Activision CEO Bobby Kotick is taking his daily bruising from gamers, this time for telling someone he'd raise video game prices if he could. But there's a little more to the story.
Kotick made the comment during a conference call between Activision Blizzard executives and financial analysts yesterday to discuss the company's performance from April through June.
Kotick was quoted as telling an analyst that "I would raise the prices even further," a line that was interpreted to mean that he's ready to jack up game prices. (Destructoid provided Kotick a forked tongue for this one.)
What hasn't been as clear is what Kotick was replying to and the tone in which he offered his comment.
The question Kotick fielded involved the price of peripheral-bundled games like Guitar Hero and Tony Hawk Ride. It came from analyst Tony Gikas, according to a transcript of the call: "... if you don't mind, just your comfort level regarding pricing of some of your new games that have some expensive controllers and any feedback that you had from retail as we move through the holidays."
Company CEO Mike Griffith first fielded the price question, saying: "We've had for all of our launch titles in the back half of this year, some of which contain peripherals, as you point out, very strong retailer acceptance and support for all parts of our plan, including our merchandising plans, our marketing programs, and our price points."
Kotick responded, prompting laughter, with: "And Tony, you know if it was left to me, I would raise the prices even further."
I've asked Activision representatives to clarify Kotick's statement, to specify what price the company feels is ideal for games and what price Kotick would like to raise peripheral-based games to. I've not heard back yet, but if I do, I'll update the post.