The Boycott on Activision Begins
When you piss off the gaming community, you have quite a large enemy. This time, the enemy is Activision and it’s CEO Robert Kotick. And when gamers get angry, you’ll be most likely be hit by a powerful storm of fury.
Posted yesterdayon N4G, this Youtube video cries out for a boycott against Activision.
“Help spread the word by letting other news outlets know about this video.
Also make sure Activision know exactly how you feel about Robert Kotick and he continual attempts to kill the gaming industry with his corporate fat cat decisions that hurt the consumer and original IP’s. You Mr Kotick are a douchebag!”
Then, a new N4G article rose in the comments, again asking to boycott the company. This one however, came with a petition, which quickly garnered over 1000 signatures. This article has seemed to disappear though, unfortunately.
The boycott may seem unjustified to some, but to many others, it seems perfectly fine. Activision raised the price of Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 in European regions, making it cost almost $100 USD. The company also jacked up the price of the PC Version to $59.99, instead of the usual $49.99.
Most of the blame on this boycott is by Activison’s CEO Bobby Kotick, who has made shortsighted statements as of late. The CEO first threatened to removed support from the PlayStation platform if Sony didn’t drop the price of the PlayStation 3, which seemed a tad hypocritical considering the high prices of their titles and collectors editions.
Another thing that irked gamers was Activision’s decision to file a lawsuit against Double Fine and EA for releasing Brutal Legend. The first time around, Activision claimed that they still owned the rights to Brutal Legend. However, this was obviously false as the title was dropped by Activision during their merger with Blizzard. The publisher also accused Double Fine of owing them development funds used for the project before it was kicked to the curb.
It’s no different than asking employees for cash right after firing them, but apparently this didn’t bother them. But thankfully, Activision withdrew their legal tirade in the end and said an agreement was made.
Will you be boycotting Activision? Post your comments below!
43 Responses to “The Boycott on Activision Begins”
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August 9th, 2009 at 3:58 PM
I never planned on purchasing MW2, and now after all the things thats has been said by this man (Kotick) I don’t plan on purchasing any Actizzard games.
August 9th, 2009 at 4:02 PM
Although I can understand why people are upset, I’m not convinced that these same people will pass on Modern Warfare 2. However, I’d like nothing more but to be proved wrong.
btw, is this the petition?
http://www.petitiononline.com/cod6/petition.html
August 9th, 2009 at 4:11 PM
since im not getting mw2 ill join the boycott
August 9th, 2009 at 4:13 PM
I already have MW2 pre-ordered so I’ll see what happens between now and November. If Kotick says one more thing I don’t like then I will cancel the pre-order. If MW2 doesn’t blow my mind then I will never touch another Activision game at least until Kotick gets the boot, if not until they prove to me as an entire company that they care more about quality games than money. What I don’t understand is these companies get to be giants due to their amazing games and then once they get attached to the money they lose sight of quality and just want to push out a large number of games to make as much money as possible. It seems logical, and common sense, to me that if you just keep making great games and are loyal to your customers you will continue to be successful and grow without turning into yet another greedy corporation.
August 9th, 2009 at 4:13 PM
>.<
I want MW2 A LOT and I wanna boycott this homo also.
idk what to do :’(
August 9th, 2009 at 4:44 PM
you should be able to buy the game used after it’s been out for about a week, It’ll only be about 5 bucks cheaper but at lest Bobby No-Dick won’t be getting your money
August 9th, 2009 at 5:05 PM
That is the worst representation of the British gaming community. Thank God hes not an Aussie.
August 9th, 2009 at 5:06 PM
Buying used also hurts the developer that creates the game also so think about that if you boycott then boycott until the price is reduced to what you feel like paying and if you feel you really have to play the game rent it… At least that will satisfy your urge to play immediately, although it is like buying used with out the ownership. But that is another article…
August 9th, 2009 at 5:11 PM
ill boycott these asses and buy the game used from bb
August 9th, 2009 at 5:17 PM
I refuse to buy an Activision game until they apologize to us gamers. MW2 might be good, but I played COD4. I’ll just be getting MAG, and it will be fun enjoying something new.
