Bobby Kotick calls Bungie “last remaining” good developer
When you are as filthy rich and powerful as Bobby Kotick you can get away with saying just about anything. It appears that Kotick might have gotten a little bullish with “his” new partnership with Bungie.
Kotick in fact may have a man-crush, or in this case studio-crush, for Bungie. He went on record stating that Bungie is in fact the “last remaining high quality independent developer” in the world or universe (pick one).
According to CVG, he told Merrill Lynch Media that “Bungie are a very unusual company.”
They’re probably the last remaining high quality independent developer. It’s very hard to [pauses]… that has sort of has institutional skills and capabilities. And they’re a real company.
Kotick then went on to stroke his company, Blizzard, by stating:
Blizzard had 2,500 people in customer service and support just for World Of Warcraft. How you train them, how you manage them, how you organise them… how you use CRM tools in delighting and satisfying the expectations of your audiences.. it’s something no other company [Bungie] talked to [could offer].
It could be that Kotick wanted to justify his decision in spending boat loads of money on Bungie to the investors. Regardless of the reasons I can’t help feel that other third party devs such as Valve and EPIC are probably shaking their heads.
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September 20th, 2010
Lmfao this Bobby kock knows nothing.
What a piece of shit. I bet he is related to hh.
September 20th, 2010
Kotick, you are officially an fucking idiot ( cue Sean Connery’s accent and scene from the Rock )
Your leaving great companies such as:
Sony Santa Monica Studios
Naughty Dog
Insomniac
Sucker Punch
Incognito
Team Ico
The only shit that bungie has come out with is Halo…each of the above studios have put out better and GENRE DEFINING games….
Not to mention:
Nintendo
Konami
Capcom
Square
Failed to mention
Blizzard
DICE
Relic
Someone shoot this moron please….
September 20th, 2010
who do you think should win the “full of shit” trophy? this guy or greenberg?
September 20th, 2010
Maybe a joint award
September 20th, 2010
You know I never thought it possible, but here we have a bigger tool than CAD.
September 21st, 2010
Hes a tool thats done alright for himself and his company though!!
Also jojo not all of your studios are independent and stop being a tool Along with half life i would say Halo defined the FPS genre.
September 21st, 2010
jojo
he said “independent” studios. . .all the studios you listed are owned by sony.
September 21st, 2010
“last remaining high quality independent developer” in the world or universe (pick one).
Total bullshit.
Valve.
Alot of people don’t like the head honcho but Valve has done alot for the gaming community.
September 21st, 2010
@Toshi
I finished off Mass Effect 2 yesterday. I got the insanity achievement, so now I can move onto something else. Insanity was actually alot of fun. Some tough battles but it just kept getting easier the longer I played.
The end wasn’t even hard at all lol. Best bet is getting the Geth Assault Rifle, which tears through shields, and having Jack in your party, Loyal, with maxed Squad Warp ammo.
Now I still have all those ME1 achievements to go through but I don’t think I will be doing that anytime soon lol.
September 21st, 2010
“he said “independent” studios. . .all the studios you listed are owned by sony.”
Insomniac and Sucker Punch are both independent studios.
September 21st, 2010
“Hes a tool thats done alright for himself and his company though!!”
By sucking on MS ass so bad that Gates will never get rid of those hickies.
September 21st, 2010
We can add navyste to the pool of fuckin brain dead xbots.
September 21st, 2010
“Along with half life i would say Halo defined the FPS genre.”
Killzone beats Halo anyday.
September 21st, 2010
“Valve.
Alot of people don’t like the head honcho but Valve has done alot for the gaming community.”
So true. Even Half life 2 is better than Halo.
Did Bungie make anything besides Halo?
September 21st, 2010
I’ll put these independent developer (quality & content wise) above Bungie anyday
Valve
Insomniac
Epic
Level-5
whoever said this probably started gaming on Xbox.
“Along with half life i would say Halo defined the FPS genre”
What about about Perfect Dark, GoldenEye, Counter Strike, Unreal Tournament and many others
September 21st, 2010
It is odd that “One of the Last Remaining High Quality Independent developer” really has been simply following the same formula for the last four games.
