How's this for tough love? Activision CEO Bobby Kotick believes lagging game sales are partly the result of "a stream of products that are less than adequate from some of our competitors". Naming no names, obviously.
The comments came following Activision's earnings report for the quarter ending 30th June. Here are some takeaways, for context: World of Warcraft subscriptions are down by roughly one million to 9.1 million, but Call of Duty: Elite continues to pick up pace, passing 12 million (Premium and non-paying) users. Total revenue is $1.08 billion, exceeding expectations but a few thousand down on the $1.15 billion Activision hauled in the same period last year. Profits stand at $185 million, a 45 per cent drop-off. The company has raised its revenue forecast for 2012 from $4.2 to $4.3 billion.
However, the boxed videogame market's well-publicised slump isn't purely a cyclical thing. "I also think you've had, unfortunately, a stream of products that are less than adequate from some of our competitors," Kotick went on.
"The demand in the marketplace is for great quality products. If you look at the success we're having it validates that there is an opportunity for great quality products but I think at this stage in the cycle, it's challenging for anything other than great quality products."
"There's also a lot of competition for entertainment dollars - you look at mobile games and what's happening there and the pricing there that's having an impact," he continued.
"And I also think that a lot of the games we make, like Call of Duty, that are multiplayer games offer a lot of replayability, and when you have the opportunity for replayabiity in an economic environment like this, you're going to spend more time playing the games that you have.
"But I will say that if you look out at the next five years, there's a lot of reason to be hopeful and enthusiastic, but the next few years are going to be challenging."
Here are six games everybody hated that sold millions anyway.
8 comments so far...
Clanger67 on 3 Aug '12 said:
Says the man who keeps churning out COD,lol.While the slump in game sales might be down in part to lack of originality etc.I myself just have less money to spare than i did last year.Because while the money you tend to get goes up every year it is peanuts to what they keep taking off you every year.I tend to get a few games day one but only because they are usually heavily discounted anyway and waiting a couple of weeks or months might mean i won't have the money.Plus gaming has always been a luxury form of entertainment they aren't something you have to buy like food.
SkinnerChinner on 3 Aug '12 said:
It's so hypocritical is quite entertaining!
I'm not one of these COD haters either, I bought & enjoyed the game for what it was, but certainly wasn't anything new - pales in comparison to several other titles out there. Your not the only one feeling the squeeze either, I've also cut back on entertainment allowances (which isn't a great deal anymore), meaning I'll really think about if I actually want the game, which ones I do want, or whether I'd rather spend that money on a film, book or something else. This year's also seen premium services like elite introduced, now you pay £40 then another £35 on top of that? Puts me off from the start...for all of DICE/EA's bashing on Activision for that, their just the same with Premium...
CunningSmile on 3 Aug '12 said:
Looking at his statement I'm filled with hope that Kotick, who has been very vocal and proud he can't stand games and just wants the money, will move the whole of Acti towards mobile games and leave the rest of us alone. Without Acti's poisonous influence on the market we might get back to everyone else making quality products that push the boundries rather than following the lead of milking yearly franchises, no innovation and Me Too multiplayer.
Lancer Armstrong on 3 Aug '12 said:
What a hilarious statement.
The Call of Duty games are okay(ish), but most other shooters I've played are much better than the COD games. Maybe because they try harder, whereas the COD games really aren't even trying anymore.
Just look at games like Darkness 2 or Ghost Recon: Future Soldier. Or how about Vanquish, my vote for the most overlooked and underrated shooter of this generation.
Hell, just look at Gears 3. That game has a massive campaign, multiplayer, Horde mode and Beast mode. And every single one of those modes are playable solo, splitscreen and online. They even have bots for the Versus multiplayer, for those of us who hate going online. It's the ultimate shooter package.
Activision need to get their fingers out of their asses and Kotick needs to shut the hell up.
msbhvn on 3 Aug '12 said:
Excuse me, but if Activision games were such good quality, surely I'd own a few, right? Wrong. I own two Activision published games, Band Hero and Prototype. I didn't get Prototype 2 because it was exactly the same as the first one and the Guitar Hero series is dead.
EA may be ruining all their franchises at the moment, but at least they're not just throwing them in the bin and closing down half their studios.
No wonder Vivendi want rid of Activision Blizzard.
YoungTobias on 4 Aug '12 said:
I've tried to articulate a reply to this, but I don't even need to. The quote itself is evidence of how out of touch Activision has become, just like EA.
Alaric14 on 4 Aug '12 said:
I appreciate the anti-Activision shit storm being generated by our friendly neighbourhood forum users, but for the sake of balance I feel I should remind all here present of the argument that Call of Duty (and Battlefield) sell as many copies as they do because they provide high quality gaming experiences.
Whether or not these are THE highest quality gaming experiences is down to personal taste, but when you compare them to a lot of the stuff that comes out across the year there are only a few games that really register on the same level.
msbhvn on 4 Aug '12 said:
I think the point is that CoD is so polished and slick because Acti focus most of their resources on it, to the detriment of everything else. Take away CoD and WoW and what do ActiBlizzard have? I can't think of anything, other than whatever Bungie are up to. They're putting all their eggs in one basket and while that may work in the short term, they've no real long term plans.