130°

Activision's reputation "probably unfair" says Spider-Man developer

Big publishers are often slammed for "soul crushing" policies towards developers, and no company has taken more heat in recent years than Activision Blizzard. The Infinity Ward situation and PR backlash that followed certainly didn't help matters. That said, some developers have no qualms with the 800-lb. gorilla, and in a recent interview Beenox studio head Dee Brown defended Activision.

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gamesindustry.biz
NovusTerminus4987d ago (Edited 4987d ago )

My problem with Activision is that they could take chances with new IP's. But all they do is make Guitar Hero, Tony Hawk, CoD and make money off of WoW.

They HAVE the money to throw into new IP's and could get allot of gamers on their side if they did.

But alas they just make the same games year after year.

Treezy5044987d ago

Exactly. They even dropped a promising game that was damn near completion (TCHK) only because they felt that the sales for True Crime: New York City were to low and it wouldn't be worth the effort. I don't get it, it just seems like they are only concerned with sales rather than being innovative and taking a chance to create something new. They have the money... they just need to take advantage of each and every opportunity. Oh well at least Square Enix picked up the game and now we have it in the form of Sleeping Dogs :)

iamnsuperman4987d ago

You have to remember Activision is a company that needs profit to survive. Now they got something really big with Call of duty which everyone knowns them for but if you look at the games they do release, they do try but if a game isn't making money or enough money what is the point of investing in it. Activision have to keep investors happy by consistently making money and not lose money.

Baka-akaB4987d ago (Edited 4987d ago )

they are way beyond surviving however . They could takes a few chances yet take none . Their rival publishers do while gaining even less money than them .

So imo they got the rep they deserve . You wont get any sympathy from me when you axes 50% of your games to keep stuff like 50 Cent that still failed

Smkt4987d ago

well.. recently the gaming industry has been risky.. makes sense for acti to play it safe.. i mean it just takes around two flop games for a "aaa" developer to go out of business..

RedDead4987d ago

There's a good vid on Youtube about this, it's about EA and Activision basically, when a company gets so big, all they do is worry about making sure the company stays afloat. It's all the higher ups worry about. I'll try and find it but probably won't be able to...Risk/Reward simply doesn't factor in anymore. It's just about maintaining what they have.

StanSmith4987d ago

To be fair, (i'm not a big activision fan), at least they have never used online passes and on disc dlc with their games like EA, Capcom etc have done.

They rely on Call of Duty alot but they have also released new iPs such as War for Cybertron and it's sequel Fall of Cybertron (which has been given 2 1/2 years development).

At this point in time, i'm not so sure if Activision is the worst publisher anymore. Within the past 12 months, I'd say EA and Capcom have surpassed them.

Baka-akaB4986d ago (Edited 4986d ago )

I can't say i agree , EA and capcom's shady stuff aside , they try a lot of new ips and ideas .

Activision latest new ip were what ? Skylanders and a neat transformers game , but wich is still a licensed property they were milking already .

I dont see how Capcom and EA would be worse , when activision didnt have anything remotely challenging to publish and market such as Mirror Edge , dragon's Dogma , Asura Wrath , MC gee's Alice , Secret World , , Shadows of the Damned , Dead Space and more .

The last time Activision truly tried something difficult or different , they dropped the bucked and "passed" to other publishers , like True Crime/Sleeping Dogs , Brutal Legends ...

Stuff like pass and shenanigans are unimportant imo , i judge the games , and with that criteria , Activision is a big failure imo

+ Show (3) more repliesLast reply 4986d ago
GraveLord4987d ago

That's what people want. We want to play "the same games every year".

At least Activision cares about gamers. How you ask? They don't have online passes on their games. They don't have on-disc DLC. Wish I could say the same for EA.

Hicken4986d ago

They need to do more than that to prove they care about gamers.

Godmars2904987d ago

But earned by their CEO's statements, and company actions like high prices for map packs.

RememberThe3574987d ago

To be honest we (I) have drawn conclusions from half truths. None of us really know what happens behind those closed doors(The firings). What we do know is that Acti, among others, seems to be on a mission to screw us over. So while this developer my like the people working there, us consumers will keep telling them to blow it out their asses.

Reborn4987d ago

I certainly didn't expect this particular guy, to say anything against them. Did you?

Activision behave in a manner which merits the backlash they get. It's not about being a business, and gaining profit. I'm sure for years to come COD will continue to do just that. Whilst it does that, they could attempt to put out something fresh.

But do they? Nope.

Baka-akaB4987d ago (Edited 4987d ago )

Yeah his word is kinda irrelevant , with activision bankrolling their games every year .

