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[Huesoo]

http://www.geeks.co.uk/7282-activision%E2%80%99s-bobby-kotick-hates-developers-innovation-cheap-games-you

I hate this fat shit.



We have to stop this man, he is a parasite.

[Calhoun]

To be fair, He is doing is job. His job is to make money for the shareholders. He is Succeeding.

If he ups the prices of games and pumps out shitty games it is as much his fault as everyone who buys those games, which make him able to do just that.

I don't like Kotick, but if his plans work, the problem isn't Kotick.

[cerapa]

Is it just me or is this guy the stereotypical evil businessman?

[Muz]

Yeah, I don't blame Kotick. I blame the system. Mostly the investment system. It's designed for short term gains - not the best way to be running an entertainment industry. They're milking everything out of innovation, maximizing short term profits. He'll be laughing all the way to the bank when Activision collapses and he gets fired with a fat severance paycheck.

He's not really the problem, just a symptom. He's just playing the business game the way it's supposed to be played. Look at all the other big companies - EA, Atari, Bioware, Blizzard, Ubisoft... and tell me that they love their customers.

The current business model just fucks up the game industry.

[fenrif]

This is a huge problem in the film industry, music industry and TV industry. Art and entertainment should not be beholden to profit, or in the thrall of buisnessmen.

The really sad thing is that stuff like this creates a huge sense of dissatisfaction within the audience, in this case gamers. Noone wants to be told they're being treated as a walking wallet, or that their entertainment is entirely designed around getting their money, instead of entertaining them.

Entertainment and art should be an interaction between the artist/entertainer, and the audience. Both benefit from the relationship. When you throw a buisnessman into the mix he'll get between the two, mediating how they interact. "Make games shorter, pay more for this, you need more peripherals, this game sold well so make it like that, etc" and eventually only he's benefitting in any real way. Again, look at the music and film industries to see how this plays out.

[Saint]

1. Stop making threads OP.
2. OH GAWD SOMEONE IS DOING THEIR JOB! OH NO A BUSINESS MAKING MONEY? OH GAWD EVIL EVIL! CAPITALISM IS GUD BUT FUCK ANY COMPANY THAT DOES WELL AND MAKES MONEY! OH GAWD NO!

Seriously, get real.

[Huesoo]

1. Stop making threads OP.
2. OH GAWD SOMEONE IS DOING THEIR JOB! OH NO A BUSINESS MAKING MONEY? OH GAWD EVIL EVIL! CAPITALISM IS GUD BUT FUCK ANY COMPANY THAT DOES WELL AND MAKES MONEY! OH GAWD NO!

Seriously, get real.

Did you even read the link? Educate yourself and learn how to contribute.

[Sir Pseudonymous]

1. Stop making threads OP.

Mildly agree.

2. OH GAWD SOMEONE IS DOING THEIR JOB! OH NO A BUSINESS MAKING MONEY? OH GAWD EVIL EVIL! CAPITALISM IS GUD BUT FUCK ANY COMPANY THAT DOES WELL AND MAKES MONEY! OH GAWD NO!

Seriously, get real.

His exact methods are, quite openly stated (by himself, no less), "reduce quality, raise prices, squash innovation, and torment employees". He's not just the quintessential soulless businessman; he's the living embodiment of malevolent, short sighted greed.

[beorn080]

Yeah, I don't blame Kotick. I blame the system. Mostly the investment system. It's designed for short term gains - not the best way to be running an entertainment industry. They're milking everything out of innovation, maximizing short term profits. He'll be laughing all the way to the bank when Activision collapses and he gets fired with a fat severance paycheck.

He's not really the problem, just a symptom. He's just playing the business game the way it's supposed to be played. Look at all the other big companies - EA, Atari, Bioware, Blizzard, Ubisoft... and tell me that they love their customers.

The current business model just fucks up the game industry.

Blizzard is being run by Bobby, in everything except for the code that goes into their games. Lets face it, Blizzard has a VERY good track record, and does seriously listen to its fan base.

EA, well, they're EA. Bioware isn't too bad except for the massive and horribly intrusive DRM, but that's almost understandable. Haven't been keeping track of Atari and Ubisoft though.