I guess that’s all that Activision wants from it’s developers. cough… cough… Guitar Hero and COD.
September 21st, 2010
-and don’t forget Quake Roca. Quake has it’s own convention names after it.
September 21st, 2010
Shouldn’t a game developer at least have two AAA franchises under their belt before they’re considered the ‘last remaining high quality independent developer”?
Could be call Marathon a Triple A game?
Insomniac has
-Spyro
-Ratchet and Clank
-Resistance
Epic
-Gears of War
-Unreal Tournament
-Unreal
Valve
-Left 4 Dead
-Half Life
-Portal
-Counter Strike
Sucker Punch
-Sly Cooper
-Infamous
September 21st, 2010
Level-5
-Dark Cloud 2 (PS2)
-Dragon Quest 8 (PS2)
-Rogue Galaxy (PS2)
-Jeanne d’Arc (PSP)
-Professor Layton Series (DS)
September 21st, 2010
hey I thought Duke nukem defined FPS genre? LOL
September 21st, 2010
I remember Doom on the N64
September 21st, 2010
Lastest from Bobby Kotick: “Sony, Microsfot, EA will ‘struggle’ to challenge us in the future.
“Traditional companies – EA or Sony or Microsoft – that make console-based video games, are going to really struggle [in future] to figure out how to get into these online business we’re in today”
September 21st, 2010
The first FPS I recall playing on PC was Wolfenstein.
September 21st, 2010
If MS is worried the Online is killing the industry then why are they putting so much money and effort into FPS games that only have good online?
Sony is sitting pretty with all the mix.
September 21st, 2010
Mine was Doom. Loved it.
September 21st, 2010
Kotick article ROca just mentioned.
http://tech.uk.msn.com/gaming/articles.aspx?cp-documentid=154729924
First things first. Kotick is an idiot. We’re talking about the guy that bought the Guitar Hero franchise and got rid of Harmonix without a second look. Real insight there huh? Or how about letting the golden goose get away with IW. That was a blunder. I’m ashamed that Bungie got involved with this idiot.
If you read that article Roca referred to you can see that Online infrastructure is what he’s talking about. He’s very high and mighty that Blizzard is very successful with WOW. I have news for him. WOW will last until the next more popular MMO comes around.
DC universe is right around the corner. FF14 on the PC is selling very well. That brings me to another thing. SOE predates Blizzards online infrastructure by some time. People moved on from Everquest to WOW. What makes him think this will not happen again. It i will likely be one of the F2P (free to play) models that knock WOW from the top. LOTR online is out. Free Realms has been doing great. Other are talking about models of MMO that will be cutting the subscription. Kotick is trying to figure out how to charge people that don’t deserve to be charged (COD players cuz they use their own box as a server)
Both Sony and Microsoft IMO have a better online infrastructure. SOE is big. PSN is big and a means of distributing games, music and movies. Partnership with Valve for Steam works will only improve this.
As for XBL. You’ve all seen the earnings it generates.
I think Kotick ate the brown acid.
September 21st, 2010
@Phranc, i think our first debate is about to occur:
“Blizzard is very successful with WOW. I have news for him. WOW will last until the next more popular MMO comes around.”
