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[Untouchable]

On Guitar Hero, yeah, it's good. But a lot of people are unhappy with Activision trying to completely milk it out by churning out Guitar Hero games faster than people can win them. It's a short term move. People will get very sick of them and within a few years, the "Guitar Hero" genre will be gone.

Yeah, I'd actually wager that Activision has single-handedly butchered the rhythm game genre by pumping out constant expansion packs (because that's what half of the releases are).

[Solifuge]

Am I the only one who hates Activision and sticks by it? It's been years since I bought anything of theirs.

Aye. No StarCraft II for me.

I believe this is why I've only found myself buying Indie Games, and supporting developers who push the boundaries of what is possible in the medium itself, like the Adams Brothers, Markus Persson, Derek Yu, and a handful of corporate developers... rather than the sea of capital-focused companies which push the boundaries of how much the public is willing to pay, for ever-smaller portions of the same rehashed crap.

Spoiler: Semi-Rant regarding the procession of modern game-making (click to show/hide)

I felt that, when Video Games were new, developers took more risks, were more creative with genre and mechanics, and put a lot of soul into discovering what could be done with the hardware available at the time, and how to make good interactive entertainment. Today, it feels like developers are merely rehashing the formulas these pioneers discovered, plugging in some new features that make it just different enough to appear unique, packaging it with increasingly demanding graphics, optionally with enough story to carry interest, and ship it off to consumers.

Sure, new games are fun, and it's interesting to watch developers work... but I can't get excited about them anymore. 9 of 10 games developed these days seem a spiritless business investment more than the art and innovation that they were. Business is business, and I'm glad developers can make a living off of games... but I wish there were ways to incentivise that old artistic, pioneering spirit. These days, you can find it mostly just in Indie Games, where the developers don't have huge investments hanging over their heads such that experimentation is more welcome.

I wish I had a solution to propose that could help us to put the emphasis on creativity, innovation, and integrity rather than profitability, but all I can do is choose to support the developers I do, and hope that enough others agree, and will take the same action. I personally haven't bought a mainstream commercial game since Oblivion first came out, and I haven't owned a console since the Gamecube. To be frank, I think I've gotten tired of the endless stream of things, and I don't need to spend half a week's wages on something I've essentially bought 10 times before, under various names, appearances, and companies.

On a broader note, we can trace the frustrations people are feeling about Kotick/Activision's stance on development all the way back to the very nature of our economic system. Capitalism incentivizes the acquisition of wealth above all else... fiscal success allows a business to survive, not creativity, expression, innovation, or even integrity (though if businesses are held accountable by their consumers, these things suddenly become important again). If there is a "problem", it is business itself; all of this is symptomatic of how we assess value.

For good or ill, barring a paradigm shift, the only way this will change is if people (Read: You) inform themselves about what they are purchasing, and practice some consumer integrity.

[MagmaDeath]

Am I the only one who hates Activision and sticks by it? It's been years since I bought anything of theirs.

Aye. No StarCraft II for me.

I also have not really bought anything of Activision's, not because of the whole "Evil corporation" thing, but because none of the games generally interest me.

Other than a few blizzard games, such as Warcraft 3.
Which, as I went back to it recently, I found that it was basically impossible to play any of the custom game types, such as DoTA.
Was that a side effect of the whole Activision-blizzard merger, or was it unrelated?

[andrea]

Other than a few blizzard games, such as Warcraft 3.
Which, as I went back to it recently, I found that it was basically impossible to play any of the custom game types, such as DoTA.
Was that a side effect of the whole Activision-blizzard merger, or was it unrelated?

reign of chaos or frozen throne? because reign of chaos worked perfectly 2 days ago.

[Africa]

Why blame this one guy? If anything, blame the consumers. If mainstream games are becoming bad, it's the fault of consumers who are willing to buy them. If people cared, they would stop buying those games in favor of better ones. Supply will meet demand.

In any case I don't view the games industry as being much different than the music industry. Yeah, most people listen to bad, generic pop music. There's still a sizeable niche for good music that often goes under the radar, and just because that stuff doesn't get played on the radio much, it doesn't mean the niche is going to go away. Same thing with games - remember what forum we're all posting on? Sure Dwarf Fortress is never going to be popular or mainstream the way Halo or WOW are. But there's still obviously a market for it.

