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[-COOLIO-]

Vivendi bought Activision and put Activision in charge because aside from Blizzard, which is a huge fluke for Vivendi, they've had no ability to successfully manage themselves.

clearly

 

[jtb]

Now that's the million dollar question I had no idea what was going when they merged you would think that a company such as Blizzard who keeps making a ton of money and have some of the most established franchises in the gaming world might be doing fine on their own.

Blizzard is not independent - they are wholly owned by Vivendi. Technically, it was Vivendi that bought Activision, with Vivendi (iirc) being the majority shareholder in the new Activision Blizzard. I'm guessing Vivendi wanted a more constant flow of profits, rather than solely relying off of Blizzard's inconsistent release schedule and Vivendi's other less than perfect publishing attempts.

 

[JaseC]

why did they merge in the first place?

To gain a foot in the video game industry. Prior to the merger, all Vivendi really had was Blizzard.

 

[Hypereides]

COD MMO, believe !!!

Not before COD kart racing! Gotta make it appeal to the youngest crowd for better brand recognition.

 

[SapientWolf]

Blizzard is not independent - they are wholly owned by Vivendi. Technically, it was Vivendi that bought Activision, with Vivendi (iirc) being the majority shareholder in the new Activision Blizzard. I'm guessing Vivendi wanted a more constant flow of profits, rather than solely relying off of Blizzard's inconsistent release schedule and Vivendi's other less than perfect publishing attempts.

Yeah, wouldn't it be great if Blizzard could find a way to get a good, steady stream of revenue over a long period of time?

 

[TheThunder]

Yeah, wouldn't it be great if Blizzard could find a way to get a good, steady stream of revenue over a long period of time?

:lol

Was going to comment on that.

 

[-COOLIO-]

To gain a foot in the video game industry. Prior to the merger, all Vivendi really had was Blizzard.

thats like a gigilo saying all he has is a 12 inch cock

 

[MisterAnderson]

Just finished...

OMG how did I miss this.

The guitar makes it :lol

 

[Dead Man]

To gain a foot in the video game industry. Prior to the merger, all Vivendi really had was Blizzard.

And a little thing called Sierra that they fucked completely. If only they could have used that to gain a foothold in the game industry...

 

[poserdonut]

thats like a gigilo saying all he has is a 12 inch cock

:lol

 

[BrokenSymmetry]

Now that's the million dollar question I had no idea what was going when they merged you would think that a company such as Blizzard who keeps making a ton of money and have some of the most established franchises in the gaming world might be doing fine on their own.

Blizzard hasn't been independent since 1994, before any of their big successes. I think Blizzard's management would love to become independent, but any kind of management buy-out would be unthinkable, considering Blizzards worth.

The influence Activision had on Blizzard could be seen in the high-priced services that have been introduced to World of Warcraft (for character re-customization, race change, faction change).

 

[lochnesssnowman]

Kotick is one of the worst business men ever.

extremely short sighted.

Ramp up profits in the long run, but basically ruin franchises in the long run due to milking and conflicts such as this.

I'm sure the short term boosts maximized his wealth, but will hurt the company in the long run. A problem with the current incentive structure.

Any personal opinions of Kotick aside, he is quite obviously not one of the worst business men ever. He's been the CEO of Activision (and now Activision Blizzard) since *1991* and they are now, by some distance, the biggest 3rd party publisher in the industry. I think this view (especially 'short sighted') has only come about as Kotick has only recently (in view of his tenure) come to be known in the public domain.

 

[Fakto]

http://kotaku.com/5517346/todays-update-on-the-great-modern-warfare-developer-bailout

Longtime Infinity Ward employees Mark Grigsby and Paul Messerly have both left the studio, the team's lead animator and lead character animator, respectively. Grigsby had been with Infinity Ward from 2005, spending more than five years at the company. Messerly was there from the very beginning, moving from former Medal of Honor developer 2015 Inc. to Infinity Ward in 2002. Both former employees have updated their LinkedIn profiles to confirm that April 2010 marks the end of their tenures at the studio.

So, 2 more for the OP list.
Wonder if they will sign with Respawn Games.

 

[Stumpokapow]

http://kotaku.com/5517346/todays-update-on-the-great-modern-warfare-developer-bailout



So, 2 more for the OP list.
Wonder if they will sign with Respawn Games.

all over the last page

 

[DodgyGeezerFella]

Sergeant Griggs has left the building ?

 

[Interfectum]

http://kotaku.com/5517346/todays-update-on-the-great-modern-warfare-developer-bailout



So, 2 more for the OP list.
Wonder if they will sign with Respawn Games.

I love it.

 

[Xater]

Wow pretty much all the leads seem to leave. Seems like I don#t even have to look forward to IW games. :lol

 

[FLEABttn]

The influence Activision had on Blizzard could be seen in the high-priced services that have been introduced to World of Warcraft (for character re-customization, race change, faction change).

You're kidding yourself if you think this wasn't in the works before Activision took over.

 

[Acheteedo]

Have Activision released the MW2 royalties to IW employees yet (edit - rumour says yes)? I can't imagine these guys would voluntarily leave without that fat paycheck. Perhaps they're being progressively released, hence we're not seeing a total exodus.

