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After leaving Bizarre Creations in a ditch and driving off, I've lost what little sympathy I had for Activision.
If your taking the marketing risk and people are hating on you for the way your marketing/doing your business then somethings got to give -someones being a jerk somewhere in that equation.. It also doesn't help much either when the face of your company runs around saying stupid crap most of the year I guess either.
I wouldn't have so much of a problem with Activision if they priced things what they were worth and not what they think they can get away with.
Certainly you wan't it to be profitable but how about giving your customers a bit more value for money.
Now they are talking about some service in addition with this Beachhead nonsense, what is it? premium subscription content? whatever it is I feel it' going to give gamers a raw deal.
Such a shame because I love CoD but Activision are going to cripple the franchise.
Certainly you wan't it to be profitable but how about giving your customers a bit more value for money.
Now they are talking about some service in addition with this Beachhead nonsense, what is it? premium subscription content? whatever it is I feel it' going to give gamers a raw deal.
Such a shame because I love CoD but Activision are going to cripple the franchise.
You just fired a bunch of employees at Bizarre who were reasonably successful UNTIL YOU enacted a hostile takeover of their company, and you think the reaction is "a little strong"?
Fuck you Alan, and fuck your whole company.
Fuck you Alan, and fuck your whole company.
Infinity Ward, Bizarre Creations and Red Octane might have some disagreements.
Also, how incredibly bone-headed must a corporation be to almost instantaneously make Guitar Hero go from top-dog of the gaming industry to being taken out to pasture? I mean, seriously - they got the series in 2007, and it didn't even take them five years to make it go from the hottest property in gaming to a pariah.
Sorry, Activision. You do have a few good developers under you, but they are very few, and if you keep the pace going you have set, they will become even fewer.
Also, how incredibly bone-headed must a corporation be to almost instantaneously make Guitar Hero go from top-dog of the gaming industry to being taken out to pasture? I mean, seriously - they got the series in 2007, and it didn't even take them five years to make it go from the hottest property in gaming to a pariah.
Sorry, Activision. You do have a few good developers under you, but they are very few, and if you keep the pace going you have set, they will become even fewer.
"It's risky to innovate and move the medium forward. The only way to make it as a publisher is to milk one franchise and overcharge our customers during a recession. We don't deserve to be called out on our shit and expect our fanbase to fellate us while we alienate them without mercy."
That's what I got from it, at least.
That's what I got from it, at least.
Activision was founded because Atari turned into a bad company to work for, churning out games, caring only about pure profit and not long term sustainability of the brands and of the business, and treating employees like a disposable resource. And now they've become that very thing.
You killed bizarre you pieces of shit. Don't feed me that bullshit. First gh, which could have been great if handled with care and responsibility, then cod and then bizarre. I know there were others as well but god the death of bizarre chaps my ass.
And before anyone gives me that "but it's a business" bullshit, all I can do is point at Valve, ID, Epic, Blizzard and the few others like them. You don't have to whore everything out to make a buck. Just support your fans and make great products and support them as well.
I just read several good reasons to loathe Activision... Activision's only defense is that it's rough to be a publisher. Sounds fair to me, Alan!
"If you can't take the heat, get out of the kitchen" applies here. Take responsibility for your decisions Activision. You find franchises that make money, run them into the ground, then move on to the next ones. You deserve any hate you get for that.
Like Popyman said, the hate is well deserved. They swarmed like locusts on a bunch of IPs, and dumped them on the side of the road. People won't forget Bizarre Creations.
It is clera that some of the responders do not know how Alan Miller is, what games he created, or that he no longer works at Activision.
Read, comprehend, post -- in that order, folks!
Read, comprehend, post -- in that order, folks!
If Activision was a company making business decisions then why did they put money into Singularity for years and then not advertise one bit. What the hell was that?
@ScottyG
That is indeed the very irony of Activision - they have become the very thing that they despised.
That is indeed the very irony of Activision - they have become the very thing that they despised.
You know what? Singularity was a great game and I like Raven as a developer. I don't hate Treyarch either (though they're not that great of a dev, tbqh).
