PlayStation LifeStyle » Bobby Kotick

Console Price Cuts are Coming Says Kotick

Cameron Teague — Wed, 11 May 2011 02:43:57 +0000

Activision CEO Bobby Kotick, who is known for his strong opinions and love for all things green has hinted that Sony and Microsoft are planning price cuts for their respective consoles.

Talking with the Financial Times following Activision’s first quarter earnings, Kotick said:

We’ve more confidence in consumer spending, we feel like some of that has stabilised and there are price cuts on the [console] hardware in the works.

We are almost certain that this means the PS3 and 360, seeing as how Nintendo have already announced a price cut for the Wii. Kotick goes on to touch on next generation consoles and how we would prefer platform holders to focus on their online networks rather than new consoles.

The industry is evolving – we had more than 50 percent of our revenues from digital this quarter – and one of the things you realise is that there’s less of a need for new hardware when people become much more enthusiastic about the online components of the game.
The platform used to be defined as just the box, but the platform today is really the box plus all the online services and capabilities.

With that said, what do you think the price would be cut to and do you agree Sony should focus on the online aspect of their console over new hardware?

[Via]

Call of Currency; Monetization for COD Planned

Tyler Minarik — Tue, 10 May 2011 23:12:09 +0000

Surprise, surprise. Activision wants more money from Call of Duty players, but for additional services for the already incredibly popular franchise.

With one of the world’s best selling franchises in video gaming, Activision has been raking in the dough hand over fist through massive Call of Duty sales. But when you’ve got a product that hot, what reason do you have to stop making it bigger, and enticing consumers to part with more of their hard earned cash? None, apparently, and Bobby Kotick seems quite confident about their new plan to do so. While details on what exactly will be offered in exchange for incremental payments were virtually nonexistent, confirmation of the new plan has pointed to Beachhead Studios as the central development force behind it. Mr. Kotick made it clear that all currently free services will remain intact and free of charge, and are to be accompanied by the new premium content:

The Beachhead initiatives will be… an integral part to the innovation signature nature of the Call of Duty game that we’re releasing this year. And I just wanted to back up on the earlier question [and] make sure that I underscore that while we are attempting to deliver new incremental experiences that have yet heretofore been unseen by our players, we are not attempting to monetise or take any experience away that currently comes as part of the value proposition of buying the game. I think, very importantly, our community of Call of Duty players is one that we celebrate and you will see a lot of new services and capabilities that will be provided free of charge to all of our customers.

Hearing Bobby Kotick use the word “innovative” in reference to Call of Duty certainly sounds hypocritical at this point, but with the franchise long past due for some new inventive features, maybe this plan will really pull out the big guns. It seems unfortunate that new features and innovations would not simply be included as a part of the packaging for their next release, so hopefully whatever is up their sleeves is worth the cash. Activision Publishing CEO Eric Hirshberg elaborated a bit on their intended direction:

Well, we haven’t yet released the details of the business model of Beachhead. The passion that people have for the game, the amount of time they’re willing to engage with one another in a connected way. Our goal has been to create an experience that was amplifying enough and energising enough and igniting enough to that community to be able to be monetised.

The Call of Duty franchise is already well endowed with additional content for each iteration, with expensive map packs offering a measly four maps for $15 each. It’s certainly possible to nickle and dime players further by offering unique weapons, killstreaks, perks, costumes, or other accessories for purchase, but that would be as simple as the standard practice of just releasing new DLC. Therefore, something better must be on the way, and we’ll find out what soon, since more details were promised to be revealed in the coming weeks. PlayStation LifeStyle will deliver the good word when it arrives. Until then, what would you like to see coming from the new Call of Duty business model?

[Via]

True Crime Developer Speaks Out on The Game’s Cancellation

Zak Islam — Fri, 11 Feb 2011 01:34:25 +0000

The world’s largest publisher, Activision dropped a few bombshells yesterday when they announced their latest financial results. Not only did the entire Guitar Hero series get shelved, along with DJ Hero 3, the company also completely stopped the development of United Front Games’ True Crime: Hong Kong. The ModNation Racers‘ developer has now spoken about the cancellation of their project.

Activision CEO, Bobby Kotick stated that the reason for the True Crime reboot being canned was “based on the desire to focus on the greatest opportunities that the company currently has to create the world’s best interactive entertainment experiences.” Kotick’s right hand man Eric Hirshberg, COO of Activision Publishing, said the cancellation of the title was that it wouldn’t be able to compete against the best games in the sandbox genre.

