Activision Threatens to Drop Support for Sony Platforms [Update]
Bobby Kotick of Activision has threatened that if Sony does not drop the price of the PS3, that they will drop support for all Sony platforms.
This news comes courtesy of Times Online. Kotick had this to say on the matter of the PS3.
“I’m getting concerned about Sony; the PlayStation 3 is losing a bit of momentum and they don’t make it easy for me to support the platform. It’s expensive to develop for the console, and the Wii and the Xbox are just selling better. Games generate a better return on invested capital on the Xbox than on the PlayStation”
Kotick then went on about the price of the PS3, and how they need to lower it.
“They have to cut the price, because if they don’t, the attach rates [the number of games each console owner buys] are likely to slow. If we are being realistic, we might have to stop supporting Sony. When we look at 2010 and 2011, we might want to consider if we support the console — and the PSP [portable] too.”
Unfortunately for Sony, losing a publisher as big as Activison would be a huge loss for the company. Remember, Activision holds such key franchises as Guitar Hero and Call of Duty. Guitar Hero alone grossed more than $1 billion dollars last year.
What do you think on this matter? Post your thoughts and feelings below.
Update: Sony Computer Entertainment Europe has responded to Activision’s threat:
“We respect our third-parties’ opinions and their right to express those opinions but we will not be commenting on this story.”
42 Responses to “Activision Threatens to Drop Support for Sony Platforms [Update]”
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June 19th, 2009 at 1:20 PM
WTF are u serious… ok Iv heard of customers complaining but the developers??? Sony is doing great in my eyes they have been picking up steam for a bit now… but it is very true that sony needs to have a price drop, Ill admit it they really need a price drop, real bad. If only that Slim PS3 rumor was true…. hmmmm
June 19th, 2009 at 1:21 PM
Whatttttt!! Is he serious man… WTF
June 19th, 2009 at 1:28 PM
i think Activision’s just afraid to compete against all the awesomeness coming exclusively to our beloved PS3 this year and years to come. so of course they’re gonna come up with some lame excuse like this. it would hurt, but Sony’s not gonna let one little game company bully them into dropping the price. nice try Craptivision. lol
June 19th, 2009 at 1:29 PM
I’m gonna call their bluff.
June 19th, 2009 at 1:30 PM
what a fucking douche are you kidding me??? That has to be the most retarded statement ever. Is it april 1st?
I don’t get it, especially after such a strong showing at E3? Did he get fooled by ms’s smoke an d mirrors too??
Its almost like ms paid the guy to say that shit. A publisher as big as activision?? Thats like saying EA wont dev for ps3, its just plain retarded. He’s talking about profit?? weren’t they JUST spewing about how CoD is the goose that lays golden eggs???
You already see the valve douche starting to eat his words. If he said this last year, or the year before it would make a LITTLE more sense, but seriously???
fuck that, fuck a price drop, fuck all the haters and/or fools, and especially fuck those that cater to them.
the playstation 3 that my broke ass paid $599.99 for is worth every fucking penny.
June 19th, 2009 at 1:31 PM
@john draisely
EXACTLY, calling their bluff. they just got paid off to try and push more people on the fence on over to the xbox..
June 19th, 2009 at 1:32 PM
WOW. What a dumb move by Activision. Many 3rd party devs are making a LOT of money on the Playstation products. Konami, Take-Two and I believe EA have a significant amount of their income deriving from the PS3.
June 19th, 2009 at 1:42 PM
Last time I checked Activision games have been quite profitable on the PS3. Every Guitar Hero and Call of Duty have made at least one million. Simply dismissing those sales would be a huge mistake on their part.
Yes Sony needs a price drop, but to ignore the 22 million PS3’s and 50 million PSP’s is extremly ignorant, and may in the long run hurt them more then they think.