Sorry man, but Blizzard is pretty much, in my eyes, EASILY one of my top 5 game developers…why? Before Activision acquired them, they publish AND develop their own games….and EVERY game they make, is genre defining and raises the bar in their respective genres…now on to WoW:
WoW CURRENTLY still has over 11 million subscribers…including myself…the game is ~ 5 years old…and number will only INCREASE, as it has with every expansion, with the release of Catalclysm…or at least solidify WoW for AT LEAST another 2 years…
As for other MMOs coming out and taking WoWs subscribers?? A TON of MMOs have come out, with better graphics, better pricing models and have failed miserably to over throw WoW, they are successful and profitable, but are nowhere near the 11 million(<–hey look that more people that play WoW than subscribe to LIVE Gold…LMAO!!!) sub base WoW has:
City of Heroes
Guild Wars
Age of Conan
Lord of the Rings
EVE
Aion
WarHammer ( <–had the most successful launch in MMO history, 1 million subs on day one…now down to about ~300k..and this is the one with the most subs next to WoW…i loved the pvp (rvr) system of this game…but it wasn't enough as Mythic/EA let bugs fuck the game up and lose subscribers…
So, in short, if the above games COMBINED couldn't put a dent on WoWs 11 million + sub base, the following wont either:
DCUOnline ( although i'll get this game)
FF14
Guild Wars 2 ( i CANNOT wait for this game)
Oh on top of this, Blizzard is working on a brand new, original IP for another MMO….and remember what i said about Blizzard and them re-defining genres? and just to add some more sugar, they have yet to release Diablo 3…and the 2 expansions to Starcraft….Sorry Phranc, im a Blizzard fanboy moreso than a Sony one…also as a side note, on the PC side of things, in terms of CG, Blizzard just KILLS anyone and everyone…their CGI team, which is also IN HOUSE, i believe is even better than Square-Enix….
See thats why i respect Blizzard so much, their success is of their own, sure they take some ideas and make it their own, in the realm of fantasy, EVERYONE draws and takes from 2-3 sources: Dungeons and Dragons, JR Tolkien and WarHammer…but all their success is of their own and thats why they are the best
Sorry Phranc, but of all the stupid things Kotick has done, acquiring Blizzard was the smartest thing and insurance he could have done, and has…Blizzard is money man, and i don't hold anything against Blizzard, other than their association with Activision and thus Kotick….
September 21st, 2010
Everything Blizzard made is gold (I like them as developers, they sure take their time) but what if Activision drive them to repackage their games and released as many entries as possible. Also also they are alot of MMO’s coming out, one of them might be good enough to take a good chunk of ppl who are tired of play WoW for years. Star Wars MMO look great and SOE was the MMO king with Everquest and that Everquest 4 is coming out things might change.
Blizzard has yet to failed us but hey, last time I check Bobby Kotick said they might charge for their games CGI cut scene because StarCraft had over an hour worth of CGI. If Activion takes away Blizzard’s vision I dont them being in the top for long
September 21st, 2010
@Roca
Chris Metzen and Rob Pardo ( VP and VP of Creative Development) have already stated Activision will have no say whatsoever on the development of Blizzard’s titles, games will release when Blizzard says they are ready NOT bitch ass Activision, and the thing is, Blizzard is able to do that because they were successful publishing and developing their own titles before Activision and would most likely do so again if they felt they were being bullied…
Now that does not make Blizzard immune to what always happens when your at the top: falling…they could very well much do so, and in fact, they might need it a bit for them to humbled if they let someone fucking douche shit like Kotick dictate to them what type of content their game needs…put it this way: If there is LESS CGI in the next Starcraft, i’ll fucking boot leg the thing..
As for the MMOs you mentioned Roca:
Everquest ( i was NEVER into it, dont like the lore or setting)
Star Wars ( hmmm, i don’t see this taking away from the mainstream as Star Wars is more “nerdy” than a fantastical type of setting)
No Roca, the only MMO i see outselling WoW is Blizzard own original MMO that they are working on….
That hour’s worth of CGI was fucking AWESOME….you should check it out Roca, the scene with Zeratul and Kerrigan has the SMOOTHEST looking smoke effects i’ve seen in a game CGI….you’ll see what im talking about if and when you see it
Oh and just for us, and on the counter point of the subject of ‘less CGI’, Blizzard is rumored to be working on a FULL Starcraft CGI movie, to be released when we our grandchildren have children..i jest, but the rumor is the Starcraft all CGI movie is to be released in 5 years lol, it makes sense as they have to release Diablo 3, the next two ‘expansions’ to Starcraft 2 and their next MMO should have launched by then, which would have given them time to work on it
i’m excited!
