Activision Blizzard in the last few years has built up a reputation of being an "evil" corporation led by a brutal emperor in CEO Bobby Kotick. While some gamers like to have fun with the idea of Kotick as some evil overlord, there are some in the industry who genuinely dislike him. Double Fine founder Tim Schafer, who had a legal dispute with Activision concerning Brutal Legend, is certainly no fan of Kotick.
Speaking with Eurogamer, Schafer was asked what he thought about Kotick, and the editor reminder Schafer that Kotick is indeed a "person." Schafer responded, "He is. Well, allegedly." The editor then went on to talk about how Kotick is misunderstood and he's just trying to make money for his shareholders as he should.
Schafer remarked, "...he doesn't have to be as much of a dick about it, does he? I think there is a way he can do it without being a total prick. It seems like it would be possible. It's not something he's interested in."
He continued, noting that Kotick is taking the wrong approach to producing games: "...he makes a big deal about not liking games, and I just don't think that attitude is good for games in general. I don't think we're an industry of widgets. I don't think we can approach it like we approach bars of soap, where you're just trying to make the cheapest bar of soap. He definitely has that that kind of widget-maker attitude. I don't think he's great for the industry, overall. You can't just latch onto something when it's popular and then squeeze the life out of it and then move on to the next one. You have to at some point create something, build something."
7 Comments
July 14, 2010
BRAVO!!! It's about time someone calls it like it is. Kodick, uh, I mean Kotick is a moron.
July 14, 2010
Tell us what you REALLY think Tim.
July 14, 2010
@ InfamousT
Uh, I wouldn't necessarily disagree that Kotick is a jerk, no doubt. But he's no moron. He took a company that was essentially bankrupt and turned it into the largest third party publisher in the world, with about 3.5B in the bank.
If there is a moron in the room, it is you.
July 14, 2010
OK, points well taken above, however, has it not occurred to everyone that perhaps the industry is beginning to move beyond Bobby's previous expertise and accomplishments? Its pretty clear that he is an expert at finding compelling IP and then squeezing that lemon until every last drop of juice is out of it before moving on. Isnt that pretty much the definition of how to operate a publisher that wants to focus on a very small number of successful IPs? They launch 1-3 new IPs each year and if the initial game does not fly off the shelves then they can it and move on. This has worked fantastically for him and Activision in the past and as far as Bobby is concerned, theres no reason to fix something that in his mind isnt broken. Might I suggest he needs to experience the massive humbling that Riccitiello has undergone at EA. Im sure that those developers that deal with EA now will agree that this pub is much more humble than how they were 2 years ago.
July 15, 2010
@DanielTyler2009 It's great if a company makes money and can bank it, but do so with integrity and in a way that garners respect for what you have accomplished. I am in no way, shape or form impressed by Kotick. They have all this money, but the employees got $500 in bonus for last year! Really?? I don't work there (thank goodness!) but have seen it for myself. Activision rips their people off like there is no tomorrow, and it will come back to bite them in the ass (see Infinity Ward). So yes, I stick to what I said, Kotick IS a moron.
July 15, 2010
@ InfamousT
1). I have a number of friends who work at ATVI and they were paid bonuses based on the game that they worked on, some quite a bit, others not so much. I have no idea where you heard about the $500 but it is wrong (unless maybe that was an admin thing)
2). Remember that the employees make money of the stock, of which most have considerable options on. Take a long term look at the stock and see how much money they have made. It's not always about the base salary.
I agree with you on the IW front, it was definitely horribly wrong and a bad move, but it certainly has not affected their presales for the next COD, or for anything else from what I've read.
Look, I'm not making a case for Kotick being a good person, but no one in business thinks he is a moron. The guy has had the most financially successful run anyone in the industry has ever seen, and that's not just luck.
July 16, 2010
This guy have nothing to do with financial success.
Actually whole Activison-Blizzard success base on talents of people who made Call of Duty 4 (which was not so expected success) and World of Warcraft wasnt even activision's game before merge of ActiveGreedyOn and Vivendi-Universal. Oh yeah i almost forgot guitar crap 3 developers which managed to make game popular in 3rd attempt.
Can you name any other such a big success of latest years? I cant, only old good games by ID Software and Raven also did a good job for activision, but despite they became classic and cult, they wasnt such a successful in sales.
Kotick isnt moron, he is something worse then this... just look at his real face and you will find out who he really is http://twitpic.com/25rks8 :-)