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Bobby Kotick is the devil
spyboy2000
Member Posts: 27
''In the last cycle of videogames you spent $50 on a game, played it and took it back to the shop for credit. Today, we'll (charge) $100 for a guitar. You might add a microphone or drums; you might buy two or three expansions packs, different types of music. Over the life of your ownership you'll probably buy around 25 additional song packs in digital downloads. So, what used to be a $50 sale is a $500 sale today."
This echoes a statement Kotick made last year when he explained the company's lack of support for some new games, specifically ones that don't lend themselves to sequels. Activision, Kotick said, has no interest in games that "don't have the potential to be exploited every year on every platform with clear sequel potential and have the potential to become $100 million franchises."
And he's not just setting his sights on Guitar Hero and WoW fans. Talking about upcoming and expensive Activision titles such as Modern Warfare 2, Kotick said: "if it was left to me, I would raise the prices even further." - Bobby Kotick
Source : www.geeks.co.uk/7282-activision%E2%80%99s-bobby-kotick-hates-developers-innovation-cheap-games-you
This is the CEO of Activision Blizzard, one of the heads of your precious games World of Warcraft. It's sickening. I've said It before that WoW has run this genre into the ground, and It's no wonder. Sure It's become more popular as a result of WoW, but mass popularity doesn't always equate to good things.
Comments
I can now Imagine Kotick with horns, a tail, a pitchfork and red skin.
People like him need their nads cut off and learn how to say "Can I supersize that?". Because that is the only job they qualify for and DESERVE.
I'm old not dead. (Nov8tr is pronounced innovator)
This is the CEO of Activision Blizzard, one of the heads of your precious games World of Warcraft. It's sickening. I've said It before that WoW has run this genre into the ground, and It's no wonder. Sure It's become more popular as a result of WoW, but mass popularity doesn't always equate to good things.
Except that WoW was made long before Activision acquired Blizzard. Don't blame Blizzard for making a good game as this genre's downfall (and I agree over the last two years it's been a downward spiral). It's not Blizzard's fault everyone tries to copy on their success.
Anyway I agree Bobby Kotick is the devil and I hope someone fires this clown soon. Activision and EA are going to have such a negative impact on the game genre in the future. Here's to hoping that independent developers and foreign companies start becoming more commonplace.
All the Blizzard fanboi's better hope he doesn't raise the prices on their favorite games.
I could see a lot of people leaving WoW (or any game for that matter) if the price was raised to $20/month.
I could see a lot of people leaving WoW (or any game for that matter) if the price was raised to $20/month.
Agreed, if the monthly price is raised I think a lot of people would end up leaving and money would be lost. Number crunching is probably being done to see if Activision can make more $ by raising the monthly cost vs. the number of subscriptions which would be lost.
It would also distinguish the "casual" gamers from the ones who are now completely hooked and would bite the bullet and pay the extra.
After reading this article in detail and any other links on this moron I could find. I will NEVER buy another of their products till this moron is gone. This asshat should be fired immediately. Serious. I strongly recommend that all PC and Console games boycott ALL their games. That is the only way to show these people WE are the people paying THEIR salaries. I for one will not contribute one more single dime to these morons. And yes that includes any of their online monthly game fees.
I'm old not dead. (Nov8tr is pronounced innovator)
Guys, this is what companies do.
I am assuming that some of you have never sat in on any quarterly meetings. Well, first of all they are dry as dust.
However, what is usually discussed at investor meetings as well as quarterly meetings is how the company is making money, what they are doing to keep the pipeline populated with products and how the bottom line is being supported.
The problem that some people are having is that they want him to be a gamer. But it seems that he is a businessman. That is what he is hired to do and part of working for a publicly traded company is that they have to appease the investors who have given them their money.
If you were to change the products that he was talking about to something else, let's say software and hardware solutions to manage and analyze complex information so that customers can be more "productive, efficient and profitable" and have him addressing the actual stockholders and employees of the company, you probably wouldn't bat an eye.
I have never sat in on a quarterly meeting that didn't discuss how current and upcoming products weren't being leveraged for maximum profits and whether the company was growing sufficiently in line with it's financial liabilities.
That's his job and he's doing it.
If you dont' like what large companies are doing to games then just play games created by small indies. At Pax there were several indy developers and some of what they had looked really good.
but to a large company, especially a publcily held company, they are about making money for investors. Take a look at your mutual funds or retirement funds or whatever you have. There are people working to take your money and try to grow it as much as possible so that you and in the end they can make more money.