September 21st, 2010
http://www.mmocrunch.com/2007/12/10/subscription-by-subscription-october-edition/
WoW owns over 25% of the MMO market….followed by Second Life…the closest ‘hardcore’ gaming franchise was Guild Wars at 12%…
September 21st, 2010
@Jojo
You sound like you have an Xbot mentality. That is like a bag of shit will sell if it has the word Halo on it.
September 21st, 2010
WOW is established like Halo. But that doesn’t mean it’s the best choice. Anyone who has invested a lot of time building their character is not going to switch.
September 21st, 2010
Not saying anything negative about Blizzard, but lets be honest with oursleves. They will eventually falter to some other game. It happened to SOE and Everquest..It will happen again. Can’t fight the inevitable.
It’s my belief that console MMORPG’s will one day overtake Blizzards PC MMO. Kind of how Halo popularized online FPS’s to another market. Blizzard will either conform or face people switching to consoles.
September 21st, 2010
@Jojo
Well, you certainly know more about Blizzard/MMOs than I do. If Activion doesnt have any control over Blizzard then it’s all good
I didnt know you play WoW, is it still good?
September 21st, 2010
More recent numbers:
# World of Warcraft – 10,000,000
# Runescape – 1,250,000
# Lineage – 1,000,000
# Lineage II – 1,000,000
# Final Fantasy XI – 500,000
# Dofus – 500,000
# Eve Online – 300,000
# Lord of the Rings Online – 300,000 (estimate)
# Warhammer Online – 300,000 (estimate)
# Age of Conan – 100,000 (estimate)
Read more: http://www.brighthub.com/video-games/mmo/articles/35992.aspx#ixzz10BbkFr7q
http://www.mmodata.net/
-
September 21st, 2010
Roca,
Yeah WoW is still cool, just everything is winding down, as people prepare their ‘toons’ for Cataclysm, so people are just running around leveling, hoarding items…its the worst time for group play as everyone is, like i said, preparing their own toons for the expansion….
Im sure Activision has some form of $$control$$ over Blizzard, hence the merger, but creativity wise, i doubt Activision would be stupid enough to get in Blizzard’s way ya know? Blizzard has the creative and $$pull$$ of their own to not have to take it…
As for MMOs, i think it depends on what you want to do.. If you love Dungeons and Bosses with cool gear as a reward (Me) then by all means, play WoW, as it offers the smoothest gameplay experience when it comes to MMOs
If you like PvP ( killing other players) and taking Keeps and Cities, then i would HIGHLY recommend Warhammer….I love WH, but it’s development staff (Mythic/EA) kept it from dethroning WoW, too many bugs hindered this game at launch but now that Bioware is on the job, things should and have been for the most part a lot better…you can’t beat the pvp system in WAR..
I always say, if you take the following from WoW;
- Art Style
- Smooth Gameplay
- PvE System
- Blizzard Development Team
and mixed with the following from WAR:
- Graphics
- PvP Sytem
- Keep/City Sieges
- Gear/Reward System
You’d have an MMO that would literally break every fucking single relationship known to gaming lol
September 21st, 2010
DCUO will be my first MMO, are you getting it for PC or PS3?
September 21st, 2010
“You sound like you have an Xbot mentality. That is like a bag of shit will sell if it has the word Halo on it.”
The difference is, ncaissie, Blizzard doesn’t release bags of shit games….ALL of their games are genre defining, unlike Halo….
“WOW is established like Halo. But that doesn’t mean it’s the best choice. Anyone who has invested a lot of time building their character is not going to switch.”
WoW was Blizzard’s FIRST MMO ever…its lore and universe was established, but not the game, also, unlike Halo, WoW is ONE of the best choices for MMOs…i didn’t get into MMOs until WoW, i played FF11 but never got into it….the gameplay is like Street Fighter…easy to get into, but deep enough to differentiate the ‘huntards’ from the “Hunters”
@Phranc:
“Not saying anything negative about Blizzard, but lets be honest with oursleves. They will eventually falter to some other game. It happened to SOE and Everquest..It will happen again. Can’t fight the inevitable.”