June 19th, 2009 at 1:49 PM
ill post everything i posted on ARS site:
the only game they have that could hurt the system.. is the call of duty series. Thats it. guitar hero series are lame remakes on disk with very little improvements. Im sure Rock band would love them out of the PS3 market and knowing Sony and harmonics, they’d create something only for the PS3. The old PS3 is hard to program for excuse is old. Thats been proven by many other developers. Yes, some still lack but thats there fault for not stepping the game up. i do see where hes coming from a business sense but lets be real. i dont think there in a high position to make such a BOLD statement. They have COD. they cant ignore them..
what are they gonna do? sell there number 1 COD franchise on the wii alone? lol. Than what? force Nintendo into an HD system to keep it visually competitive as the 360? They have reported that there games barely sell on the WII. MANY other sites have made remarks on GH that its ” just another GH disk but worth it if your a GH fan” also communities have voiced the SAME opinion. i remember Harmonics went on record saying they want to expand there RB franchise threw music updates and cross compatibility in each version and avoid next year releases. Do i have and play GH? yes, but stopped after world tour. The only reason i have GHWT is because it was given as a gift. There big seller IS COD.
The price drop is coming, they just want it now. i know a few non Sony developers going on record saying that its just an excuse to be lazy. Even Tomonobu Itagaki maker of the Ninja Gaiden franchise said the same, just more blunt and egotistical. Saying: you think the PS3 is hard to program for? ask developers to make an hot selling 8bit game. He laughed and said Thats hard to program for. Even he went on record calling developers lazy. What people fail to see is that the BIGGEST system seller last Gen had the same problems and criticism. (PS2). 10 years is more than enough time to make people forget last Gens drama.
Not sure why the stupid ass threats. I always thought they were doing good. There COD franchise sell on the PS3 and have been noted as having better visuals for a muti platform game. Sounds like something internal. People fail to see Sony is not in 1rst spot anymore and last year and this year sales have been improving including content and there slowing moving forward. The same thing happen with the PS1 and PS2. They said the same thing about the “emotion engine” on the PS2 and after about 2-3 years (same time frame) things had a rapid burst in game development, programming and content.
Sony learned there lesson this gen and have been doing an incredible job on fixing the Playstation brand. its seams like Activision IS the new EA. We should call them the ActiNazi. Also final thought..
never trust a grown man who goes by the name of Bobby.
06/19/2009 at 2:29 PM
Very good post buddy. I agree with everything you said.
June 19th, 2009 at 2:13 PM
@Shadowjin:
If you didn’t copy and paste that comment I’ll give you 10 points. =P
June 19th, 2009 at 2:16 PM
i dont EVER heres my original post, just look for everything that says Shadowjin ..
http://arstechnica.com/gaming/news/2009/06/activision-leaving-ps3-psp-doubtful-but-threat-remains.ars
avoid the arguments with some crazy tech guy i correct
i copy and pasted my own words just moved it here. haha. there broken down since it was several post/discussions.
click on view comments. 2 pages
06/19/2009 at 2:20 PM
Haha, alright. You get 10 points from me too.
June 19th, 2009 at 2:20 PM
Go ahead activision. Fuck you, fuck off, I’m boycotting your shit anyway. Make my fucking day you piece of shit company. I fucking HATE activision. Screw Tony Hawk Ride, Screw DJ Hero, leave Brutal Legend alone, it’s not yours. You sell 199 dollar instrument bundles, you try and force other companies to bend to your will, you’re no company of mine.
I love EA. They’re doing everything that you do, but better. I love my mirror’s edge, burnout, I don’t need Modern Warfares and shit. Activision who the fuck do you think you are, Activision I don’t care how many sales you get. You’re worse than Actinazi… You are the NGO (New Gaming Order) and I’d rather see you stopped. Quit suing companies, quit blocking support for things like instruments, quit releasing games instead of track packs that work with previous copies, quit being greedy assholes.
June 19th, 2009 at 2:25 PM
If that’s the case, how about they release their titles as downloads ala Burnout Paradise? Then that’s more return on their investments I’m sure.
June 19th, 2009 at 2:27 PM
@MakaiOokami
I don’t HATE activision, but their history of actions does piss me off..and I do agree with most of the things you said, minus the fact that I already reserved MW2
and why doesn’t activision make their own system…I’d like to see them charge less than $500 for it…considering how much money they try to suck out of people- and I doubt it would have nearly the features of the PS3. They’d probably charge $100 for their own Actibliz Online anyway.. PS3 60GB was one of the best $600 purchases my household has made…I don’t regret getting one at ALL!!! BLU-RAY, FREE PSN, built in wi-fi, large hard-drive, Other OS Support, awesome PSN exclusives, psp compatibility, HOME, and dozens of great titles- I don’t need another system….unless I can get another ps3…that’d be cool haha.
