a better deal (ended up buying a legit steam version for 40 dollars a week after release, thanks to people in Eastern Europe).
I am not saying that you just pay whatever activision prices their games at! I am saying that you DON'T HAVE TO BUY THE GAME! If you think it's too expensive, don't buy it! But Activision aren't being "Evil". Gaddafi, he's evil. Bobby Kotick? Not so much.