Oh i totally agree here. Eventually someone will overtake WoW…but, look at history: Blizzard has always stepped up its game when it has come to competition( unlike Halo, whose graphics are ‘decen’t in a genre where graphics rule) Relic came out with Dawn of War and changed the game up, yet, Blizzard was still able to compete and take away awards
Also, since we talking MMOs, Blizzard is also releasing a new one…maybe they’d dethrone theirselves?
But i do agree with your initial point phranc, eventually someone will beat blizzard, and we’ll see what blizzard will do; fall or adapt adjust and release a better product?
September 21st, 2010
PS3 for me Roca. Already preordered it.
September 21st, 2010
Roca
PS3!!! Myself, my bro, and a couple of my friends are picking it up as well!!
September 21st, 2010
Mine is paid in full – lol
I still need to finish paying off GT5 Collectors Edition, you get a real life GT-R with it
September 21st, 2010
I’ll see you in Metropolis.
Meet me on the roof of the Lexcorp building at midnight Nov 2nd.
September 21st, 2010
In the end I disagree with Kotick. Activision merged with Blizzard. I don’t see that as other companies will find it hard to compete with them mentality. SOE existed before Blizzard got massive. The infrastructure exists. Not only does the infrastructure exist, but the willingness to have MMORPG’s on consoles which as it stands now Blizzard does not appear to favor. No Starcraft 2 and likely no Diablo 3 can only hurt the expansion of those game franchises.
September 21st, 2010
I want Diable 3 on console
, too bad is not going to happen, I might get Dungeon Siege 3 instead
September 21st, 2010
@ncaissie
see you there buddy
September 21st, 2010
Make that 10PM. I have to wi=ork the next day LOL.
Maybe
September 21st, 2010
work.
dam small keyboard lol
September 21st, 2010
by 10PM Metropolis will burned to death by me
September 21st, 2010
LOL Did you order the Villan copy?
September 21st, 2010
@Phranc
“In the end I disagree with Kotick.”
Aye, and he can shove it up his arse!
“SOE existed before Blizzard got massive.”
SOE was founded in 1995, Blizzard( which was founded in 1991 under the Synapse and Silicon name, and later in 1994 became Blizzard ) had already made a name for themselves in the PC world with the release of Warcraft: Orcs and Humans.
So, no SOE did not exist before Blizzard got massive, as Everquest released in 1999 
Sorry Phranc, had to correct yer history 
As you can tell, this is my area of ‘expertise’ if you will
“The infrastructure exists. Not only does the infrastructure exist, but the willingness to have MMORPG’s on consoles which as it stands now Blizzard does not appear to favor.”
This i agree, SOE already has the infrastructure and know how, to be able to bring a MMO to the console..BUT, theres one BIG thing STILL yet to be seen: Will a pay/month model work profitably well on consoles?? <— if this proves it does, and DCUOnline and w/e other console MMO does well, you can bet Blizzard will release at least one of their franchise on console ( Rememer they did release SC on n64) I overall agree with you, but we have to see still, maybe not this gen, but im willing ot bet for sure next gen
"No Starcraft 2 and likely no Diablo 3 can only hurt the expansion of those game franchises."
It has not hurt them in the slightest as of YET. SC2 just broke record sales on release…Cataclysm is set to do the same, just as Frozen Throne and Burning Crusade did before…Diablo 3 is set to do the same as is the SC2 expacs….
If anything, they should realize they could GAIN even MORE sales, but heres the catch:
Blizzard LOVES to control their own IPs, which is understandable, BUT, thats where the conflict lies: ALL of Blizzard's games are tied to BattleNet, i KNOW FOR SURE Sony would be willing add some type of XMB Portal to Battlenet, but what about MS?
September 21st, 2010
@ncaissie
there is only one edition available here in the US.
show me the link for the Villian Edition, I don’t think there’s any
September 21st, 2010
When I pre ordered min they asked which one I wanted.
I couldn’t find it either. But it’s in the GameStop inventory list.
