Activision CEO: "EA's anti-COD talk harms the gaming industry" - Polidicks

[quote]EA CEO John Riccitiello, head of the company making this fall's premiere [I]Call of Duty[/I] competitor, [I]Battlefield 3[/I], recently said he hopes that he hopes [I]Call of Duty[/I] would "rot from the core." In Germany, this week, Riccitiello's counterpart at Actvision, CEO Eric Hirshberg, fired back, defending not just his company's [I]Call of Duty[/I]/[I]Modern Warfare[/I] franchise but saying that smack talk like that is bad for everyone making games. "This isn't politics," Hirshberg said, as he wrapped up an awards ceremony keynote at the Gamescom event in Cologne. "In order for one to win, the other doesn't have to lose. This is an entertainment industry, it's an innovation industry, and at best, it's an art form... We shouldn't be tearing each other apart, fighting for a larger slice of the pie. We should all be focused on trying to grow a bigger pie. If we as an industry act like there are a finite number of games in the world, then there will be."[/quote] [B]Riccitiello's reply:[/B] [quote]"I know you're new in the job," Brown continued, "but someone should have told you this is an competitive industry. You've got every reason to be nervous. Last year Activision had a 90 share in the shooter category. This year, [I]Battlefield 3[/I] is going to take you down to 60 or 70. At that rate, you'll be out of the category in 2-3 years. If you don't believe me, go to the store and try to buy a copy of [I]Guitar Hero[/I] or [I]Tony Hawk[/I]." As CEOs or spokespeople often do, Brown was boiling down the heated competition between EA and Activision's shooter games to numbers. The share he refers to is the amount of games sold in a genre go to a single series. The [I]Call of Duty[/I]/[I]Modern Warfare[/I] dominance in the military shooter genre has frustrated EA, whose [I]Medal of Honor[/I] series used to dominate and whose recent [I]Battlefield: Bad Company[/I] games, while well-reviewed, couldn't budge the king from his throne. EA's been wanting to take Activision down for a while, with [I]Bad Company[/I], with a revived [I]Medal of Honor[/I] but also with the [URL="http://kotaku.com/5705433/the-plan-to-dethrone-call-of-duty"]assumption that their best shout would be October's [I]Battlefield 3[/I][/URL]. That game is aimed to battle with Activision's November-scheduled [I]Modern Warfare 3[/I]. [/quote] [B]Source:[/B] [URL]http://kotaku.com/5832203/call-of-duty-makers-say-competitors-anti+call-of-duty-talk-harms-the-gaming-industry[/URL] [B]Reply Source:[/B] [URL]http://kotaku.com/5832660/trash+talking-battlefield-publisher-predicts-call-of-duty-will-collapse--in-2+3-years[/URL] Although Hirshberg makes some excellent points, and he's perfectly entitled to an opinion, I really don't think Activision as a [I]company[/I] has any right to talk about anybody else 'harming' the games industry. It's wrong to blame Hirshberg for what is basically Bobby Kotick's work, but all they've been doing is repackaging the same overpriced game for the last 5 years, and all 'Berg has done so far is talk pretty words. EA aren't angels either, but Activision makes them look like blue-eyed labrador puppies. Anyway, rant over. I know it's naive to even be surprised about tales of corporate greed, but when you consider how many companies make a solid living without resorting to backstabbing and customer-shafting as the modus operandi (Valve for instance), it just seems criminal to let them get away with it.

ITT: Psychological Projection But I think it makes sense, what he's trying to say is basically 'Games should not be made out of competition against other titles' No really it just drowns both games in fanboy-drama and makes the developers seem childish

why are these public corporation CEO's even allowed to talk every single time they say something people just hate them.

EA might be harming the industry but not by saying call of duty blows.

Uh oh my game is better than yours kiss your ass goodbye Activision. Lots of Love, EA.

[QUOTE=Lambeth;31830377]EA might be harming the industry but not by saying call of duty blows.[/QUOTE] How?

On the topic of pie comparisons: I'd much rather have a smaller pie that tastes better than one that is huge but is mostly spoiled ingredients.

What's next? Dog's strapped with explosives?

At the rate the BF3 news is going, I don't honestly care anymore. I loved every other battlefield game, but what Ive seen so far doesn't warrant a pre-order. Its idiocy that Activision has the guts to charge £40 for their carbon copy and EA is boasting when they repeatedly show their lack of commitment to making BF3. Im getting Skyrim first, because every time that has news, Im blown away.