United Front Games said regarding the sad news on their website:

We are sorry we did not get a chance to complete this project with Activision, but we understand why. We are both committed to doing quality games and nothing less. Maybe we will have a chance to work together in the future, but in the meantime we are setting our creative sights on a different horizon. You can keep up with the latest developments at UFG here on our site.

The future of the developer is unclear, and hopefully the independent studio will be able to weather the financial difficulties such a cancellation will inevitably cause.

Activision Kills Guitar Hero, Cancels True Crime: Hong Kong

Anthony Severino — Thu, 10 Feb 2011 00:03:32 +0000

Wow. One of the biggest, most well-known video game franchises in history, is now just a memory. Fond memories or not, there is no denying Guitar Hero‘s effect on not only the Music genre, but the entire industry. Guitar Hero was single-handedly responsible for revitalizing the Music-game genre, and helping to make video games a mainstream living room attraction. But those days, my friends, are over.

In an Activision investor press release, the mega-publisher behind such titles as Call of Duty and World of Warcraft, revealed that they’d be pulling the plug on the Guitar Hero franchise. Not only has development ceased on the 2011 Guitar Hero game, but future DLC on previous titles are dead in their tracks. Here’s Activision’s official statement:

Due to continued decline in the music genre, the company will disband Activision Publishing’s Guitar Hero business unit and discontinue development on its Guitar Hero game for 2011. The company also will stop development on True Crime: Hong Kong™. These decisions are based on the desire to focus on the greatest opportunities that the company currently has to create the world’s best interactive entertainment experiences.

Guitar Hero isn’t the only franchise seeing cuts. Activision has also cancelled True Crime: Hong Kong, an open-world crime-stopping game with deep storyline. True Crime: Hong Kong was likely somewhat close to being finished, as we previewed a near-complete build all the way back at last year’s E3 Expo.

Guitar Hero being killed off is the big news here, as it’s a franchise almost everyone who has touched a video game controller has played at one point or another. Despite taking a turn for the worse, the franchise will always have a place in our memories and our hearts. How about you? Tell us about your time with the long-standing series.

Activision: Treyarch Not Recognized Enough For Modern Warfare 2

Ray Conley — Sun, 14 Nov 2010 14:46:47 +0000

Many gamers still hold the idea that developer Treyarch is still the little brother of Infinity Ward when it comes to creating the Call of Duty games. Publisher Activsion is trying to set the record straight and give the Black Ops developer the recognition that they deserve.

Activision CEO Bobby Kotick said that Treyarch played an important role when working with Infinity Ward on Modern Warfare 2‘s online component. He also stated that the substandard view of Treyarch is simply “unfair.”

“That’s an unfair view of Treyarch. You know it’s not really an objective view. Treyarch contributed so significantly to the multiplayer technology that’s in Modern Warfare 2 and they didn’t really get the credit for that.”

Besides, Treyarch’s growth as a team can be easily demonstrated with the broken sales record that they achieved with Black Ops. For more information about their latest title, check out our full review of Call of Duty: Black Ops and see why we agree with Bobby Kotick.

[Source]

Call of Duty: Black Ops Sells Big

Adam Wolfe — Fri, 12 Nov 2010 00:43:23 +0000

Last year’s Modern Warfare 2 set countless entertainment sales records. With the release of the latest Call of Duty it looks like those records will once again be blown away, as Black Ops sets the charts on fire.

Call of Duty: Black Ops has set a new record for opening day sales. On its first day on the market the game sold approximately 5.6 million copies in North America and the United Kingdom racking up an impressive $360 million in sales. Compare this to the 4.7 million copies, $310 million, of Modern Warfare 2 and its safe to say Treyarch has quite a hit on their hand.

Activision’s head Bobby Kotick had this to say about the back to back years of impressive sales.

There has never been another entertainment franchise that has set opening day records for two consecutive years and we are on track to outperform last year’s five-day global sales record of $550 million.
The game’s success underscores the pop culture appeal of the brand. Call of Duty: Black Ops is the finest game that Treyarch has ever made and raises the bar for online gameplay by delivering the deepest and most intense Call of Duty experience yet. The Call of Duty franchise has over 25 million players around the world that are engaged in billions of hours of online gameplay, and we are committed to supporting them with new content and features on a more frequent and regular basis.

With such impressive sales there looks to be no stopping the Call of Duty juggernaut, with it set to break more sales records for years to come.

[Source]

Black Ops Set For Biggest Entertainment Launch Ever

Zak Islam — Sun, 07 Nov 2010 00:50:58 +0000

Activision’s Modern Warfare 2 is the current holder for the biggest entertainment launch of all time. Now, the publisher’s CEO believes Call of Duty: Black Ops is set to take that crown upon its release.