This time around their upcoming spider-man games seems neat , but for a while every year it was the same crappy to mediocre spiderman cash in games milking .

atticus144987d ago

hes going to forward this interview when his bonus/raise comes up.

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50°

Kotick claims lawsuit objecting to MS-Activision deal was "tied to Embracer's desire to boost sales"

Former CEO describes lawsuit filed by Swedish pension fund as a "collateral attack" on Activision Blizzard.

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gamesindustry.biz
OpenGL1d 5h ago

Yeah, the Microsoft deal has DEFINITELY worked out for everyone.

galgor1d 2h ago

Can this mother fucker just get lost already

PRIMORDUS1d 1h ago

He belongs in here ⚰️, hopefully sooner than later.

MrDead10h ago(Edited 10h ago)

Kotick Made $155 million from MS in the buyout, the little b*tch needs to stop whining. Thanks to this Microslop deal and massive industry consolidation thousands upon thousands of devs and other workers lost their livelihoods. This greedy piggie pervert needs shut up and f-off.

160°

Microsoft needs to listen or risk irreparable harm to Call of Duty

Windows Central: "The money may keep rolling in, but Microsoft is the custodian of one of the biggest selling video game series in history. If something doesn't change, I fear we'll reach a breaking point and irreparable damage will have been done."

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windowscentral.com
StoneTitan51d ago

Because ms is so good at managing studios, surely they will get it right

:P

franwex51d ago

In my view, they should probably merge MP with Warzone and essentially make it free to play like Halo Infinite. The campaign/zombies mode can be $30 yearly DLC. I know this would be insanity as most COD players essentially pay the full price of the game simply for the MP. However-with a shrinking player base they may have to consider it. Making it free would bring in a ton of players.

Profchaos51d ago

To late MW3 should have been a lesson but here we are two years later with a steaming pile a shite called blops7

bsingle4051d ago

Nothing lasts forever, eventually something will come along to make people forget about COD

51d ago Replies(1)
1Victor51d ago (Edited 51d ago )

@Oumba:”We’ve heard that story many times before 😂”
You know what we seen many times good franchises been run into the ground by bad management like h___o , f___a and most of the sports game oh I forgot the dynasty warriors
Oh forgot to say
Happy thanksgiving to all the N4G members
🥳 🍗 🦃

MDTunkown51d ago

Halo killer once arrived and technically call of duty killer also arrived, its name is Fortnite

dveio51d ago

Call of Duty was riding the revenue horse and charts for ~20 years. Whether undeserved or deserved.

But I endorse everyone to remind you that Microsoft could have decided differently when they took it over.

The money was certainly there, and they could have taken their time revamping the franchise:

Current-gen tech, manageable microtransactions, not imitating Fortnite and returning to core values of the franchise's origin.

They didn't.

Let's see next year. Hopefully without the then 13 years old PS4 and One hardware.

blacktiger51d ago

you need to stop saying "let see next year"

XBManiac51d ago

dveo is an alias of Phil Spencer?

XBManiac51d ago

dveio is an alias of Phil Spencer?

Show all comments (31)
110°

Xbox May Update: Retro Classics Come to Xbox Game Pass, PC Gaming Updates, and More

A variety of new updates are available this month across the gaming platforms. Coming today, Retro Classics games are available to play for Xbox Game Pass members. Players who stream on the Xbox app on PC now have an additional streaming option with GeForce Now. Game Bar introduces quick settings, visual updates for Widgets in Compact Mode, and coming soon, Microsoft Edge Game Assist, an in-game browser that brings an immersive game-centric experience to Edge. And Xbox gift cards can now be redeemed for any amount via Xbox Rewards.

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news.xbox.com
darthv72240d ago

While i appreciate the gesture.... all of these retro classics have been made available everywhere else. I am hoping to see some other Activision properties make their way out of the shackles of the 5th, 6th and 7th gen. Licensing be damned... bring back the Transformers Cybertron games.

P_Bomb240d ago

Love the Cybertron games! TF games have been shit lately. Would love to see that era revisited. I even did the multiplayer!

MrBaskerville239d ago

Is the retro classics for all consoles?

Obscure_Observer240d ago

Metaphor on Gamepass just announced! O.o

Seriously, this is the best generation of Xbox ever!!!

We can´t catch a freaking break from awesome games arriving all the time!!!

Deathdeliverer240d ago

It’s a HELL of a game. If you like JRPGs in the family of Persona, you will be in heaven… that is until you hear the various battle music…. then you’ll be somewhere BEYOND heaven!

babadivad239d ago

Just finished Clair Obscur. This should be fun.