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Activision head Bobby Kotick positive but unsure on Vita; sees Wii U as 'really necessary' for Nintendo
When Bobby Kotick's not busy making appearances in major motion pictures alongside Brad Pitt, he heads up Call of Duty publisher Activision. And as head of one of the largest (if not the largest) third-party game publisher, what he says about the future of various consoles can have some major implications. It seems that, like Activision has done in the past with new platforms, Kotick's stance on both Nintendo's Wii U and Sony's PlayStation Vita is "very interested" with a heavy side of apprehension. In an interview with The Guardian, Kotick spoke to his feelings on the PS Vita. "Technically, we're super excited about what we can do on it, it's really something incredible. The question is, where is the market?" While he's excited by the capability of the PS Vita, and his company has already pledged support, Kotick acknowledged the burgeoning smart phone market for games as well. "It's a really nice product and its very well differentiated from what you can get in even the most capable smartphone or tablet today," he professed. As for Nintendo's Wii successor, the Wii U, Kotick said that Activision has had dev kits "for awhile now" and that, while Nintendo has yet to fully clarify its online system even to him, the console apparently makes "rich multiplayer games" a possibility -- a first for Nintendo, if true. As far as timing goes, Kotick stated that Nintendo's hardware reveal was a necessity. "For the kinds of games we create, it was becoming very difficult for us to support the Wii with the expectations that our gamers have ... from a development perspective, having a Nintendo device that is on parity with the other hardware from a graphics perspective was really necessary." As you might expect, Activision is apparently "very enthusiastic about it," though he wouldn't detail any specific titles in development at the publisher. When pressed on new intellectual properties, Kotick deferred to Bungie's unannounced project, as well as "the new MMO from Blizzard" (the rarely spoken of "Titan" project). And as expected, he spoke ambiguously regarding this year's Guitar Hero franchise gutting. "Until we can deliver a really high level of innovation and tap into the high level of creativity and inspiration of the people we have making games, we won't put the products out," he admitted. "That goes for everything -- we've always subscribed to that philosophy." We're not sure that the last few Guitar Hero and Tony Hawk titles would back up Mr. Kotick's claim, but then we're not the corporate figurehead of an enormous public company.
GDC 2011: Bungie's MMO won't be WoW in space
The top secret MMO project from Bungie continues to raise fan and industry eyebrows despite the absence of any real information about the title. The game, rumored to carry the code name Destiny, will be massively multiplayer, and it will be set against a space/sci-fi backdrop. Beyond that, it's anyone's guess as to what will actually emerge from the Halo-maker's secret laboratory. Joystiq has unearthed a blurb about the project from this week's GDC, wherein Bungie lead network engineer David Aldridge was overheard referring to the game as "massively multiplayer" as well as the fact that it won't be "WoW in space."
Bungie's next game is 'massively multiplayer'
There are a lot of rumors surrounding Bungie's mysterious next project. With the Halo torch passed on, many are curious as to what Bungie's first project with Activision will entail -- and what genres it might straddle. It appears the answer is that the unnamed franchise will be a massively multiplayer game of some sort. During a panel on networking technologies, Bungie lead network engineer David Aldridge told GDC attendees that the game will be "massively multiplayer," though added that it would not simply be "WoW in space." Beyond that tidbit, Bungie's project still remains shrouded in secrecy.
