Post: Activision: "We Treat our developers extremely well."
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04-17-2010, 01:10 PM
#1
schaffinosx
To and fro the island.
April 16, 2010 from "Los Angeles Times"
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Many of you are aware of the current dispute Activision is having against Infinity Ward, who, by Activision's accusations, has been rather untrustworthy over the course of time, in which they will no longer be working together. This issue marks the beginning of the end for the popular FPS developers, which is rising a variety of opinions towards Activision.
The word on the internet is one of sympathy for Infinity Ward, who by many people's beliefs have been punished far too much by Activision.
Most recently, Los Angeles Times had a conversation with Activision's chief operating officer and chief financial officer, Thomas Tippl, who answered many underlying questions in regards to the future of the praised Call of Duty franchise.
The first question questioned Activision's ability to persuade developers to work for them after all of the recent commotion.
Tippl's answer was simple, and something I think many will agree with. Put simply, he stated that the Call of Duty franchise is of high value and popularity, and there are many developers out there that would love to get a piece of the franchise.
My opinion: I'd say Tippl is spot on with his answer here. The Call of Duty franchise is very popular, and any developer that passes up a chance at producing games for the series would be passing up quite the opportunity.
The next questioned followed to ask about the future of the Call of Duty franchise, and whether or not fans should be concerned about the franchise's future with the loss of so many top developers.
Tippl's answer was enlightening, stating that Activision would continue to focus on proving high quality Call of Duty games, taking the very best from their studios to help in creating innovative content to all.
My opinion: While some of Infinity Ward's main men are now gone, I do believe Activision will be successful in upholding the Call of Duty game. When Tippl mentioned that they would be rallying the best from their studios, it reminded me of the newly formed Sledgehammer Studio. Perhaps there is some relation there?
The next question went forward to ask about Infinity Ward's leadership, which has been portrayed as weak over the past few weeks.
Tippl certainly doesn't seem worried, and followed by filling us in on the current leadership over at Infinity Ward. The developer is currently being run by two senior executives of Activision Steve Pearce and Steve Ackrich. He continued to ensure that Infinity Ward would be in good hands, and said there would be plenty of opportunities in which Infinity Ward "rising stars" could move up and make their mark on the franchise.
My opinion: New leadership could be good, and could bring some new twists, and certainly some new ideas to the franchise. Perhaps this will end the repetition some people see within the franchise?
The final question brings up Activision's current image, being the greedy corporate overlord.
The answer was short, sweet, and to the point: "We treat our developers extremely well." He continued to describe how Activision did so, mentioning the amount of creative freedom they give their developers. He also explained that Activision deals with all of the "back office" work, so that their developers can work on making their games, instead of filling out paperwork, and if their games are successful, they are given great rewards.
My opinion: If all that Tippl explained is true, there certainly is no reason why developers like Infinity Ward should be giving them such a hard time, and it simply furthers the proof that Infinity Ward is definitely due for some changes.
Let me know what you think! Do you think Infinity Ward is doing the right thing, or do you stick by Activision, and believe that Infinity Ward is in for a change?
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04-17-2010, 06:00 PM
#12
schaffinosx
To and fro the island.
Originally posted by papa
I have to disagree. I mean I have not read through the source article yet, but of course an Activision rep is going to say things like that to put a positive spin on whats going on. They are greedy bastards. Point in case, they release a low quality map pack for 15USD and are now thinking they charged to little. That's pure greed.
Also I'm sure further investigation on this matter on both sides of the issue would reveal some serious implications on both parts. I mean it could be true that the IW lead West/Zampella were already talking to EA games before getting fired, but why would they be doing that unless they fealt screwed by Activision. Besides it's not unethical to look for another job when you feel your employer is screwing you.
Not to mention that so far atleast 11 key studio members of IW have left after West and Zampella were fired. Obviously they feel what was done is wrong, and since they are most likely to have more depth of insight in regards to what was going on inside the two companies.