Of course, as with music, the mainstream isn't all bad either. But just play/listen to what you like and don't stress out over the fact that the most well-known media aren't to your taste.

[Pillow_Killer]

How weird. I got SC2 and post on forums, yet my real name doesnt shows up anywhere.

[fenrif]

How weird. I got SC2 and post on forums, yet my real name doesnt shows up anywhere.

That's beacuse after they announced it they recieved universal and overwhelming response that it was a mornnic idea and backpedaled on it as quick as they could. Every major gaming news site ran stories about how huge amounts of blizzards customers and potential customers were against it, and a huge stink was caused. Thank them for your privacy.

[beorn080]

Oh, and I wasn't referring to the forums, which they only agreed not to do "at this time". I was referring to in game. Your real name is attached to your character at all times, and supposedly only people you set as friends can see it. The great part is that first and last name are one of FOUR pieces of info Blizzard requires to reset your password, the other two being account name and secret question answer.

And yes, "But only your friends can see it". For now. They've announced they are going to integrate with facebook. Hard to do if no one knows your real name.

[inteuniso]

What is wrong with you people?

"He's just doing his job" "It's just the system"

Don't you see a problem with that? These are the people making our entertainment! These are the people releasing what we play to relieve stress, to have fun! It's assholes like these who treat games as nothing more than another outlet to make money, and I see a major problem with that. It strangles creativity and churns out nothing but Generic FPS 32.

What is happening? What can we do?

[Zangi]

Complacent, rationalization, laziness and ignorance.

Magma is preferable, otherwise on a personal level, don't buy and acquire as wanted.

On a social level, show people non-Axis alternatives, convert em.  Act upon what you preach.

[Puck]

What is happening? What can we do?

Same as always: vote with your wallet.

Don't buy crappy games.

Trust me, it works. Even in the gaming industry there are several recent examples. We got rid of starforce, for instance. In return, we got much much worse shit, but hey, we got rid of starforce by not buying.

Problem is, bored people buy all kinds of dumb shit, so it might take a while.

[Calhoun]

What is wrong with you people?

"He's just doing his job" "It's just the system"

Don't you see a problem with that? These are the people making our entertainment! These are the people releasing what we play to relieve stress, to have fun! It's assholes like these who treat games as nothing more than another outlet to make money, and I see a major problem with that. It strangles creativity and churns out nothing but Generic FPS 32.

What is happening? What can we do?

But he is doing is job, and that is his JOB. It is our collective choices that show whether or not he does a good or bad job. If he does a good job it is all of our faults.

I don't like the man, but I don't hate him because he's doing his job.

The problem lies in the fact that we, collectively support this person. That is the problem, he is not.

[Puck]

Just because we enable him to do bad things, doesn't mean he isn't responsible for his actions, too. Both parties are at fault here.

And by now he probably doesn't really need all those fat wads of cash anymore, so that excuse is gone, too. Sure, if he doesn't do it, somebody else would, but hey, not being a dick regardless is STILL a nice option to be a better person.

[Calhoun]

He is responsible for his actions. As per his job, he takes action to financially benefit himself and more importantly the shareholders. If that stifles creativity and makes bad games, then that's his fault, but not his problem. He doesn't care about games, it is not his job to care about games, it is his job to make money for the shareholders.

If people buy these shitty games, then it is their fault for supporting him and validating his every action. If gamers buy shitty games then they are hurting themselves, and helping Kotick and the Activision shareholders.

Kotick and the shareholders don't care how fun or good the games the company makes/publishes are, they care about money, the quality doesn't affect them. The quality affects the gamer, who buys the shitty games, but if the gamer is buying these shitty games and likes them, then there isn't a problem is there?

It's in the gaming communities hands to decide whether or not Kotick will succeed or fail, and so far, they are supporting him.

P.S: I do not like Kotick, he is a total and complete asshole, but he is doing his job, same as any of us. I don't like the attitude with which he does it, but he does it, and so far, he is doing it quite well.

[Puck]

He is old, responsible and rich enough to actually quit this shitty job, at least I hope so. Therefore, blamable.