Just when you thought this sh*t might be dying down Activision steps in and fires back. This firing/lawsuit controversy is like the biggest industry smack talking competition ever. EA is clearly winning at the moment, with Infinity Ward employees in a close second, but Activision is back with its own defense.
Activision COO Thomas Tippl is defending his company's treatment of game developers. "We treat our developers extremely well," he said this week. "We have an independent studio model that provides them a lot of creative freedom while we take care of the back office stuff so they can focus on making games.
"If their games are successful, they are compensated better here than anywhere else. We've been paying our talent millions of dollars for their work. Our setup provides a win-win opportunity. We ensure your work will reach a wide audience. Therefore, we have attracted, and we will continue to attract, the top talent in this industry."
Oh, snap!? Still in third I think.
Activision: Infinity Ward treated 'extremely well' [CVG]
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Contest:
10:00 AM on 04.18.2010
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Creative freedom while franchise whoring? Of course they have that freedom.
"If their games are successful, they are compensated better here than anywhere else (in China). We've been paying our talent millions of dollars for their work (and even then compared to what we've earned and how we treat them it's clearly a rip-off). Our setup provides a win-win opportunity (for us). We ensure your work will reach a wide audience (but scam devs out of their royalties). Therefore, we have attracted, and we will continue to attract, the top talent in this industry (until more bailing IW devs tell their story, which should be shortly)."
http://twitter.com/timoflegend/status/9865403393
What does this sentence even mean? Either that they pay each individual "talent" millions, unlikely. Or they collectively pay their thousands of employees millions of dollars in total, unsurprising.
Is that really the best defense they have? I'm sure McDonald's pays their "talent" millions of dollars, in total.
So those guys who invented Guitar Hero must really be loving it, since that's one if the most successful franchises ever, right? Oh wait...
If a game you made sells millions, you GET millions. 2+2=4.
Move on.
Activision always cracks me up.
So Modern Warfare 2 wasn't successful?
OH SNAP!
Guitar Hero = Drained
Call of Duty = Drained
Tony Hawk = Drained
Spiderman = Drained
Brutal Legend = Wait, didn't they drop that cause they couldn't make 10 spinoffs?
Warcraft = Coming soon - World Of Warcraft: World at War; Developed by Obsidian.
Sometimes problems run deeper than just money.
Ya, you need only ask that if a IW came over and said "we want to try making something original and not another call of duty game" how would Activision respond... if the answer is an obvious hell no, then you're not allowing creative freedom
oh and good job giving IW that 30 million bucks they earned for making one of the hottest selling games ever... they really appreciate it
Nothing More, Nothing less.
They should know that treating well its devs involves a lot more that a paying check. No wonder this IW x Activision is happening
Oh and Valve too. Probably why Bioware is with Activision, shit tons of money and creative freedom.
FAILSAUCE. gtfo
Activision has failed on both counts. Every team at Activision works on one franchise and one franchise alone (all of which have run their course), and Activision gives them absolutely no freedom to go in a new direction. Hell, they fought the whole idea of Modern Warfare tooth and nail, and that was from their most successful studio.
Once again, this is a case of suits running a business that requires at least SOME creative thinking - and the suits being completely incapable on comprehending that.
Creative freedom? Creative freedom?! You've made your employees work on the same game over six times over, I wouldn't call that creative freedom, more like milking.
Can't wait to see the conclusion to this legal battle.
>NO NO INFINITY WARD DON'T MAKE CALL OF DUTY 2 MODERN WARFARE MAKE IT WWII THAT WORKED BEFORE.
>OK, there you go. No more WWII.
>LOLNO WE HIRED ANOTHER COMPANY TO DO TWO MORE WWII CASH COWS WITH YOUR TITLE.
Next they will say that W and Z weren't fired, it was they who fired activision!
Can't buy Activision any love either.
my interview would've ended there, i would've been too busy laughing in his face.