But when you look at GH and how that played out - withing to dust before our very eyes and us calling the death long before it finally transpired - and then at Bizarre Creations who got fed to the wolves because their Bond game wasn't amazing (Yeah, as if they really could save the Bond series at this point...)
And then you look back at their legal assholery with Brutal Legend and Ghost Busters, the numerous quotes from good ol' Bobby "Show me the money!" Kotick, threatening SONY with pulling support, the whole IW fiasco...
Yeah, you know what. I don't hate Activision enough, tbqh. I think I've just become numb to them though I'll never buy another game from them full price. I really do hope Bungie is making an MMO just so I can write it off completely from the get go.
And it's not even that I love EA or Ubi or THQ or Zenimax. I'm not keen with what they do half of the time. But at least they're trying new things and are pumping out titles on a yearly...well, Ubi has AC now... But you know what I mean.
But when you look at GH and how that played out - withing to dust before our very eyes and us calling the death long before it finally transpired - and then at Bizarre Creations who got fed to the wolves because their Bond game wasn't amazing (Yeah, as if they really could save the Bond series at this point...)
And then you look back at their legal assholery with Brutal Legend and Ghost Busters, the numerous quotes from good ol' Bobby "Show me the money!" Kotick, threatening SONY with pulling support, the whole IW fiasco...
Yeah, you know what. I don't hate Activision enough, tbqh. I think I've just become numb to them though I'll never buy another game from them full price. I really do hope Bungie is making an MMO just so I can write it off completely from the get go.
And it's not even that I love EA or Ubi or THQ or Zenimax. I'm not keen with what they do half of the time. But at least they're trying new things and are pumping out titles on a yearly...well, Ubi has AC now... But you know what I mean.
A bit harsh? Really? You have the gall to charge $15 for a map pack and you don't think you deserve the anger and rage? I just hope that Bungie doesn't become another IW or Bizarre.
Risk? They have Blizzard feeding their fat asses for the next 400 years and they talk about risk? Fuck them! After what they're doing to Bizzare Creations, etc that can pretty much go to hell. Not to mention they squeeze the $hit out of their franchises and then give it the boot.
RAWR!! Wow, Activision makes me angry..time to go play World of BarbieCraft on my gamecube! Fluffy bunnies!!
RAWR!! Wow, Activision makes me angry..time to go play World of BarbieCraft on my gamecube! Fluffy bunnies!!
Riiiight, because Activision was the only company churning out music games. And no one got tired of playing them either. No, music games weren't a fad at all and they'd still be going strong if it weren't for Evilvision.
lol fuck you activision. might as well rename yourselves as Call of Duty. it's probably the only game you keep churning to be honest.
A bit strong? Kotick even admitted that he wants to milk out franchises for money and the co-founder find the hate a bit strong?
Take a walk in the park please.
Take a walk in the park please.
I love how consumers aren't allowed to have an opinion on a company anymore. How dare he tell us to tone it down a bit we decide your success. If the buying public thinks you're an asshole it's probably because you're company is being an asshole.
Activision should expect no sympathy after shutting down Bizarre. Yeah, they had it coming by selling their rights away but that doesn't make it any less douche-y.
"As a publisher, you’re taking the risk,"
Seems to me that its the developers under you that are taking the risk. After all, they keep getting fucked and you keep posting profits.
Seems to me that its the developers under you that are taking the risk. After all, they keep getting fucked and you keep posting profits.
@PhilK3nS3bb3n
I'm with you on the "Fuck Activision" part, but you *do* realize that Blizzard *is* part of Activision, right?
And before someone comes in with the PR spoon-fed "Blizzard acts on its own", bullshit. It's obvious that there's been a huge philosophy change at that company since the merger.
I'm with you on the "Fuck Activision" part, but you *do* realize that Blizzard *is* part of Activision, right?
And before someone comes in with the PR spoon-fed "Blizzard acts on its own", bullshit. It's obvious that there's been a huge philosophy change at that company since the merger.