[Toaster]

Maybe the choice quotes of the event, though, came when Kotick talked about Activision’s developers; you know, the guys who actually make the stuff he gets so rich from. You’d think he’d have a bit of respect for them, right? Oh no, Kotick’s goal over the past 10 years has been – you couldn’t make this up – “to take all the fun out of making video games.” How? By instilling a culture of “scepticism, pessimism, and fear” amongst the company’s staff based around the economic depression and an incentive program that rewards “profit and nothing else”.

Does anyone have this quote in context?


Saint/Sir P:

There is one rule for the industrialist and that is: Make the best quality of goods possible at the lowest cost possible, paying the highest wages possible.

That's non-evil capitalism.

[Huesoo]

Maybe the choice quotes of the event, though, came when Kotick talked about Activision’s developers; you know, the guys who actually make the stuff he gets so rich from. You’d think he’d have a bit of respect for them, right? Oh no, Kotick’s goal over the past 10 years has been – you couldn’t make this up – “to take all the fun out of making video games.” How? By instilling a culture of “scepticism, pessimism, and fear” amongst the company’s staff based around the economic depression and an incentive program that rewards “profit and nothing else”.

Does anyone have this quote in context?


Saint/Sir P:

There is one rule for the industrialist and that is: Make the best quality of goods possible at the lowest cost possible, paying the highest wages possible.

That's non-evil capitalism.

Thank you, this is why I hate the man.

[Sir Pseudonymous]

Maybe the choice quotes of the event, though, came when Kotick talked about Activision’s developers; you know, the guys who actually make the stuff he gets so rich from. You’d think he’d have a bit of respect for them, right? Oh no, Kotick’s goal over the past 10 years has been – you couldn’t make this up – “to take all the fun out of making video games.” How? By instilling a culture of “scepticism, pessimism, and fear” amongst the company’s staff based around the economic depression and an incentive program that rewards “profit and nothing else”.

Does anyone have this quote in context?

I remember reading it, back when it was plastered everywhere. It didn't sound any better in context, which was, if memory serves, something along the lines of "when I came here, everyone was great at making games, but all those programmers and artists didn't know shit about accounting and management. I'm proud to have taken all the fun out of making games". The sentiment is both sadistic and nonsensical (complaining that people whose jobs are not accounting or management don't know how to be accountants or managers, but are otherwise quite skilled at the job they fucking have), bordering on Stupid Evil.

Saint/Sir P:

There is one rule for the industrialist and that is: Make the best quality of goods possible at the lowest cost possible, paying the highest wages possible.

That's non-evil capitalism.

Why was I included there? I mildly agreed that heusoo should stop starting threads like this, but if anything that quote only serves to emphasize my argument against Kotick by contrasting with his methods ("lowest quality, highest prices").

Blizzard is being run by Bobby, in everything except for the code that goes into their games. Lets face it, Blizzard has a VERY good track record, and does seriously listen to its fan base.

Blizzard has always been unoriginal, what with two of their... three? big series being blatant clones of warhammer/warhammer 40k, and I've seen no indication they ever listened to their fans, though admittedly I've only seen them as Actiblizzard, taking actions entirely in line with Kotick's insanity.

EA, well, they're EA. Bioware isn't too bad except for the massive and horribly intrusive DRM, but that's almost understandable. Haven't been keeping track of Atari and Ubisoft though.

EA's actually getting better, though that only elevates them to a level of "horrible and malevolent", as opposed to their previous/actiblizzard/Kotick's current "satan made flesh" status. Bioware's got enough clout to survive in EA, though their quality is necessarily degraded by the demands placed on them by EA. I haven't heard anything unusual about their DRM... are you sure you're not thinking of Ubisoft, with it's certifiably batshit insane "always on" DRM?

Is Atari even still around? I haven't heard anything about them recently.

[Chutney]

Blizzard has always been unoriginal, what with two of their... three? big series being blatant clones of warhammer/warhammer 40k, and I've seen no indication they ever listened to their fans, though admittedly I've only seen them as Actiblizzard, taking actions entirely in line with Kotick's insanity.

They may be unoriginal, but they made some damn good games in their time.

[Huesoo]

Whats wrong with my threads?

[Cthulhu]

I'm so mad I'm going to boycott every major Activision game.

And by boycott, I of course mean I'll join a "BOYCOTT THIS GAME" group on Steam and then preorder the game.

It's just like the article said, he can afford to be a cartoon villain because gamers don't have the restraint to say no to him.