Godfred's Tomb Trailer: https://youtu.be/-nsXGddj_4w
Original Skyrim: https://www.nexusmods.com/skyrim/mods/109547
Serph toze kindly has started a walk-through. https://youtu.be/UIelCK-lldo
Sovrath I understand that a company's goal is to make money. I have never doubted that as I've owned several companies. I don't doubt that some of them are indeed a little dubious in their actions as well. But this assclown has gone miles over the line of any acceptable behavior. I honestly believe he should be fired TODAY. His attitude, especially now that it is known worldwide is NOT good for the company or their profit margin. People are very, very pissed off and there is already a petition with over 120,000 signatures against him. On top of which his attitude toward their own employees is sick and I would recommend the employees file suit against him for harrasment. He is indeed a evil and twisted man. This is NOT normal behavior or attitude and should NOT be accepted as such. Well that's my 2 cents worth, your mileage may vary.
I'm old not dead. (Nov8tr is pronounced innovator)
I only have what was posted so I can't comment on his other dealings. But if he was addressing Deutche Bank (which by the way funded a fomer company that I had worked for) then anything he said that was posted there would not be considered beyond the pale.
As I read that my first thought was exactly this "change the names of what he is talking about and I've sat through all this before".
So if he is really a jerk then he is a jerk. But based upon what was posted, he just seems like any other ceo I've known.
Godfred's Tomb Trailer: https://youtu.be/-nsXGddj_4w
Original Skyrim: https://www.nexusmods.com/skyrim/mods/109547
Serph toze kindly has started a walk-through. https://youtu.be/UIelCK-lldo
Not so, most CEOs are actually very careful about how they express themselves in public. This guy has not only shown himself to be an abusive boss, bad for both company morale and investors confidence, but has managed to alienate a large segment of his companys target audience. All because of his comments, let alone his record or management calls. That is unacceptable for someone in his position, pr is something a company head should take seriously and either engage in it with caution or leave to the experts altogether. As much as i may loathe WOW i wish no gamer trouble with the way their MMOs are handled.
Just to make things clear...
I speak for myself and no one else, unless i state otherwise mine is just an opinion. A fact is something that can be independently verified, you may challenge such but with proof. You have every right to disagree with me through sound argument, i believe in constructive debate, but baseless aggression will warrant an unkind response.
that is true, most ceo's are more careful about how they speak in public.
It just seemed to me that he was speaking to investors and talking about how he wanted to increase sales.
This to me is not a controversial statement:
“In the last cycle of videogames you spent $50 on a game, played it and took it back to the shop for credit. Today, we’ll (charge) $100 for a guitar. You might add a microphone or drums; you might buy two or three expansions packs, different types of music. Over the life of your ownership you’ll probably buy around 25 additional song packs in digital downloads. So, what used to be a $50 sale is a $500 sale today.”
This to me, if said to investors is also not a controversial statement:
And he’s not just setting his sights on Guitar Hero and WoW fans. Talking about upcoming and expensive Activision titles such as Modern Warfare 2, Kotick said: “if it was left to me, I would raise the prices even further.”
I can't say that he's not a jerk and don't know how he has acted in public. But based on those statements, they seem in line with a ceo who is interested in milking his products. I can't say that this doesn't go on all the time during meetins with producers and investors regarding making films and movie tie-ins.
It would seem that he is a rather colorful character...
http://arstechnica.com/gaming/news/2009/01/activisions-bobby-kotick-brings-cash-but-not-heart.ars
yet of course it's no surprise that forbes would report him in a different light...
http://www.forbes.com/forbes/2009/0202/052_3.html
It seems that in the end he is about business. Companies have had controversial CEO's before. As long as he keeps brning in money he will be tolerated. Companies don't get rid of CEO's that bring in money. If what he's saying starts affecting sales then that will be a different thing.
But as I said before, the quotes I read were pretty much in line with other meetings that I have attended. It's cynical, yes, but i find the business world quite cynical.
lol one more:
http://www.economist.com/people/displaystory.cfm?story_id=14209881
The thing is I'm so used to these people by now that when I hear people talking about "leveraging" and "productizing" I just take it as par for the course.
Not to say that I agree with them but for every blog by a gamer or industry indisder who hates peeople like this you are going to find articles from the business end who praise him for the work he's done or paing him as an industry bad boy.
Godfred's Tomb Trailer: https://youtu.be/-nsXGddj_4w
Original Skyrim: https://www.nexusmods.com/skyrim/mods/109547
Serph toze kindly has started a walk-through. https://youtu.be/UIelCK-lldo
at least they're expanding on it...