Activision boss Bobby Kotick has told investors recent that Call of Duty: Black Ops, is likely to be the “biggest entertainment launch of all time”.

Publishing CEO Eric Hirshberg further explained and backed up Kotick’s statement by stating:

“Today, pre-orders of Black Ops have already broken the industry pre-sell record set by last year’s Call of Duty. We have unprecedented levels of support both from our retail partners and from the first parties all from our vested to make this the entertainment launch of the year.”

Call of Duty: Black Ops is set to release on November 9th.

[Via]

Bobby Kotick Ranked Among Top 50 Most Influential Men

Kishen Patel — Sat, 30 Oct 2010 05:38:33 +0000

The chief executive officer of Activison, Bobby Kotick, has experienced more than his fair share of the media’s limelight. Being the head of the biggest video game powerhouse, power and influence simply comes with the territory. As a result, the CEO of Activison has been honored among the ranks of the most influential men of the year.

AskMen.com, the popular men’s publication, annually tallies up who they believe to be the most influential men. For the year 2010, everyone’s favorite figure in gaming was ranked at number 16 in the list, above many greats like talk show host David Lettermen, rapper Eminem, and even United States President Barack Obama.

In addition to the rankings judged by the publishing staff at Askmen.com, the website invited their readers to voice their opinion on each individual rank in the form of a survey and, when it came to the positioning of Bobby Kotick, the majority of the readers have disagreed with his rank among the top 20 most influential men.

While this list is by no means a popularity contest, it is certainly unfair to discount the Activison CEO’s influence on the gaming industry given his controversial voice speaking out on everything from Sony and their console pricing, video game pricing in general, and all the way to development house control.

From a gamer’s standpoint, without bringing personality into this, do you think Bobby Kotick is more influential than the President of the United States? Tell us in the comments below.

[Source]

Kotick Feels “Betrayed” By Infinity Ward

Max Murray — Tue, 28 Sep 2010 17:21:28 +0000

Bobby Kotick, voted the least liked man in recent video games history, spoke briefly in regards to what the creators of the Call of Duty series had done in the past. According to Kotick, Vince Zampella and Jason West not only broke ethical boundaries, but could have easily served jail time.

The Activision Blizzard CEO spoke a bit about the downfall of Infinity Ward, and how his decision and their removal from the development team was unavoidable.

"When you’re betrayed by your friends, what do you do?"

“The frustrating thing about that is, the stuff that these guys did, I never would have expected them to do. We’re a public company, we’ve got ethics obligations, and the things they did were… I would go to jail if I did them.”

He then added:

“You can’t use the company and the company’s assets for your own personal benefit, and you can’t use the leverage that you might have for personal benefit – you’re not allowed to do that! And so we didn’t have any choice.”

Bobby Kotick concluded with some details regarding his involvement in the incident:

“It’s one of those things where you get personally disappointed in people you trust and call friends. When you’re betrayed by your friends, what do you do?”

[Source]

Activision’s Robert Kotick Says EA Oppresses Developers [Update]

Adam G — Mon, 27 Sep 2010 19:11:21 +0000

The battle between EA and Activision looks set to go into overdrive, with two of the year’s biggest shooters – Activision’s Call of Duty: Black Ops and EA’s Medal of Honor – going toe to toe this holiday season. However, Activision CEO, the infamous Bobby Kotick, isn’t stopping there and is now taking cheap shots at his competition.

Speaking with Edge, Activision CEO Robert Kotick was having a good old gossip about the company’s main publishing rival, EA.

“The core principle of how we run the company is the exact opposite of EA. EA will buy a developer and then it will become EA Florida, EA Vancouver, EA New Jersey, whatever. We always looked and said, ‘You know what? What we like about the developer is that they have a culture, they have an independent vision and that’s what makes them so successful’. We don’t have an Activision anything – it’s Treyarch, Infinity Ward, Sledgehammer. That, to me, is one of the unassailable rules of building a publishing company. And in every case except for two, the original founders of the studios are still running the studios today.
“I’ve been an oppressed EA developer! The thing is, it doesn’t work that way – that doesn’t work. EA’s DNA isn’t orientated towards that model – it doesn’t know how to do it, as a culture or as a company, and it never has. The most difficult challenge it faces today is: great people don’t really want to work there. It’s like, if you have no other options you might consider them. They have some – the team that makes Madden is a really great team, it’s been able to manage, capture and keep some good people.