June 19th, 2009 at 2:37 PM
I’m loving these responses.
Oh, and shadowjin, I donated some points your way. Good post. =)
June 19th, 2009 at 2:41 PM
sobody needs a hug
June 19th, 2009 at 2:48 PM
Wow, that’s interesting and very surprising to hear from someone representing a 3rd party developer.
June 19th, 2009 at 2:50 PM
if they pull call of duty 5 from the ps3 im gunna be PISSED
06/19/2009 at 3:06 PM
Well actually its Modern Warfare 2
, but I agree.
June 19th, 2009 at 3:19 PM
Thankfully I’ve never really bought any of their games, I purchased GH2 when I had a 360 but I’ve never bought any games from them, there are zero games that catch my attention from them.
Good luck ActiBliz… I mean Activision, I won’t be missing anything at all from them.
June 19th, 2009 at 3:42 PM
So very true shadowjin.
I myself believe that we will see a shift as the 360 gets tapped out and developers start looking for that extra power, as consumers will be seeing things on the PS3 that we can’t even imagine yet.
The price drop will come, but programming crap PC code for the 360 vs quality code on the PS3 is just a matter of how lazy a studio is (especially with the tools available today). And like I say, eventually the consumers are going to be demanding more power, and then MS will have to release a more expensive machine while the PS3 will still be going strong and even stronger. Microsoft’s head start in the next gen gaming arena will eventually come back to bite them.
Nintendo will always be a strong player as they have been since the 1800s with the card games just as Sony will always be a major player as they have proven with the PSone and PS2.
Bobby will be eating his words, I’m sure of that.
June 19th, 2009 at 4:20 PM
The information below was put together by a guy on Neogaf. I’m just posting a small part of it. The numbers below show how many consoles the PS3 and 360 sold starting from when the PS3 launched.
Microsoft: 6.6 + 8.7 + 10 = 25.3m (33 months sales; dating Jul 2006 – Apr 2009)
Sony: 4.23 + 10 + 8.5 = 22.73m (30 months sales; dating Sept 2006 – Mar 2009)
That’s taking into a count 3 extra monts of sales for the 360. When you add in 5 mil that the 360 sold in the year before the PS3 launched you have the 30 mil that MS have said that they’ve sold. If the PS3 and 360 are selling so closely then I’d like him to explain the hard numbers from the companies themselves.
June 19th, 2009 at 5:57 PM
This guy is an idiot (or maybe too many MS dollars have spoken to him).
Last I heard the PS3 has a great attachment rate and the Wii rate sucks.
So run after the 360 and the Wii and make your company die faster….I know I won’t support it anymore until you’re fired “Bobby”.
June 19th, 2009 at 6:07 PM
Apparently, they would lose 40% of their revenue if they dropped support for all PlayStation platforms.
http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showpost.php?p=16361197&postcount=154
June 19th, 2009 at 6:17 PM
So obviously, it would be a very bad move on Activision’s part to drop the Sony platform. xD
June 19th, 2009 at 7:03 PM
thanks for the support.. this type of news annoys me more than anything. even if its sounds rude, im not trying to be.
Sony’s response is pretty funny…
on a side note, its times like these id wish the Japanese would form a deadly alliance aka Nintendo and Sony. i lost alot of respect for Natzivision today.
June 19th, 2009 at 7:11 PM
[...] with Activision threatening to drop support for the PSP and PS3, this may be the last great game launch from the powerhouse [...]
June 19th, 2009 at 8:48 PM
Confidence is contagious. So is lack of confidence.
Vince Lombardi
June 20th, 2009 at 12:20 AM
Well since the original Playstation came from a fallout of R&D between Nintendo and Sony I doubt we will see the super JP alliance. But man I wish they would just put the smack down on MS. I remember when games use to come from JP and we would wait for them to be translated and now so many development studios are in America and the quality has fallen. Sorry off topic, but so true.
June 20th, 2009 at 12:34 AM
Many people (specially at GAF) are speculating that this is just a ploy by Activision to make more money (duh)….Because if Sony lowers their console price, Microsoft / Nintendo will almost be forced to lower their respective consoles. This, in turn, means more consoles sold, which means more games sold, which means a higher profit margin for Activision.