If anyone, like myself, had bought Steel Battalion it'd be nice to have something else to play using the big ass control setup. Was hoping Microsoft would expand on the Mechwarrior series, instead they released those video game abortions called MechASSault and capcom never came out with any more material other than the expansion.
So just imagine if you bought the whole damned music set... for just one game and they never did more with it. Then you can feel butthurt.
"There is only one thing of which I am certain, and that's nothing is certain."
that is true, most ceo's are more careful about how they speak in public.
It just seemed to me that he was speaking to investors and talking about how he wanted to increase sales.
This to me is not a controversial statement:
“In the last cycle of videogames you spent $50 on a game, played it and took it back to the shop for credit. Today, we’ll (charge) $100 for a guitar. You might add a microphone or drums; you might buy two or three expansions packs, different types of music. Over the life of your ownership you’ll probably buy around 25 additional song packs in digital downloads. So, what used to be a $50 sale is a $500 sale today.”
This to me, if said to investors is also not a controversial statement:
And he’s not just setting his sights on Guitar Hero and WoW fans. Talking about upcoming and expensive Activision titles such as Modern Warfare 2, Kotick said: “if it was left to me, I would raise the prices even further.”
I can't say that he's not a jerk and don't know how he has acted in public. But based on those statements, they seem in line with a ceo who is interested in milking his products. I can't say that this doesn't go on all the time during meetins with producers and investors regarding making films and movie tie-ins.
The first comment; This depends very much on context, i agree. But even investors dont want to see you come off as openly greedy. They care about the bottom line and thats in numbers and projections, not the speech. He couldve added some comments about "enhancing customers experience" or "making more content available to users" to provide a context in which his words could reflect more of a concern for his companys product and how it reaches its target audience. This is something investors like, the number crunching theyll do back at the office.
The second comment; Amateurish at best. This shows contempt for the player base. "We are looking into readjusting some of our product prices to better reflect market conditions. Ofc we should be careful to consider our customer needs..." See, what i did there? Add "maximize profits" somewhere else and the message is crystal clear for investors while still allowing the fanboy a chance to think the company head keeps his interest at heart. The "we" dilutes responsability making a price raise seem more a result of "market conditions" determined by a team of professionals, than a personal decission the CEO fought to have implemented, which of the two you think customers would find easier to swallow? Both people downloading songs for Guitar Hero and WOW subscribers are regular customers. You cannot give your detractors any ammo that might make you loose some of them. Since both comunities are also regular internet users this becomes a consideration. I dont know what kind of investor would not agree with me on this.
Every little bit counts, a professional knows this. If youve gotten too big to care about the effect a couple of careless comments could have on even a handful of customers, then you really arent trying your best anymore. And we are talking bussiness, not games.
The thing about being preocupied only about games with franchise or otherwise exploitable potential comes to credibility. Imagine a publisher saying they only care about best sellers. Even if thats their actual editorial policy (and there are more than a few printing houses like that) they know they need to keep some image of respectability amongst readers. People are not going to want to be seen buyings books from a publisher that never prints serious works, and having a flop may see people become more unforgiving because of arrogance. This does hurt the bottom line. Happens amongst movie studios as well. Ivory Merchant specialized on "elegant" productions, most of which were aimed at a mainstream audience. They had to produce some ocassional cinema flop to keep their rep up amongst critics and more cultured audiences. Pixar managed to get along on technical achievement at the begining, but had to make something like Wall-E to earn repectability. Im not being a cynic about it, im pretty sure people in both companies believe in their work, and perhaps the ocassional masterpiece is what keeps them going through the more dull, dumbed down commercial stuff that they get their real money from.
Videogames also have their own audience, and its increasingly become educated and refined in its tastes. Claiming your company will only produce games for the masses not only drives away potential customers, but may make your current player base take a closer look at the quality of the content theyre already paying for. Claiming an idea will be valued solely for its commercial value may be akin to saying to some players they can expect nothing but gimmicks (like guitar hero, as much as ive enjoyed this game) or tried and proven stuff (like WOW, as much as i dislike it). Not something that will help sales with an audience that thrives on inovation. Whatever they may say behind closed doors really is none of our concern. We will judge a company according to its actions. But what they say in front of the press...
Edit; sry for wall of text, didnt realize until i posted
Just to make things clear...