September 21st, 2010
It’s not even on their website.
September 21st, 2010
Bet Treyarch are loving this…
September 21st, 2010
It’s probably the PC version there are two version on PC and only one SKU for PS3
September 21st, 2010
I’m going to ask them LOL
September 21st, 2010
@FKSP
nice.. i was on my 11th playthru of mass effect 2 but then Reach got released..
September 21st, 2010
I didn’t consider Blizzard massive until after WOW was released. Regardless, the point still stands that Sony had a network infrastructure in place prior to Blizzards own MMORPG infrastructure. Kotick Saying that Sony isn’t ready for this is incorrect.
September 21st, 2010
The Orange Box is still better than any Halo game. This guy seemed to forget that little company called ‘Valve’
September 22nd, 2010
Too right oldscool
September 22nd, 2010
@phranc
But the thing is, Blizzard was already big prior to that infrastructure…but, I digress, Sony did have the mmo infrastructure and indeed has it it for consoles ready now, but adds to my point of how not, if, PSN would handle BattleNet and Blizzards patches…we know MS won’t allow that on LIVE….its Sonys best interest to gain Blizzards games and Blizzards to gain Sonys additional 40 million users
September 22nd, 2010
Aha conversation about Blizzard. Gotta love Blizzard. No other game company does it like them. Every game they release has millions of drooling fans just waiting for it.
WoW is still going strong, and there is a new expansion on the way
SC2 became so big in development it was broken into 3 games, the first of which released a couple months ago and sold like crazy.
Diablo 3 is still in development but is so highly anticipated. People still play Diablo 2 on battle net all the time.
Blizzard is one hell of a company.
September 22nd, 2010
“@FKSP
nice.. i was on my 11th playthru of mass effect 2 but then Reach got released..”
Pretty sad if you ask me.
You have to play through the same game 11 times before another good games comes out. That proves my point that the 360 is lacking in good games.
Thanks for pointing that out Toshi.
September 22nd, 2010
ncaissie beat me to it LOL
September 22nd, 2010
LMAO.
Can’t argue with that logic.
September 22nd, 2010
“Can’t argue with that logic.”
LMAO but they will.
September 22nd, 2010
@FKSP
Hehe couldnt agree more about Blizzard..
You left out some goodies:
They got Cataclysm to release, Diablo 3, and for in between and after, SC2: Heart of the Swarm, and SC2: Legacy of the Void to yet release for even more drooling fans, and the icing on the cake: Their new original IP MMORPG that they are currently working on….Blizzard is set for the next 10 years lol think about it: SC expansions cover at least 2 years…Diablo 3 at least another 2 years, Cataclysm another 2 years, you can guarantee a D3 expac, and their new MMORPG….crazy shit…oh and the rumored SC in house ALL CGI movie!!!
September 22nd, 2010
@ncaisse
It has more to with how much i like mass effect 2, anyways if u think 360 doesn’t have that much games, then u can chk my gamercard anytime
September 22nd, 2010
“anyways if u think 360 doesn’t have that much games, then u can chk my gamercard anytime”
You left out the key word “GOOD”
September 22nd, 2010
I have a shit load of games in my trophy list but not all are good games. There are shit games like flow and flower yet they are on my list.
September 22nd, 2010
I really liked Flower :@ lol
September 23rd, 2010
LOL @OS
That thing sucks. It’s not really a game.
September 23rd, 2010
I like trying to explain the concept of flower to people not in the know. I sound like a hippie or something..
“You’re like the wind man. blowing petals around and pollinating your seed throughout the land man.”
All in all. Flower is a great unique experience, that sounds like a ‘gay game’ but in truth is just an amazing unique experience.
September 23rd, 2010
“then u can chk my gamercard anytime”
full of crap, don’t waste your time ncaissie as you’ll games there that you wouldnt buy or play even they they give it to you for free. Games like Avatar
September 23rd, 2010
LOL flower is XXX. Flowers fuckin pedals.
September 23rd, 2010
I haven’t even seen avatar the movie, let alone play the game