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Posts Tagged “Bobby Kotick”

business

Activision Says Relax! No Industry Slowdown Coming

What, me worry? Activision CEO Bobby "Robert" Kotick says the game industry is not headed for a slowdown. Things are buzzing! Fear not!! In a conference call, Kotick said:

The video-game market fundamentals have never been stronger. There's no evidence that this growth will slow... A lot of this growth is coming from consumers who are experiencing video games for the first time.

Nothing, we mean nothing, will wipe that shit-eating grin off Kotick's face. Ever.
No Signs of Slowdown [Reuters]

10:00 PM on Thu May 8 2008
By Brian Ashcraft
459 views, 11 comments

Latest by Itchy (PSN: Kaizoku-ou): @Mlata: I find myself in agreement with Mlata here. Until I remembered that my favourite game of all time (I've said this a lot), is a game that utilizes (haha, dino-joke "uses") several FPS aspects. Metal Gear Solid. more »

the empire strikes back

EA Fires Back At Activision's "Soul-Stealing" Comments

Maybe you've noticed, maybe you haven't, but it seems Activision CEO Bobby Kotick has been taking quite a few little digs at its fellow giant Electronic Arts these days — perhaps coincidentally, the same digs many of you have been taking at EA in the comments of my recent stories on the company's bid to purchase Take-Two.

On his Level Up blog, Newsweek's N'Gai Croal decided to go right to EA's Jeff Brown and see what the company had to say in its own defense. The logo you see here is Level Up's own design for the EA Empire — think they should adopt it officially?

More »

12:20 PM on Mon May 5 2008
By Leigh Alexander
11,121 views, 39 comments

Latest by Brannagins-Law: Hahaha. Kotaku won't print my previous comment about how EA treats their employees vs. Activision. You want to talk about "soul stealing"... more »

activision

Sees Shit Economy Bringing Console Price Cuts

Good news! The US economy is going in the toilet, and we may get cheaper game consoles because of it!! Says Activision CEO Bobby "Robert" Kotick:


With the rising costs of fuel and food and housing, it is more difficult to go out and buy a $399 console, and I think it's going to put pressure on the console manufacturers to reduce their prices.

This applies to everyone but Nintendo. Elsewhere Kotick thinks that EA - Take Two merger could be a "challenge." He says, "When you think about one company in control of the sports category, with no competition from anybody else, that could be a challenge."

Kotick is a regular ol' quote machine! Opinions? He's got 'em.
Game Console Prices May Be Cut [Reuters]

4:00 AM on Thu May 1 2008
By Brian Ashcraft
1,198 views, 31 comments

Latest by aphex242: @Mr. Fluffykins: You're basically right there, too, although if you recognize why things are so expensive in Japan you'll recognize why they're so expensive in the EU. Believe me, the LAST thing I'm doing is saying "Oh my country is better!"... more »

activision

Guitar Hero On Tour Tracklist

Activision released the tracklist for its DS title Guitar Hero: On Tour. It's more than 25 songs, though the tracklist only includes 15 of them. Hit the jump for the list:

More »

6:40 AM on Wed Apr 30 2008
By Brian Ashcraft
12,489 views, 132 comments

Latest by BassForever: Hey learn to read people, it cleary says in the article 10 MORE songs to be annouced :P more »

bobby kotick

Activision Boss Says EA Is The Soul-Stealing Opposite Of Activision

Bobby Kotick, CEO of Activision, confirms in an interview with Portfolio what we've suspected for years—Electronic Arts runs on the power of human souls! Maybe we're reading it wrong, but Kotick definitely said that EA "did a very good job of taking the soul out of a lot of the studios it acquired." Hey, even EA boss John Riccitiello kind of agrees, pointing out at DICE this year that older acquisitions like Bullfrog, Origin and Westwood were examples of the publisher blowing it and that taking away developer autonomy is "a profound mistake."

Kotick says the soul-harvesting machine doesn't fly at Activision, which has "built a model that celebrates entrepreneurial, opportunistic, independent values" and a new Tony Hawk game every fucking year. And they have free bagels on Mondays!

Game Boy [Portfolio via Develop]

6:20 PM on Thu Apr 24 2008
By Michael McWhertor
4,737 views, 69 comments

Latest by freakout: @Kegwen: Looks like someone never played Rocks the 80s! :P more »

blizzard

No In-Game Ads for StarCraft II

Activision CEO Bobby Kotick is an excitable guy. Just look at him! Ball. Of. Energy. He got so excited at the Morgan Stanley Technology Conference that he said StarCraft II "can actually be the model for in-game advertising and sponsorship and tournament play and ladder play for the future." And Bobby Kotick loves using the world "and." And while he might've been spouting off things he apparently learned from the Activision-Blizzard merger, the CEO is wrong apparently! According to StarCraft's community manager:

We have no plans to have in-game advertising in StarCraft II. We believe Bobby was actually referring to Battle.net, which has always included ads.