“Its stock options have no value, its lost its way. And until it has success and hits, and gets its enthusiasm back for the company, it’s going to have a struggle getting really talented people which is going to translate into less than great games.”

Some strong words there, only time will tell whether Bobby ‘Nostradamus’ Kotick’s predictions that EA will soon fall from top spot will come true.

[Update] Seems like EA aren’t about to let Kotick’s comments go unnoticed. Gamasutra received this rebuttal from EA’s VP of corporate communications, Jeff Brown.

“Kotick’s relationship with studio talent is well-documented in litigation. His company is based on three game franchises – one is a fantastic persistent world he had nothing to do with; one is in steep decline; and the third is in the process of being destroyed by Kotick’s own hubris.”

Fisticuffs at dawn anyone?

Schafer Calls his ‘Prick’ Comment Towards Kotick an ‘Accident’

Max Murray — Sat, 17 Jul 2010 04:23:35 +0000

Tim Schafer let it be known a few days ago, how he really felt about Activision’s Bobby Kotick, to which Activision released a public statement in an effort to save the reputation of the long drowned Bobby Kotick. Now, as the third entry to the latest Schafer/Kotick event, Tim Schafer hopes to put an end to the unfolding drama by revoking his previous statement as an errors he calls an ‘accident’.

Speaking with Eurogamer, Schafer showed no hesitance to clear the air about his widely publicized comments:

“That was an accident. I was going to change the title of my talk to ‘how to give interviews and remember to check the microphone is off.”

He didn’t stop there; this incident seems to have alerted him to be more conscious of his appearance in the future so as to help prevent ‘burning bridges’.

“I need to keep my mouth shut,” he said. “It is shocking how you really burn bridges in the industry. You start your own company and you don’t have to work for that jerky boss any more. Not naming names. Then it’s like Empire Strikes Back – you walk in the room and, ‘Holy s*** Darth Vader’s at the table.’ It’s such a small industry, you see the same people over and over again. No-one ever goes away.”

When asked, Schafer refused to delve further to explain what he meant, or to clarify his previous statement:

“I’m definitely not saying anything about Bobby,” he said. “After that Eurogamer thing I realised I’m a little nervous about what I want to say.”

Hopefully this ends the tail-spinning debacle. Or maybe we’ll be lucky and tomorrow Activision will release a new statement about lipstick she found on Schafer’s white collars while doing his laundry, or a pair of red lacy panties in his coat pocket, and he responds by calling her a ‘paranoid broad’ in a slurred voice right before stumbling out of the door with friends that ‘just get him’ on their way to partake in another all-night binge drinking fest .

[Source]

Activision Responds to Schafer Comments

Zak Islam — Thu, 15 Jul 2010 18:39:02 +0000

Recently, DoubleFine’s Tim Schafer had some harsh words for Activision’s CEO, Bobby Kotick, calling him a ‘prick’. Activision has now responded on the matter saying Kotick is passionate about games and loves the industry. Really, it’s true.

Schafer commented on how Kotick cares more about making money than creating good games. However, Activision Blizzard’s Senior Vice President of Corporate Communications, Maryanne Lataif, told IndustryGamers:

Tim Schafer’s comment that Bobby Kotick ‘makes a big deal about not liking games’ just isn’t true. Bobby has always been passionate about games, and loves the video game industry. But as CEO of a company that makes games enjoyed by millions of people worldwide, the demands on his time now make it difficult to play games as often as he’d like to or as much as he once did.”
As Schafer himself notes, he has never actually met Bobby Kotick.

What’s everyone view on Bobby Kotick? Do you dislike him? If so why? Share your thoughts via the comment section below

Kotick Responds To Infinity Ward Departures

Mike Hartnett — Fri, 07 May 2010 18:57:02 +0000

Over the past month or so, many of us have played spectator to what may now be known as the fall of Infinity Ward. Many have sought someone to blame for this, with nearly everyone pointing their finger in the direction of Activision CEO, Bobby Kotick. Well, in the midst of Activision’s Q1 financial call, Kotick set the records straight… at least we think so.

During the call, Kotick stated the following:

“Since we terminated the two executives at Infinity Ward, approximately 35 others have resigned, and it is likely a few more people will leave as well,” he said. “Many of these people have been recruited by other studios because of how talented they are.”
“The decision to terminate the two Infinity Ward executives was not done lightly, and it was not done to deprive them of their bonuses nor is it done without a great deal of deliberation about the consequences.”
“I personally consider the two of them friends, and their conduct was a compromise of our friendship, which was equally disappointing,” he added. “Once we began to understand what had occurred, there was no grey area. There was nothing to allow us to retain their services as talented as they might have been.”