Miller really should understand that the current Activision is not the wonderfully awesome Atari 2600 game making people of the early 80's. Fuck, it's not even the same company since they changed the name to Mediagenic in the 80's. They've become the movie industry. Blaming us for how shitty things are for them. I think I'll bust out my 2600 and play me some Keystone Kapers.
That's the nature of the business. When your business peaks you're under a microscope, then people actually notice your practices, ad everyone's a critic. I'm sure nothing Acti is doing or has done is that special. Desnt make it right but it does make them the biggest target.
@Xzyliac I got cha "Phone typos are totally lame" <--- :D
In Another note I don't hate activision I don't know any of them personally really and I know what they are doing is just business :/ so I'm not gonna hate them they haven't done anything to me for me to feel that strongly even though I do often disagree with their business practices.
In Another note I don't hate activision I don't know any of them personally really and I know what they are doing is just business :/ so I'm not gonna hate them they haven't done anything to me for me to feel that strongly even though I do often disagree with their business practices.
Is MW2 still a massive cheatfest on the PC side?
Is Black Ops still a buggy mess on the PC side?
Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on me.
Is Black Ops still a buggy mess on the PC side?
Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on me.
"Activision is the corporate equivalent of a child with access to unlimited amounts of ice cream -- it eats until it's sick, and other people have to deal with the mess."
And now that child is saying, "look, I eat a lot of ice cream, I shit my pants. Lay off me!"
And now that child is saying, "look, I eat a lot of ice cream, I shit my pants. Lay off me!"
@the7k
And that's why it's all the sadder that one of the original co-founders is defending their practices.
And that's why it's all the sadder that one of the original co-founders is defending their practices.
Hey Activision, revive Zork and I might start listening to the crap excuses. Not one bad game in the bunch (although Nemesis could have done with an injection of humour and Grand Inquisitor could have been a tad longer).
Because of Jim, my mental image of Kotick has become his MS paint version.
If Jim ends up having to to interview him I wonder if there would be an awkward tension both of them imaging the MS paint picture.
If Jim ends up having to to interview him I wonder if there would be an awkward tension both of them imaging the MS paint picture.
The last activision game I purchased was guitar hero 3 when it was first released. Then with all of the issues they were causing with cross game compatibility with the instruments I decided to never purchase anything by them again, something I have stuck to and will continue to stick to. Every interview I read with douchebag kotic and the whole infinity ward debacle has made it very easy to not buy their games.
I'm not sure that people hate Activision itself per say, but there's no denying that Bobby is unanimously loathed by all but himself. Sure, he's made Activision the giant it is today, but at the cost of several franchises and "fair" business practices. And for that he's won the affection of Wall Street at least.
The gun and ammunition are innocent, it's the person pulling the trigger that's guilty as sin.
The gun and ammunition are innocent, it's the person pulling the trigger that's guilty as sin.
Want to cut down on the hate?
Step 1: Put a fucking muzzle on Bobby Kotick. Get that man a fucking media handler he's not allowed to speak at events without so that they can take the stupid shit he says and spin it into a way that doesn't sound outright evil. The man's made quite a few comments and has actively become a target for gamer hate, and sooner or later that's going to start hitting the bottom line of profitability. The man is a damned PR nightmare. Fix that.
Step 2: Stop raping franchises and developers into the ground. Guitar Hero is dead because you produced ten console versions in the last two years. You killed the guys who made Project Gotham Racing because their first racing game outing did poorly... In large part because you chose to release it a bloody week after Split/Second and in the same timeframe as ModNation Racers.
Step 1: Put a fucking muzzle on Bobby Kotick. Get that man a fucking media handler he's not allowed to speak at events without so that they can take the stupid shit he says and spin it into a way that doesn't sound outright evil. The man's made quite a few comments and has actively become a target for gamer hate, and sooner or later that's going to start hitting the bottom line of profitability. The man is a damned PR nightmare. Fix that.
Step 2: Stop raping franchises and developers into the ground. Guitar Hero is dead because you produced ten console versions in the last two years. You killed the guys who made Project Gotham Racing because their first racing game outing did poorly... In large part because you chose to release it a bloody week after Split/Second and in the same timeframe as ModNation Racers.
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