Evil Activision CEO Bobby Kotick has been shooting his evil mouth off again, upsetting gamers with his evil opinions. This latest is aimed at those who want original IP, with Kotick arguing that people like sequels, so why bother doing anything new?
"A small segment of very vocal gamers say everything has to be new and different every year," explains Kotick (evilly). "Actually, people are happy with existing franchises, provided you innovate within them."
As much as I'd like to disagree with Kotick, I can't do so in good faith. What he says is true, people are happy to accept sequel after sequel after sequel. However, I wouldn't say that's a good thing, more a problem with the mainstream consumer. Just because a "small segment of very vocal gamers" believes something, that doesn't mean they're wrong.
The problem with Activision is that it sees zero merit whatsoever in an original franchise that isn't whored out with endless sequels and spin-offs. There is room for both original, standalone titles and huge franchises, but with Activision, you need to guarantee that your game will see at least ten followups or it isn't interested. That, I think, is Kotick's biggest problem.
Y'know, that and his blood pacts with Satan's grim wizards.
Contest:
1:15 PM on 08.20.2009
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People will purchase quality product, if properly executed and marketed, sequel or no.
What he says, even if upsetting to same vocal people is totally accurate. People may complain about it, yet we will see a lot of people (and I mean A LOT) buying Call of Duty 6, Assasins Creed 2, Halo 3.5, Guitar Hero 7 and Final Fantasy 13...
I get the hate for Activision and Kotick, but he is a business man, and one thing you can't complain about him with that quote is that he doesn't know their audience.
Activision is a business. Bobby Kotick is making Activision money, and by proxy, happy. Kotick is doing a damn good job at sucking consumers dry in every facet of the market possible. Hell, he's even exploiting things like DLC in every way possible to build his empire.
What Activision will do one day, when they hit some sort of monetary ceiling, is realize:
Oh my God. We look like total pricks.
Their PR will have a complete overhaul, and Kotick will be forced out because he can't keep his mouth shut.
Honestly, Kotick is a complete asshole: it's not WHAT he's doing, it's HOW he's doing it. He literally mocked consumers last week, which I've never even HEARD of before in business. You can take everyone for all their worth, like the consumer whore/lambs that they are, but actually coming out and taunting them for it?
@Magnalon: I can't wait for that day to come. Do you think that's what happened to EA?
Not all businessmen or CEO are pricks, but I do think that it's a job pricks are very, very good at.
I wish someone would pull a John Shephard and have enough of his snide insinuations. (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FESOPPP5YEQ if you don't know what I'm talking about)
I've already committed to never buy another Activision game ever again (including MW2), and this just helps me renew that commitment.
http://www.economist.com/people/displaystory.cfm?story_id=14209881
Also, GH6 will flop. I'm calling it. Then he will change his tune. Unless Dj Hero does well, then its just a change in focus....
It's kinda like drug addiction. You may start out getting the good shit, but after a while, it doesn't matter what quality it is -- you need your fix. That's what's happening here. Game companies are no longer as eager to risk their multi-million dollar budgets for something that may or may not sell because it's innovative.
Consumers keep buying the "safe" stuff they keep putting out because there aren't any other obvious alternatives. Some of us find that in indie or flash games, but the majority of game consumers aren't the kind of consumers here on D'toid. Gaming is so mainstream now that there's no longer a market to please "purists", or those that demand a more satisfying and differentiated experience. I do, however, hope Kotick has his day. I loathe being treated like a fucking statistic or coin purse.
Jackass.
People like originality AND people like sequels. There's probably room in this word for both. Just because something is a sequel doesn't make it any worse than a game that isn't. I praise originality, but without sequels we wouldn't have Call of Duty 4, Ocarina of Time, or Half-Life 2, which are very original each in their own way while still being sequels.
Oh, wait. Sorry, I had a thought of my own there for a second. Activision is evil blah blah blah.
... and the vicious cycle begins again...
Sequel: The next in the series. Mario Galaxy. Final Fantasy 13.
Sequel: Tosh like Guitar Hero 234, Modern Warfare 4672456.
As far as those other examples? Christ, there's no winning with that kind of logic. Is it a sequel? BOO ACTIVISION, STIFLING CREATIVITY! Is it original? BOO ACTIVISION, THEY JUST WANT TO MAKE SEQUELS! Criminy.
Publishers have yearly cash cows to be able to afford to take risks on new games and IPs. That's why I excuse EA's yearly milking of football fratboys, since they gave us games like Rock Band, Dead Space, and Mirror's Edge.
I am not putting money towards Kotick's next gold plated car that runs on Leprechauns.
You think he wouldn't be greedy purely on the fact that WoW alone will be a steady source of income for his company. Maybe the other CEO's of companies made fun of him at the recent "people who are rich as fuck" function, and he's feeling like he did in elementary school all over again.
Kotick is still being a prick about the way he's going about announcing these things though.
We enable him to be a dick and publish sequels over interesting new games.
I for one will not buy this years sports game, I'll get last years pre-owned at a fraction of the price, fuck the 2 new features, fuck the rosters.
I've got a guitar hero, I will not be buying a new one.
I'm going to try as hard as i can to avoid buying MW2, but if i see it cheap on ebay or pre-owned somewhere (yeah right) I'll probably pick it up.
But i will avoid giving Kotick ammo by buying any Activision sequel new at retail.