The Activision CEO expects a good deal more employees to step down from their positions at Infinity Ward, more than likely because the majority of the team which they had worked with for several years are now over at Respawn Entertainment alongside former Infinity Ward heads, Jason West and Vince Zampella. Activision still seems positive though, with a combination of two companies working on the next Modern Warfare title, most likely Infinity Ward and Sledgehammer, and some pretty nice profits, despite the amount of controversy.

Stay tuned to PlayStation Lifestyle as we continue to bring you developments in the soap opera of a situation that is Infinity Ward.

[Via]

Spider-Man Spins a New Dimension

Kerveen Flores — Thu, 18 Mar 2010 03:17:26 +0000

Spider-Man games have not exactly been stellar as of late, just ask Activision CEO Bobby Kotick. We certainly hope Activison will think of new ways to make Spider-Man games more appealing and worthy of our hard earned money. It seems as though we’ll find out their plans for the web-slinging franchise soon enough…

The cover of the April issue of GamePro magazine was recently unveiled and if you can stop trying to read the words on Sam Fisher’s face for just a second, you can spot the top of the magazine teases a new Spider-Man game titled Spider-Man: Shattered Dimensions.

What is this game about? We don’t know, but you can soon find out when GamePro’s April issue ships this week and will be on newsstands early April.

Kotick Tries to Clear the Air About His “Dark Side”

Max Murray — Sat, 20 Feb 2010 20:48:36 +0000

Everyone’s favorite CEO of Activision is in the spotlight again, but this time acknowledging his infamous media soundbites rather than adding to the list. Owning up to the fact that his words have hindered his image more than helped, he reluctantly compared himself to the Sith Lord…

Kotick stated that even though he’s always pictured himself as “the rebel flying the Millennium Falcon or the X-Wing fighter”, he woke up one day and was suddenly first in command aboard the Death Star.

This was during the 2010 DICE Summit in Las Vegas where Kotick’s speech featured less business-talk and instead a feeling of informality as he spoke of his past and tried to explain his previous remarks in hopes to win back the masses. In the past, one of his most scandalous remarks was his comment that 10 years ago his goal was to “take all the fun out of making video games”. He went on record, trying to smooth away some sore feelings by stating he knew he came across “as a dick”.

“Sometimes that commitment to excellence, well, you can come across as being like a dick. And when I say things like ‘taking the fun out of making video games,’ it was a line that has been often-quoted lately, but it was a line I used for investors. It was mainly because i wanted to somehow come across in a humorous way that we were responsible, in the way we made our games in that it wasn’t some wild west, lack of process exercise and that we really did give some thought to the capital being used to provide a return of investment to shareholders. So I say things like ‘taking the fun out of video games’ knowing full well that all we’re actually trying to do is keep the fun in the process because, as most of you know, when you’re getting into crunch time it becomes really difficult to meet those milestones or get things polished the way you would like, that isn’t a lot of fun. That is not what I meant by it.”

Kotick also talked in more depth about his mistakes by straying from passionate game developers and relying more on the business aspect of new titles. This was specifically addressed towards acquiring Guitar Hero, and Activision’s choice to ignore Harmonix in lieu of their own studio, Neversoft.

Later, Kotick commented on his past and how he played video games in the 80′s, but with his “addictive personality”, it wouldn’t end well:

“If I was regularly playing Modern Warfare 2 I would not be able to stop, and it would be at the expense of all my other responsibilities.”

Well could this be the desperately needed turning point for Robert Kotick? Maybe he hired a new publicist to help him change his public persona, or a chip implanted in his brain to replace the ‘speech filter’ section that wandered off…But given his whole slew of past mistakes, this single step up to the podium is probably not going to be enough to clear his name in the minds of the many he has irritated.

Can’t seem to remember said mistakes? Here’s a rundown:

How about the time he stated if it were up to him, he would raise game prices, even after his company jacked up the price on Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 on PC and in other countries. This was enough for previous Activision fans to start a boycott, and get him some negative reactions from other industry professionals

Then there’s the unforgettable incident of Kotick demanding for a price cut on the PS3, and alluding that Activision would ‘have to’ stop developing content for the PS3 if Sony wouldn’t lower the system’s retail price. Simultaneously though, his company was marketing four high profile games, each anywhere from $119.99 and up – living up to his name as Kotick-ocrite.

And most recently, he commented that all of his own companies past Spider-man titles have “sucked”. Harsh criticism, especially towards the people he simultaneously praises as champions among the field.

So what do you think … forgive and forget?

[Source]