Bungie denies claim of Activision-mandated layoffs, keeps mum on 'Destiny' MMOFPS talk
Bungie has issued a terse denial of reported contractor layoffs spurred by Activision, the studio's long-term publishing partner. One of the alleged contractors, who claimed to be "let go for no reason," detailed the supposed account to Kotaku Australia. "We were given no warning," the source said. "Bungie told our agencies that it was 'performance related,' but one of our fellow fired-employees was an IT contractor and showed us an email he received before his account was killed, citing 'project sensitivity' and 'budgetary concerns from our publisher.'" Bungie refuted the claim, saying in a statement that the studio "has never been asked to lay off any employees or contract employees by our publisher, Activision-Blizzard, for any reason." Last May, Activision did confirm that it was funding the development costs of Bungie's multiplatform mystery project, which the publisher said would employ nearly 200 staff. Perhaps sensitive to the assumption that Activision maintains close operational oversight of spending for the project, Bungie found it necessary to so explicitly discredit the reported layoffs. The post on Bungie.net was later updated, "To clarify, Bungie has not experienced layoffs or group firings of any kind." A link to the studio's current job openings was also included with the statement to emphasize that Bungie is actually still hiring. Of course, the developer made no mention of the alleged contractor's other supposed revelation: that the project in question combines FPS and MMO elements (an FPSMMO, if you will) in a sci-fi setting, according to Kotaku's source, and will be named "Destiny" -- but codenamed "Tiger," for now. Neither title matches up with any of the recently discovered Bungie trademarks, but the MMO component does echo the hypothetical musings of Bungie creative director Joe Staten. "Wouldn't it be great if we could make a world that was always there for you?" Staten wondered aloud during a GDC Online panel discussion last fall. "Wow. That would be great." [Image source: Bungie.net]
Bungie enlisting beta testers with chance to get in on secret project
Look, it's likely that Bungie's next game is going to be a casual, monster-collecting/kart-racing/trivia/MMA fighting game. Don't you want to get in on that -- on the ground floor? You could be among the first to try Bungie's upcoming, unannounced opus by signing up to become a "Bungie Beta Tester" on the studio's forums. Enlisting in this manner makes you eligible to participate in playtests, surveys and -- as the title suggests -- alpha and beta tests, but Bungie notes, "Not all who enlist will be selected." Signing up for a chance to participate in a beta test for a game that hasn't even been announced yet may sound kinda odd, but it's a much saner idea than becoming a "Bungee Beta Tester," which is better suited for crash test dummies and other human-shaped things.
EA had 'extensive conversations' with Bungie before Activision partnership
What, did you think the company that created Halo only had one gentleman suitor after parting ways with Microsoft? Don't be silly -- the studio, which recently formed a ten-year partnership with publishing supergiant Activision, was also approached by EA last year. David DeMartini, general manager for EA Partners, explained to CVG, "we had extensive conversations with them, but could never really figure out a deal that made sense for both of us. It just didn't come to fruition." Though Bungie was ultimately snatched up by one of EA's biggest competitors, DeMartini claimed that he's not bitter. "I don't want to see them fail - I want them to be successful," he explained. "And when they start up a second team, we'll have other discussions with them about that game as well - because they're a great studio." My, what a twisted, complex love triangle that would be.
Activision to fund costs of Bungie project, which will occupy nearly 200 staff
Reporting today on first quarter 2010 earnings, Activision Blizzard CEO Bobby Kotick devoted some airtime to the publisher's ten-year "alliance" with Bungie. Speaking to investors during a conference call, Kotick described Bungie's new IP for Activision, which is in pre-production, as "unlike anything audiences have ever seen before." He added, "Bungie will have almost 200 people working on the project, and they're excited to have their products available on multiple platforms in many countries around the world." Later in the call, COO Thomas Tippl declined to give specific financial details about the parternship, but said, "there was no upfront payment provided." Tippl confirmed that "Activision will be funding the development expenses," and later concluded: "We expect that, as of the first release, the deal will be accretive to Activision's operating margin every year of the alliance." To put that in Kotick terms: "So, reaching these new larger audiences will be both creatively satisfying and financially rewarding for Bungie and Acivision Blizzard shareholders."
Bungie: We had to break through Infinity Ward 'noise' for Activision news
Though many have speculated that today's Bungie-Activision partnership announcement was timed to help distract from the ongoing exodus from Activision darling Infinity Ward, the Halo dev insists that wasn't the case. In fact, Bungie's Joseph Staten said the developer was more concerned with the effect the Infinity Ward news could have on Bungie's own announcement. "Just speaking personally, it gave us a little bit of pause because we're so excited about this news and we knew we'd have to break through a lot of noise to get the message out there," Staten said in an interview with Joystiq today. "So, clearly that wasn't optimal." Bungie community lead Brian Jarrard later insisted that the Infinity Ward situation wasn't addressed during the developer's meetings with Activision ... Really, guys? That didn't come up? Not even while you were waiting for your Bloomin' Onion or anything? Like, what did you talk about?