August 9th, 2009 at 5:19 PM
Activision = the old EA. Too bad this hurts infinity ward, cause they are innocent in this whole debocale unlike their tyrant publisher activision. I hate how activision drives every major ip they own into the ground (tony hawk, guitar hero, call of duty), hence why infinity ward wanted to drop the name call of duty off their game to stand out
August 9th, 2009 at 5:30 PM
Oh no I’m addicted to cod4 and i was realy hoping to get MW2 i am going to buy MW2 used to save money. Well the rest of activisions line-up sucks so i wont miss much i was deliberating though RB or GH that guy made the choice for me
VIVA LA EA!!
August 9th, 2009 at 6:15 PM
The way things are going, there won’t be anything anyone will want to buy from them. It’s a shame Blizzard has been caught up in this, I’ve been a fan of them for ages, but their cutting up Starcraft II into three separate games combined with all this Activision mess means no sale for me.
Also, Jpat, please stop calling Kotick a homo.
August 9th, 2009 at 6:21 PM
yh brand new xbox 360 and PS3 in the UK RRP at £39.99
the RRP of Modern Warfare 2 is £55!!!
its disgraceful and very arrogent
August 9th, 2009 at 6:36 PM
With games like Uncharted 2, Borderlands, Alpha Protocol, Demon’s Soul, R&C future: ACIT, and tekken 6. I could very much pass MW2.
I’m with the boycott.
August 9th, 2009 at 6:45 PM
I Boycott all activision products. I hate that stupid bobby. Now other publishers might follow this path. ill be playing uncharted 2 instead
August 9th, 2009 at 7:13 PM
kotick’s smile even looks all money grabbing and perverted i hate this guy, i will most definetly be boycotting activision ubtill he’s out of the picture, which will hopefully be soon… i feel sorry for all the game designers that publish under the name of activision. and poor blizzard, they got bought out by the wrong company
August 9th, 2009 at 9:33 PM
MW2 is the last game I plan on purchasing from Activision..
Peace,
VG
August 9th, 2009 at 9:33 PM
I can boycott most activision titles, but I can’t boycott Blizzard. I’m a Blizzard fanboy. Blizzard games are what got me though some of my most depressing times in life. They are what I have some of my fondest memories of. They are the games I’ve spent the most time in, they are what got me into a lot of different types of games, and most importantly they are still fun as hell today and I’ve been waiting for these games for decades.
The good news is that Blizzard only makes games for about 2 years and then develops more games for like 5 or more years. So… I don’t have to give them money very often. XD
I seriously love Blizzard, asking me to boycott Blizzard would be like asking me to boycott my username MakaiOokami and everything that has to do with Hell or Wolves… (which would encompass Blizzard titles lol) It’s like asking Playstation Lifestyle to Boycott Sony. It’s asking me to boycott a part of myself.
Blizzard is part of activision in name only. Besides like I said, we won’t see any Blizzard titles for the next half a decade…
If Activision wants more money they should just release the multiplayer version online through PSN and XBL (probably won’t work on XBL) and charge like 40 USD maybe 50 USD. Then they can charge 20-30 USD for the single player stuff and bundle it for both at 60 USD. This would expand their market signficantly since they’d have an attractive price for people that don’t play online, and a deal for those who do. Of course the people who like both, can then buy both at normal cost, but those who can’t afford both right away can buy 1 and then buy the other 1 later.
That’s the way to increase profits and if no one is buying the single player stuff anymore just stop making it.
August 9th, 2009 at 9:48 PM
ummm….ACTIVISION has development costs? really? don’t they just make sequels to their games and use the same gaming engine?