June 20th, 2009 at 1:15 AM
@Kyle P
Sony gets attention in this case. It’s really up to Sony to use this as a pro. NatziVision ramble is actually good since Sony might make a move.Yes, i feel it should not be forced because than others will follow. many people say Microsoft paid Nativision to say this. how credible is that? Some have gone out on a limb and said Sony paid NaziVision to play reverse psychology. Natzivision boss knows something we dont. its random news and it makes no sense with only THEM making flow. And regardless what he says, we know Natzivision can’t ignore Sony, 40% is alot of market share. Every time Sony’s starts moving and fixes issues a random blast of anti-momentum appear. You being a writer, im sure you read that article where Sony stated “the only exclusives you can count are on your own”. Sadly, there correct. Do you remember when Natzivision nearly went to hell in the 90’s, and they were a worthless nobody company? NatziVision statement is like a car with a Billion doors, it can be looked at from a Billion point of views , In essence, it is also like a car with no engine or a steering wheel, even if it could find the correct answer, it would be pointless to do so.
June 20th, 2009 at 1:32 AM
What Sony should do is get more first party and indie developers working for the Playstation brand, instead of lazy ass greedy publishers and devs. Sony are good at it! Just look @ the diversity and quality of 1st party games, both, current PS3/PSP library and upcoming games. M$ can’t say that! So does Nintendo (sadly, in my opinion, Nintendo’s quality has decreased over the recent years). Most of 360’s in house games are either shooters, b-games dressed as aaa games. The same can be said to PSN vs. XBLA games, and no, quantity doesn’t make up for quality.
So basicallly SCREW YOU NAZIVISION!!! Sony get full support from Harmonix so we can get exclusive and better content from the RB brand (BTW: RB:The Beatles owns GH5 by far), who needs COD/MW games when we can have MAG, Soccom, The Agency or any new IP sony can make! And finally, Skate owns Tony Hawk anyways.
June 20th, 2009 at 10:35 AM
Blah, bla, bla, I highly doubt they will give up the cash.
June 20th, 2009 at 2:31 PM
[...] With the popularity of this product it’s no wonder that Activision releases a new Call of Duty game every year. It will be interesting to see not only what kind of sales Modern Warfare 2 will manage, but also the amount of sales of its inevitable future map packs, especially with Activision threatening to drop support for Sony’s platforms. [...]
June 20th, 2009 at 3:44 PM
[...] over the recent Activision-related news? You shouldn’t be, because Sony certainly isn’t! Patrick Seybold, a [...]
June 20th, 2009 at 4:16 PM
good riddance, Activision’s games suck IMO.
June 22nd, 2009 at 3:49 AM
[...] PlayStation LifeStyle [...]
June 24th, 2009 at 6:03 PM
[...] Recently, Activision made a statement that they would drop support for all PlayStation platforms, unless a PS3 price drop was made. You can read about that story here. [...]
July 7th, 2009 at 11:21 AM
[...] how targeting all consoles is the only way to ensure market saturation. And he is confused about Activision’s recent comments about dropping support for Playstation products. “I’m not sure what Activision means in those [...]
July 8th, 2009 at 6:04 PM
[...] to cut the PS3’s price. Leading the charge was Activision CEO Bobby Kotick, who literally threatened to drop all support for Sony consoles, if they did not lower the PS3’s initial pricepoint. “He likes to [...]
July 17th, 2009 at 11:55 AM
[...] Bobby Kotick’s choice words for Sony sparked outrage amongst PS3 fans, and quickly became one of the most controversial subjects of the summer. The outspoken CEO suggested Activision would drop support for PlayStation if Sony didn’t lower the price point on the PlayStation 3. The glare of the corporate flames shine a light on what is actually a very bold statement, coming from a publisher responsible for some of this years most expensive video games. Basically Activision has a lot of nerve. [...]
August 7th, 2009 at 12:35 AM
[...] PlayStation gamer knows who Bobby Kotick is. The CEO of Activision once threatened to drop support for PlayStation, and his company also raised the price of Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 to [...]
November 6th, 2009 at 8:34 PM
[...] price cut, he publicly threatened (whether his words had substance is another story) Sony to cut the price of the PS3, or Activision would cut support from the overpriced behemoth. Even more recently, PC gamers are furious that Modern Warfare 2, [...]