Activision Blizzard has been mercilessly whipped by gamers and its main publishing rival EA ever since the Infinity Ward situation escalated out of control. Activision boss Bobby Kotick has been emphasizing its studio culture and how it provides developers autonomy, and certainly partners like Bungie seem to be happy with Activision. Now another developer has come out of the woodwork to sing Activision's praises.
In an exclusive NASCAR focused interview with Eutechnyx, COO Darren Jobling told IndustryGamers that working with Activision over the years has been a pleasure, and it's why they chose them again for their upcoming NASCAR title.
When asked about why they partnered with Activision when there have been reports of developers not treated fairly, Jobling defended the mega-publisher: "Eutechnyx has known Activision for over 14 years – our very first driving game was distributed by Activision in the USA in 1997. During that time, I cannot think of one occasion where we could claim to have been badly treated by them."
He added, "Eutechnyx chose Activision for NASCAR The Game 2011 because they came up with the most passionate and exciting pitch to distribute the title – they 'got' NASCAR and they understood Eutechnyx, it was as simple as that."
Moreover, Jobling indicated that Activision respected Eutechnyx as an independent. "For some, it seemed difficult for them to understand the seismic shift in the traditional developer-publisher relationship.The Execs at Activision were different and they completely understood the significance of this and the impact it would have on the game. They were also extremely enthusiastic about our plans to take Eutechnyx to the next level, and had no hang ups that we, rather than them, owned the NASCAR rights," he said, noting that he does see Activision as the long-term partner on the NASCAR franchise going forward.