Activision complaining about Development costs is like Valve complaining about Dev. cost, they both use the same systems/engines for all their games. how much money has Activision been making on Call of Duty DLC, and how much will they make on the MW2 DLC when it’s released?
why not stop working on crappy games or look at a movie and say, “I don’t think a game should be made for this”, that will save you a lot in development costs.
August 9th, 2009 at 10:24 PM
Phew! I almost bought shares of Activision Blizzard a couple months ago.
Not only do I think this will cut back on the number of people buying MW2, but this sends a signal out to shareholders that Activision is desperate to come up with some cash.
August 10th, 2009 at 1:04 AM
If you feel you have to buy an Activision game, why not buy it used?
You get the game, you support retailers and small businesses with your purchase and Activision doesn’t make a cent.
August 10th, 2009 at 2:08 AM
i’ve been eager to boycott them since they tried to bully Sony into dropping the price of the PS3. my PSN avatar comment even says “BOYCOTT Activision!”. a couple PSN friends have asked me why and i’ve explained my reasoning and urged them to read about it online. i really hope all us pissed gamers actually accomplish something and deter other publishers from trying to pull the same crap. oh, and one last thing. i’m really glad Activision dropped Brutal legend ’cause i’ve been looking foward to it for almost 2 years now and will be more than willing to purchase it brand new. EA has steadily been earning back my trust. of course it’s easier when i see Activision pulling total bone head stunts like this. GO EA! (never thought i’d say that.) lol
August 10th, 2009 at 5:07 AM
god this guys a idiot.
less preowned copies of burnout paradise?
i saw at least 10 of them today when i picked up my copy of ninja blade.
criterion giving us FREE! DLC is a bad thing?
i can see what hes getting at by giving us free dlc we wont get rid of the game, but you can not compare that as “charging the consumer more for the product”
also burnout paradise brand spanking new is arround 40 AUD.
GEARS 2 is 120AUD THATS THE EXACT SAME PRICE AS IT LAUNCHED IN NOVEMBER!
yes burnout came out in febuary but so freaking what?
KZ2 came out what 4 months after gears 2 and its 20 dollars cheaper for me to buy brand new NOW!
WTF?
i hate activision allot and refuse to buy any of there products ever again.
BUT what this guys saying is a complete load of shit.
August 10th, 2009 at 5:33 AM
[...] Originally posted here: PlayStation LifeStyle » The Boycott on Activision Begins [...]
August 10th, 2009 at 6:33 AM
Yeah, i have joined the boycott and too rightly so, how dare he!
August 10th, 2009 at 7:26 AM
Well I’m gonna wait and see how things pan out, I’m not sure If I’ll be getting the new COD, but I’m defineatly not getting any other Activision games well because their shite!
The newest GH has to be the worst one in the series it’s pointless even releasesing a new GH because they could easily save themselves money by just release new content for GH WT.
August 10th, 2009 at 8:36 AM
I’m not interested in Activision’s products and wasn’t planning on buying any of their stuff in the first place. There are about a zillion other FPS games out there, and as far as Guitar Hero, good grief, buy a real guitar, not a silly plastic toy. You can actually buy a perfectly good entry-level guitar for less than Activision charges for their children’s toys. And it really is a lot more fun getting together with your friends and forming a band than sitting in front of your TV and pretending your doing something related to music.
August 10th, 2009 at 10:22 AM
Unbeknownst to me, I joined the boycott a year ago when they put out GHWT to compete with RB. Suck me Kotick.
August 10th, 2009 at 10:43 AM
[...] The Boycott on Activision Begins [...]
August 10th, 2009 at 12:03 PM
sorry to burst everyones bubble. INTERNET petitions don’t work because they dont follow standard protocols ie signature, home address etc. The only game i purchased from them was MW and they will get my money on MW2 but thats it.
August 10th, 2009 at 12:16 PM
For the used game people thinking they are helping out. Your not, it required somebody to initially give money to activition. If you really don’t want them to see a dime, then don’t purchase it at all used or new. That is a boycott.