Personally I think that IW did a great job on MW and MW2, though they are both not with out their flaws. The contract that IW held with Activision over the IP rights of the MW title stated that no other company could produce a COD title set in modern times, or post vietnam war era. This may or may not have been known by other companies. Also IW was to have complete IP control and freedom in terms of the MW title.
Now this is my speculation:
As it stands currently, Activision is OBVIOUSLY breaking that contract. Which could be null in void after the firing of the duo that is mostly responsible for the MW titles.
Shortly after firing these guys, it was announced that Sledgehammer would be producing the next MW title. Also rumours have been leaked of COD7, by treyarch, having missions taking place in the 1980's which is clearly after the Vietnam War Era. This would be a breach of contract, and it is not likely that this was something just recently added as an after thought of the IW/MW IP contract became null in void in the eyes of activision.
All of this in addition to Activision firing the DUO shortly before Activision was going to have to pay them millions of dollars really gives me rise to suspect that this was a planned out action on the part of Activision to further their greedy endeavors. They knew that IW wanted to be able to start working on some other NEW IP and activision didn't want them to do such a thing. This was a main cause of arguement between the two companies.
Activision wanted IW to keep producing MW titles and IW didn't want to do that, but according to their contract only IW could produce the MW titles, so the only way around this issue was to fire west and zampella.
Honestly I'm not at all by any means an IW fanboy, nor do I have either of their MW games, but it is clear to me what is going on here, and Activision is not innocent by any means. They are just trying to be spin doctors to save their image.
Also I'm sure further investigation on this matter on both sides of the issue would reveal some serious implications on both parts. I mean it could be true that the IW lead West/Zampella were already talking to EA games before getting fired, but why would they be doing that unless they fealt screwed by Activision. Besides it's not unethical to look for another job when you feel your employer is screwing you.
Not to mention that so far atleast 11 key studio members of IW have left after West and Zampella were fired. Obviously they feel what was done is wrong, and since they are most likely to have more depth of insight in regards to what was going on inside the two companies.
Personally I think that IW did a great job on MW and MW2, though they are both not with out their flaws. The contract that IW held with Activision over the IP rights of the MW title stated that no other company could produce a COD title set in modern times, or post vietnam war era. This may or may not have been known by other companies. Also IW was to have complete IP control and freedom in terms of the MW title.
Now this is my speculation:
As it stands currently, Activision is OBVIOUSLY breaking that contract. Which could be null in void after the firing of the duo that is mostly responsible for the MW titles.
Shortly after firing these guys, it was announced that Sledgehammer would be producing the next MW title. Also rumours have been leaked of COD7, by treyarch, having missions taking place in the 1980's which is clearly after the Vietnam War Era. This would be a breach of contract, and it is not likely that this was something just recently added as an after thought of the IW/MW IP contract became null in void in the eyes of activision.
All of this in addition to Activision firing the DUO shortly before Activision was going to have to pay them millions of dollars really gives me rise to suspect that this was a planned out action on the part of Activision to further their greedy endeavors. They knew that IW wanted to be able to start working on some other NEW IP and activision didn't want them to do such a thing. This was a main cause of arguement between the two companies.
Activision wanted IW to keep producing MW titles and IW didn't want to do that, but according to their contract only IW could produce the MW titles, so the only way around this issue was to fire west and zampella.
Honestly I'm not at all by any means an IW fanboy, nor do I have either of their MW games, but it is clear to me what is going on here, and Activision is not innocent by any means. They are just trying to be spin doctors to save their image.
First, very nice post. You looked at things from a view in which I did not, and now that I think about it, it does seem rather odd when you line up all of the other circumstances.
I do feel that there may have been discrepancies by both Activision and Infinity Ward, as how everything happened would lead me to believe that.
I had completely forgotten about the contract issue, which does implicate that Activision broke their contract.
Thanks for opening my eyes a bit, Mudd.
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