Activision's Bobby Kotick speaks at All Things Digital
by Michael Gray 
May 29th 2008 at 7:00PM
Bobby Kotick, CEO of Activision, took the stage at the All Things Digital conference, and spoke a little more about the Activision Blizzard deal.
Kotick fesses up that a lot of the merger was about Blizzard's people. While a pessimist might read this as "we can't compete with them, so join 'em," what I see is a deep level of respect for Blizzard and its creation. Kotick said, "the merger is really our mechanism to get access to Blizzard's talent, capability and infrastructure." This isn't really a surprise, and reinforces what Kotick's had to say about being considerate of Blizzard's culture.
As has been said before, Kotick doesn't seem like a bad guy. What he's doing is acknowledging the good work Blizzard's done in the past. He straight out says that, "I've never seen anything quite like World of Warcraft, not just as a gaming experience, but as a social experience, as a business."
That's not the kind of sentiment issued by someone who doesn't like what they just bought (Ed: But would someone who just spent $18.8 billion on anything not like it?). While Kotick doesn't say directly much about the future of Blizzard, things are still looking good for our favorite Blue team.
Filed under: Analysis / Opinion, Blizzard, News items, Interviews
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
zygote May 29th 2008 7:19PM
While I don't want to sound a disharmonious note in the middle of this Kumbaya — keep in mind that this is the one guy who can nerf the people who nerf us.
I can see the internal messageboards already.
BLIZ: We have a great idea for a new patch dungeon that the players will love.
CE0D00D: Make it an expansion and we'll charge $60 for it.
BLIZ: Well, it's not really enough for an expansion pack.
CE0D00D: QQ Moar, LRN2PRFT
Faar May 29th 2008 9:43PM
Whenever I see a fake-grinning company weasel like that guy dressed in a grey suit with a greyer necktie, I just know I'm looking at a person who knows shit about games, about making games, what makes games good, how to make good games, or ANYTHING like that. This guy's dress and glib smile simply says, "I'm in it for the MONEY!"
Orestes May 30th 2008 1:52AM
As long as he (and the rest of the suits) are smart enough to see a good thing and leave the technical side in the hands of those qualified to handle it, I'm perfectly okay with that.
kiaus May 30th 2008 10:07AM
Well, if they were running a company to make a loss I would be more worried. Give the guy a break, he's just doing his job.
And it seems they have the right plan, get a good creative group of talent together and leave them be. Don't merge them, split them up or farm off their ideas. Even EA seem to be waking up to this idea these days.
Ircasha May 30th 2008 11:35AM
The problem is that now Blizz is part of a publically held company. With pressure from stockholders to keep stock prices up, Activision management will be constantly tempted to try to eke out more profits from Blizzard, make changes in management, etc.
It's just a matter of time until Blizzard is no longer Blizzard.
Oblivion May 30th 2008 12:15PM
I agree. Mergers like this always start out with hugs and kisses, but the honeymoon will end in time. I wouldn't be suprised if we start seeing things change in a year or two.
What? Blizzard actually announced a release date... here comes the crappy product.