I can’t recall the last game I bought from them. So I can’t say I will boycott, but I totally understand why people are raving mad at them. But if they indeed are raising prices, I don’t see their sales going through the roof.
August 10th, 2009 at 1:26 PM
@ sobrguy
you should make a video like the fat guy and express your hate (see how far that goes). Like TwinsDad said, if you really want a boycott you would never buy it new or used.
August 10th, 2009 at 2:33 PM
@ SteelFox
no worries man. i don’t think anyone wants to see my ugly mug making an ass of myself on YouTube. besides, i’ll be having too much fun playing MAG to worry about buying any Activision game new OR used. they’ll never get my money again. i have a friend close by who i know will be buying MW2, so if i really, really, really want to play it, i can borrow it or just go over and hang out. (which i’ll do regardless.) no purchase necessary on my part. Infinity Ward needs to find a new publisher (Sony?) and focus on an IP far better than COD. i feel bad for them ’cause alot of gamers think that Activision is making the game and will be the only one who suffers when gamers boycott them.
August 10th, 2009 at 2:56 PM
Oh C’mon, people and they’re stupid boycotts. It’s one thing to support a boycott over the interweb but once the game releases thats a different story. The Left4Dead2 boycott is supposedly 10,000+ strong, yet the game has reached double the amounts of preorders then the first game. No doubt tons of those people that say they support a boycott will be picking up they’re preorders day one. I’ll be picking up MW2, and L4D2 on day one!
August 10th, 2009 at 3:11 PM
I would help out by joining in this “boycott” but, I literally hate everything Activision has made over the last 2 decades. I’m not a part of their target demographic… so my refusal to buy their games would have happened regardless of how much of a douche Robert Kotick is.
I gotta say though, I would be massively impressed if a boycott against Activision worked. Most of the time boycotts dont work because the people behind them dont actually hold out long enough to be effective. If you mean it, that means you NEVER buy the newest COD and you NEVER buy this months installment of Guitar Hero. No new DLC, nothing published by Activision… ever. If you give in and buy a copy 6 months from now, or even years from now… you failed.
The only thing Id suggest you DO obtain from Activision is anything free in the PSN store. For example, demos; Demos are free to us, but devs have to pay Sony so much per gig. If everyone downloaded Activision demos (regardless of use) that would cost the company without costing the users.
The most important thing is to remember,
There are better shooters than COD, and Guitar Hero sucks donkey balls
Rock Band Rules!
August 10th, 2009 at 3:25 PM
Plus it doesn’t help that big chains here in the states are taking on used game sales now. Best Buy, ToyRus, FYE, are all following Gamestop now and taking on the used game market as that is where the most money is being made each year. If everyone was to boycott new games, then why bother making them.
August 10th, 2009 at 3:28 PM
You dont really need MW2 when there is MAG, its new, bigger, better, larger and isnt ran by this gay wad
August 10th, 2009 at 3:29 PM
@ The4thStooge
lol
Thats the problem with these “online” petitions. if they really wanted to screw Activision over no one would buy used or new. most are to Lazy to form a REAL world petition.
August 10th, 2009 at 4:48 PM
If you plan on going through with this boycott.
I would take down the World of Warcraft Ad…..
Gotta love watching a video based on boycotting Activision/Blizzard and seeing a WoW ad flashing on the side….
August 10th, 2009 at 5:47 PM
@TwinDad
How could buying used copies of Activision games help them? Yes, buying used means that somebody bought that game, but Activision don’t make money off of used game sales. If you buy a used game, you can play it without giving Activision any money.
August 10th, 2009 at 7:42 PM
[...] PlayStation LifeStyle » The Boycott on Activision Begins [...]
January 11th, 2010 at 10:45 AM
[...] Blizzard, used 2009 to make an ass of himself in the face of the gaming industry, though it did little to affect his company’s sales. Kotick made many ridiculous statements during the year, though none better than coming out and [...]