Interview: Bungie discusses Activision, its 'new universe,' and what happens to Reach
If it seems like all you've read about today is Bungie, well ... that's probably not far from the truth. Whether it's information about the highly anticipated Halo Reach beta – whose early "friends and family" access began today (giveaway here!) – to some unique Halo Reach swag to the news that the now independent developer has partnered with headline hogger Activision, it's Bungie's world today. We spoke with Bungie's Brian Jarrard and Joseph Staten about everything from their choice of Activision, to their plans to support Reach post-release, to their transmedia plans for this "new universe" they keep talking about. Read on for the entire interview! Joystiq: What would you tell fans that worry about Activision's annualized business model and how that might affect the culture at Bungie? Brian Jarrard: The great news is that whatever business model Activision might have internally or applied to their first-party studios or their other properties isn't really relevant to our partnership and our plans for what we're going to do with our next, big universe. We have a specific deal that really allows Bungie to focus on what's most important to us which is remaining an independent company and owning our new IP and having creative control to really execute our vision of how we want this universe to play out over the next 10 years. We already have those plans pencilled in; we've already gone through a schedule with real dates and, sort of, real stuff with Activision at the outset of these discussions and we both have a plan that we agree on and that's exactly what Bungie's vision is for our next big universe. Did you guys seriously consider relationships with any other publishers before signing on with Activision? Joseph Staten: Sure, absolutely. We've been in negotiations with Activision for about nine months but we've certainly been planning for this conversation since we spun out from Microsoft in 2007. Over the years, I guess, we really talked to ... imagine any major publisher that you can think of and we've probably talked to them over the years. Activision, at the end of the day, was far and away the best deal.
Pachter: First Activision-Bungie game 'well along' in development, will sell at least 10 million units
Though firm details about the terms of the Activision-Bungie partnership are still awfully slim, industry analyst extraordinaire Michael Pachter has given his two cents to Gamasutra about the financial potential of the merger, which should result in Activision earning a great deal more than two cents. First, Pachter suggests this is a publishing partnership instead of a mere distribution agreement, which will increase Activision's profit margins from around 10 percent to anywhere between 15 and 20 percent on all of Bungie's titles. He estimates that, should the developer's future titles be as popular as its Halo franchise (which typically sold 10 million units a piece), they could sell as many as 15 million units by virtue of Bungie's new multiplatform ambitions. According to his calculations, Activision stands to make $65 million off the first successful Bungie title should it match the success of the Halo series. The time to test Pachter's calculations might be closer than you'd think -- he reports that the first Bungivision product, which is set in an "action game universe," is "well along in its development." We're not sure how "well along" said title actually is, but we'll keep our ears perked up for an announcement at E3. An announcement for Guitar Halo. There, we said it, alright? We were all thinking it, and now it's out there.
Halo developer Bungie enters 10-year partnership with Activision
Just when you thought things couldn't get any weirder at Activision. Bungie has just announced that it has entered into a ten-year publishing agreement with Activision, which will receive exclusive, worldwide rights to publish all games based on Bungie's "next big action game universe." The deal also notes that Activision will have the rights to publish said games on "multiple platforms and devices," meaning Bungie's longstanding Xbox exclusivity may come to an end. Furthermore, the agreement specifies that Bungie will remain an independent company and will retain all rights to its intellectual property. Bungie president Harold Ryan notes that the two companies have been working on the deal "over the past nine months." The specificity of the agreement is noteworthy, especially that Activision only has rights to publish games based on Bungie's new intellectual property -- its "next big action game universe," whatever that may be. The fact that Bungie will retain ownership of its IP is particularly interesting, especially in light of the widening rift between Activision and Infinity Ward. When Bungie famously split with Microsoft in 2007, it was assumed Microsoft would retain first right of refusal on any future Bungie projects. It's unclear why (or if) Microsoft refused Bungie's latest project, though the company's apparent multiplatform ambitions would provide a likely explanation -- that is, assuming Bungie doesn't have more than one project in the pipeline. Update: Added commentary from Activision's Thomas Tippl and Bungie's Harold Ryan after the break.
