Bobby Kotick, CEO of Activision Blizzard, is one of the most powerful executives in the interactive entertainment industry. His words carry weight, and today he publicly revealed his displeasure with the state of Sony's console business.
“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," said Kotick to The Times. "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 estimated that his company paid half a billion in royalties to Sony Computer Entertainment last year and he thinks it might not be worth the investment if the PS3's house is not put in order. “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,” he said. “When we look at 2010 and 2011, we might want to consider if we support the console — and the PSP [portable] too.”
This threat may never come to pass, but the potential loss of the Call of Duty, Guitar Hero and Tony Hawk brands practically guarantee that Sony will not take these comments as idol banter. We've contacted SCEA to get their reaction. Update: Sony has issued us a statement.
9 Comments
June 19, 2009
That'd be crazy. Will probably not happen, but Sony's in huge trouble if it does. We already see how publishers like Activision release 360 exclusive content.
June 19, 2009
Yeah I don't think it would happen. Has Sony struggled? Yes. But they do have an installed base of 22 million. It would seem stupid to not sell your games to those 22 million...
June 19, 2009
The PlayStation 3 is already gonna finish in distant third this gen, they are gonna be in bigger trouble if Activision Blizzard (the biggest third party studio, they overtook Electronic Arts last year) drops their support.
June 19, 2009
The chance of this happening is very slim. The bad part about it is that Kotick feels compelled to talk publicly to the press about the PS3's attach rate. It'll probably be a non-issue, though, considering how likely a PS3 price cut is this year.
June 19, 2009
I agree with all of you, this scenario is unlikely to happen, mainly because of the large install base of the PlayStation. However, one has to wonder. What motivates the Activision CEO to make such a powerful statement? What game is being played behind the scenes, and who are the major players? That particular CEO KNOWS the gravity of his statement and he understands that his comments are going to cause some sort of reaction from Sony. The heads of such big companies as Activision and Sony are not in the business of aggravating each other and making enemies; they are in the business of making money. Something else is going on here. You might say that I am a conspiracy theorist, but I believe that these statements have a purpose.
June 19, 2009
The purpose, nikos, is to speed up a price cut on the PS3. Or atleast thats my theory. I also agree that this scenario is very unlikely to happen. I mean, who does Activision Blizzard think they are, Valve?
June 19, 2009
:) Good point THE 1 2 P. I sincerely hope you are right because I want to put my hands on the big black box as soon as possible, but, at the same time, I am not willing to spend $400. I see you point, it is very logical, however, I find it hard to believe that a big company like Activision will go out of its way to advocate for the consumer. unless of course the idea behind Activision's statements is to press Sony to lower the price so that the PS3 install base grows. Bigger install base = more consumers that might buy Activision's products. I think that is the logic behind your argument.
June 19, 2009
Sounds like Bobby just wants to free up resources for a different target market, but cutting Sony entirely would not add long-term value to the company given the sales of occasional blockbuster titles. I could care less if I were no longer able to be given the option of playing the plethora of multi-ported crap titles. There are plenty of bad games out there and I wouldn't be bothered if they were exclusive to any particular system.
June 19, 2009
Kotick wants a price cut so the PS3 install base increases. That's about it. What's funny is that by his logic he should only develop for Wii, since they have the largest userbase and present the best "return on capital investment". Activision likes money, and they want Sony to help them make more of it.