That's not as exciting. Bobby will be crushed.
No In-Game Ads [Eurogamer]

7:00 AM on Fri Mar 7 2008
By Brian Ashcraft
1,745 views, 38 comments

Latest by GrimaceXL: Zerg drink Pepsi, as i recall. Thats why they rush so fiercely. more »

guitar hero

User-Generated Guitar Hero Content At Least Five Years Away

Making your own songs within a game like Guitar Hero, then self-publishing those songs, is a big deal, right? So you'd expect companies like Activision would be toiling day and night to get that kind of power into consumer's hands, right? Notsomuch. As part of his address at the Morgan Stanley Technology Conference yesterday, Activision boss Bobby Kotick says that while his company recognises that it's a big, big deal for a game like GH to incorporate its own user-generated content, he also says that making that kind of software available is "not easy", and that it won't be happening within the next five years. It will happen, he reiterates, just not soon. In the meantime, users will have to instead prepare for things like tournaments and playing for cash, which Kotick says are "the evolution of the medium".
[Pic]

7:20 AM on Wed Mar 5 2008
By Luke Plunkett
3,090 views, 59 comments

Latest by freespeech: we will not be able to develope (will not develope) for another 5yrs (because we want to make a buttload of money). That's what he wanted to really say!!! more »

guitar hero

Activision Get Heavy With Record Labels

More from Activision boss Bobby Kotick's address at the Morgan Stanley Technology Conference: Activision are waking up to just how much money artists can make by appearing on Guitar Hero (HINT: it's a lot). So, they figure, if artists are making money off Guitar Hero, then Activision can start making money off those artists. And their labels. More »

9:40 PM on Tue Mar 4 2008
By Luke Plunkett
3,795 views, 34 comments

guitar hero

Guitar Hero's World Domination Plans: Europe, Asia, "Multiple Instruments"

During his address at the Morgan Stanley Technology Conference earlier today, Activision boss Bobby Kotick was talking up Guitar Hero's plans for world domination. While Rock Band remains focused solely on North America, Activision have outlined Guitar Hero's potential to take over not just Europe, but Asia as well. More »

8:20 PM on Tue Mar 4 2008
By Luke Plunkett
5,326 views, 72 comments

mmo

Activision May Be Considering A Massively Multiplayer Call Of Duty

The head cheese at Activision, Bobby Kotick, recently made headlines for his assertion that, in order to compete properly with World of Warcraft, publishers may need to invest nearly a billion dollars in such a venture. Fortunately for Kotick and crew, they now have access to the big brains at Blizzard and Vivendi, a group of folks who know quite a bit about the MMO business. How then, can Activision exploit its biggest earners into even bigger financial monsters? More »

6:20 PM on Tue Mar 4 2008
By Michael McWhertor
22,670 views, 81 comments

Latest by Tolgak: It should be kept modern. There has yet to be an outstanding fps based in present times. Many have come close, but they aren't yet "there." more »

rumor

Is Guitar Hero: Van Halen Next For Activision?

Activision CEO Bobby Kotick spoke today at the Morgan Stanley Technology Conference about the challenges facing his company, responding to concerns about growth on a few of its key franchises, like Call of Duty and Guitar Hero. While Kotick was wise to avoid revealing specifics, he may have let slip the next artist-focused Guitar Hero title. If true, it may be a very good fit. More »

5:20 PM on Tue Mar 4 2008
By Michael McWhertor
7,711 views, 106 comments

mmocraft

WoW Killer Would Cost A Billion

Think you've got an idea for an MMORPG that could completely kick World of Warcraft's ass? Well Activision CEO Bobby Kotick has some words of discouragement for you. According to the big boss, even attempting to take on WoW would set you back anywhere between $500 million and $1 billion dollars, and even once you've scraped together the cash there's still a chance you'd fail.

"We don't think that even if we made the USD 500 million or billion-dollar investment to get a product out [to compete with WOW] that we would even be successful doing it," he said.
Kotick points to the massive amount of cash that has already gone into the development of failed MMO product, doubting that even a company as well-managed as Activision would have a chance at making a profit in the sector. If you can't beat them, join them, eh Bobby? So is that it? Is World of Warcraft the de facto king of MMOs, never to be dethroned?

$1 billion investment needed to take on World of Warcraft - Kotick [GamesIndustry.biz]

9:20 AM on Thu Feb 28 2008
By Mike Fahey
4,932 views, 140 comments

Latest by silentkill1314: So far Wow is the number 1 MMO game out right now but sooner or later its going to come to an end just like every other good game that just goes boring over time. As the article says up more »

activision

Activision CEO: $199 Consoles Or Die!

There's a reason they pay Activision's chief executive officer Bobby Kotick the big bucks. He's got fresh insight on the video game buying consumer, a group whom he believes likes less expensive consoles. A progressive theory, to be sure, but Kotick wowed the financial community with his acumen, claiming that the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 need a price drop to $199 within the next two years to remain competitive. Furthermore, he's got his sensitive fingers so well placed on the pulse of the market that he believes the much cheaper Wii " is now setting a standard and an expectation" on console pricing.

Sure, go ahead and laugh at the mentally unstable man! I have a sneaking suspicion that he might be right about this one. Kotick will be vindicated, you'll see. It's just crazy enough to work, I say.

Activision CEO: $199 for consoles critical [Reuters]

7:20 PM on Tue Nov 27 2007
By Michael McWhertor
3,378 views, 96 comments

Latest by DrXym: @mordennight: If you just want to play games, buy a PS2 already. Last time I checked it sells for significantly less than $200. It would have been a huge disservice to gamers if Sony's PS3 was just an overclocked PS2 with more »

business

Activision to Lackovision to Back

Activision makes the big bucks. Just earlier this year, the company usurped EA as the number one third party publisher in the world. But every dog has its day, and Activision CEO Bobby Kotick talks about the days when it wasn't so pleasant to go to work in the morning.
The few hundred people left at the company referred to it as Lackovision and I think they suffered a lot from that, combined with a challenging industry at the time.
Heh. And now they are like, Backovision. Get it? More »

2:20 PM on Mon Oct 8 2007
By Mark Wilson
1,983 views, 24 comments

Latest by Video: @Ignited_Impulse: LOL, true what you say. Just remember that hope never dies... more »