[quote]This is an entertainment industry, it's an innovation industry, and at best, it's an art form - Actvision CEO Eric Hirshberg[/quote] I died laughing

skyrim is going to eat my life just imagine all the porn mods!

[QUOTE=thisispain;31830552]skyrim is going to eat my life just imagine all the porn mods![/QUOTE] Only on Facepunch...

sounds like something a republican would say

No, COD hurts the gaming industry.

[QUOTE=Bletotum;31830586]sounds like something a republican would say[/QUOTE] Guess what most CEOs of huge shitty companies are?

[url]http://theuglydance.com/?v=ifmtturwam[/url] Meanwhile @ Activision.

[QUOTE=RaxaHax;31830322]ITT: Psychological Projection But I think it makes sense, what he's trying to say is basically 'Games should not be made out of competition against other titles' No really it just drowns both games in fanboy-drama and makes the developers seem childish[/QUOTE] He has a point really. EA can stop the anti cod thing now. We get it. So back to the anti EA thing i suppose.

[quote=Hirshberg]"This isn't politics," Hirshberg said, "In order for one to win, the other doesn't have to lose. This is an entertainment industry, it's an innovation industry, and at best, it's an art form... We shouldn't be tearing each other apart, fighting for a larger slice of the pie. We should all be focused on trying to grow a bigger pie. If we as an industry act like there are a finite number of games in the world, then there will be."[/quote] Bullshit. He doesn't give a shit about innovation or the art form. Call of Duty right now in gameplay is really repetitive, flawed and cheap. But somehow they managed to give it something that people appreciated, guess it's the dubstep enhanced thrill of killing, but how things are looking right now they don't have a lot to offer because the CoD Core is the same, and it's gonna rot. I can see it, or rather feel it, because I have played the recent CODs.

why do you guys think cod is ruining the games industry so much? it's doing wonders for the fish industry

Harming the game industry? It was Activision that raped game developers and then dismantled them once they were no longer profitable.

I think its a generally accepted fact that competition helps most industries.

[QUOTE=sami-elite;31831113]He has a point really. EA can stop the anti cod thing now. We get it. So back to the anti EA thing i suppose.[/QUOTE] They're both as shit as each other

[quote=Activision CEO]We should all be focused on trying to grow a bigger pie.[/quote] Correct me if I'm wrong, but pies aren't grown..?

[QUOTE=evlbzltyr;31831908]Correct me if I'm wrong, but pies aren't grown..?[/QUOTE] Mud pies?

[QUOTE]defending his company's Call of Duty/Modern Warfare[/QUOTE] [QUOTE]"This is an entertainment industry, it's an innovation industry, and at best, it's an art form"[/QUOTE] [QUOTE]Call of Duty[/QUOTE] [QUOTE]"innovation ; art form"[/quote]

[QUOTE=RichyZ;31831949]cod invented the perk system and the fpsrpg xp system that basically every online fps uses today[/QUOTE] It didn't actually invent them, it just popularized them - or at least, brought them into the FPS genre. They've existed in RPGs for decades. Besides, two basic features are hardly any real innovation.

so, what happened to games being made for the sake of making games? all it's about anymore is getting the biggest market share. :sigh:

[QUOTE=Lyoko774;31832091]so, what happened to games being made for the sake of making games? all it's about anymore is getting the biggest market share. :sigh:[/QUOTE] PC indie games kind of exist for that.

Both are fucking stupid. One is creating COD which isn't terrible, it just does not bring anything new to the table. Nothing wrong with that necessarily if you're looking for a similar experience and isn't overly-new in terms of new game play. But if you're looking for innovation and something vastly different look the other direction. Its a FPS with the action of a overly budgeted movie. The company that supports it are not that great, overpriced DLC and various other content. They also have a strong history of milking franchises, the best example would be Guitar Hero. As for BF3, from what I've seen and heard it is nothing but BC 2.5. And to play the game it is overly difficult and has an awkward UI. On top of that they're forcing origin and screwing customers over who don't want to be a part of the whole origin vs all other digital platform services war. Along with that EA has a nice history of doing good things and gaining a bit of respect back then doing something stupid to loose all that respect. They both want money and shares, one wants to say at the top and the other one will do anything to get to the top. Both companies are losing sight of what is important. Both are shit companies and act just as worse as the other. They're acting like they're doing it for the ART or being "innovative" when in reality they're both just reusing the same shit that has been going on for years and polishing it up. Both are just as bad as the other.

Oh the irony.