I speak for myself and no one else, unless i state otherwise mine is just an opinion. A fact is something that can be independently verified, you may challenge such but with proof. You have every right to disagree with me through sound argument, i believe in constructive debate, but baseless aggression will warrant an unkind response.
I have just spent the last hour and half following links about Activision and dear old Bobby. Just google for "petitions against Activision" and let the fun begin. This guy is beyond asshat. He is hated worldwide. There are BROKERAGE companies calling for investors to demand his resignation or firing. Its not just gamers and its not just their games either. They have a Wow mouse that is shocking people because they were manufactured defective. And the list goes on. This guy's attitude of money over everything and everybody else is actually reaching into the dangerous zone by junk manufacturing so he can make his almighty buck. I worked in the investment field for 2yrs during the 80's so I do have a little idea of how its suppose to work and how business models function. This man needs to sell hamburgers, like at the front counter, not even management. Well that's my 2 cents worth, your mileage may vary.
I'm old not dead. (Nov8tr is pronounced innovator)
I dislike this guy for his tonnes of bullshit.
http://www.havenandhearth.com
The Best New Sandbox Game Out There.
lol @ the people who seem to be surprised by such comments being made by someone like this. What? Did you think they were in it for charity and only cared about making good quality games to please people out of the goodness of their hearts? Please cut yourself if you did. Obviously theyre in it for the money and will exploit anything they can to make even more money... which is just 1 more reason why MMOs and much of gaming in general is in the state its in.
Or does it just sting actually hearing one of them say the truth because you couldnt figure out that much of it for yourself? Some of you sound like you just got told Santa, or their religion isnt real and cant handle that what they believed was a lie
He's only saying what the rest of the execs in the industry are thinking.
Commercial game makers aren't trying to be your best friend. They are only interested in your money.
"" Voice acting isn't an RPG element....it's just a production value." - grumpymel2
No I am not surprised by what he said. Yes i know they are not our friends. Yes I know they are only interested in our money. You have missed the point entirely. Flew completely over your head. The point is that Bobby has gone MILES beyond OK, MILES beyond acceptable. He is so far out of control Acitvision's own investors have called for his dismissal. Anyone who thinks what he is saying is OK or normal has a serious problem. They need to stop playing computer games and play checkers instead. Because they are part of the problem that allows asshats like Bobby to do what he is doing. By saying "oh its normal" and giving him your money YOU are telling him it IS OK in your eyes.You are saying its OK for him to bend you over and screw you silly. Well it's not OK with me or the over 100,000 people who signed a petition against him. Its not OK to a large number of investors or several of the investment firms who have called for a vote on him. They think his attitude is NOT good for business or for their pockets. This kind of behavior may be what other executives may be "dreaming of", but it cannot be allowed to continue or YOUR favorite games will end up costing more than your car and won't be worth playing. If you even what to own them at that point. Wake up people the house is on fire.
I'm old not dead. (Nov8tr is pronounced innovator)
His attitude isn't okay with me, I just understand it.
His investors aren't upset with his attitude, but with his admission of it.
"" Voice acting isn't an RPG element....it's just a production value." - grumpymel2
Ok that I will agree with. But it still needs to stop. And I for one will not give them my money to screw me . Like the saying goes "the buck stops here".
I'm old not dead. (Nov8tr is pronounced innovator)
Don't give ANY of the big companies your money, then, because they all think the same way.
We are all sheep to be shorn. Only the lures to get us to walk into the docks are different.
"" Voice acting isn't an RPG element....it's just a production value." - grumpymel2
I don't believe Kotick speaks on behalf of Blizzard Entertainment. He can't walk into Blizzard offices and tell Mike Mor. to up the price on something. I don't hate Blizzard but I do hate Activision. I grew up on Blizzard games and I love their unique style in gameplay/fluid controls as well as artists. My love for Blizzard goes a lot deeper and way further back than most of you that have a vendetta against their MMO. Though I've seen some coorperate slander in Blizzard these late years that I believe were influenced by the Activision partnership, I can still strongly tell that at the end of the day it is Blizzard's call on what they want to do.
Kotick is a <insert your favorite insult here> and is a disgrace to the art of gaming in general. Lets just say if someone was shooting at me and he was near me I wouldn't hesitate to use him as a shield. I really have no sympathy for the guy as he shows none to the gaming community.
Cant blame the guy really, if I was running a business I would have the same goals. Luckily I joined the Army instead of going to college or starting my own business so I never have to worry about being wealthy. No one can ever accuse me of being greedy when Im broke