 

[Rubezh]

Still at IW:

* Robert Bowling


everything is ok

 

[[Nintex]]

This is like Retro Studios all over again, the big difference is that Retro had an exodus twice.

 

[Interfectum]

Any personal opinions of Kotick aside, he is quite obviously not one of the worst business men ever. He's been the CEO of Activision (and now Activision Blizzard) since *1991* and they are now, by some distance, the biggest 3rd party publisher in the industry. I think this view (especially 'short sighted') has only come about as Kotick has only recently (in view of his tenure) come to be known in the public domain.

Take Blizzard out of the equation (ie something he had no hand in as it fell into his lap) and they would not be the biggest 3rd party publisher. In fact, under his reigns these past couple years he managed to destroy Tony Hawk, buy the wrong studio for Guitar Hero, run the music genre into the ground and let the one non-Blizzard studio that brings in mega-profits for Activision crumble to pieces (IW).

But yeah, he's an amazing CEO. :lol

 

[Interfectum]

The influence Activision had on Blizzard could be seen in the high-priced services that have been introduced to World of Warcraft (for character re-customization, race change, faction change).

Do you have any proof to back up these claims? Blizzard was charging for services such as server changing long before they got merged with Activision. I suppose you are one of those people that think StarCraft 2 is only 1/3 of a game, right?

 

[FreedomFrisbee]

This is like Retro Studios all over again, the big difference is that Retro had an exodus twice.

What? I thought that was just the coder dieing and then 2 people leaving.

 

[Roxas]

What is Robert Bowling's job exactly, except for Chief Bullshitter?

 

[[Nintex]]

What? I thought that was just the coder dieing and then 2 people leaving.

The first time: Nintendo buys Retro, starts to restructure - everyone involved in shit is either fired or ran for the hills.

The second time: After Metroid Prime is finished the Retro guys bail out to Monolith and other studios.

The third time: After Metroid Prime 3 the art director, lead designer and lead technical engineer leave to form Armature at EA.

 

[adriano999]

What is Robert Bowling's job exactly, except for Chief Bullshitter?

Twitter Manager

 

[MDSLKTR]

What is Robert Bowling's job exactly, except for Chief Bullshitter?

Punching bag.

 

[FreedomFrisbee]

The first time: Nintendo buys Retro, starts to restructure - everyone involved in shit is either fired or ran for the hills.

The second time: After Metroid Prime is finished the Retro guys bail out to Monolith and other studios.

The third time: After Metroid Prime 3 the art director, lead designer and lead technical engineer leave to form Armature at EA.

Oh, I'm remembering the last one then. I'd think when they were bought by Nintendo that was more of a necessary purge. Gotta get rid of the porn on the servers and stuff.

 

[[Nintex]]

Oh, I'm remembering the last one then. I'd think when they were bought by Nintendo that was more of a necessary purge. Gotta get rid of the porn on the servers and stuff.

That's why they all ran away, pimps and ho's aren't very good at programming.
They just tried to fit in and honor Nintendo's Love Hotel tradition, too bad no one understood their true intentions

 

[SolidSnakex]

Given the premium-priced map pack's unprecedented success, Activision Blizzard today said that earnings per share and revenues for the January-March quarter are tracking ahead of previous guidance. The publisher didn't provide specific figures, noting only its previous outlook of $0.20 earnings per diluted share on $1.1 billion revenues.

However, the publisher did provide updated guidance for its full-year earnings. Diluted earnings per share are now expected to come in at $0.49 for the three-month window, up $0.02 from prior estimates.

"We are tracking ahead of our March quarter outlook due to strong global demand for Blizzard Entertainment's World of Warcraft and Activision's Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2," Activision Blizzard CEO Bobby Kotick said in a statement. "We benefited from the record breaking launch of the Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 map pack, which was previously expected to launch in the June quarter. Additionally, certain operating expenses previously planned for the March quarter will now be incurred in the June quarter."

The departures come despite Activision's stated intent to reallocate Modern Warfare 2 bonuses previously intended for West and Zampella to "those employees responsible for the success of the game who remain employees of the company." However, disbursal will only come if Activision prevails in its counterclaim against West and Zampella's initial $36 million suit against the company.

http://www.gamespot.com/news/6258400.html

 

[NeoUltima]

What is Robert Bowling's job exactly, except for Chief Bullshitter?

Read this thread and cry.

 

[The Bookerman]

So what is activision is trying to do, is putting the blame on West and Zampella for the bonus debacle.

What a mess.

 

[TheGreatGatsby]

Take Blizzard out of the equation (ie something he had no hand in as it fell into his lap) and they would not be the biggest 3rd party publisher. In fact, under his reigns these past couple years he managed to destroy Tony Hawk, buy the wrong studio for Guitar Hero, run the music genre into the ground and let the one non-Blizzard studio that brings in mega-profits for Activision crumble to pieces (IW).

But yeah, he's an amazing CEO. :lol

Actually, before the merger Activision was the biggest 3rd party publisher having overtaken EA for a short period before the merger.

 

[Akia]

So, 2 more for the OP list.
Wonder if they will sign with Respawn Games.

I just updated the OP.

 

[LeMaximilian]

I just updated the OP.

Toss my gif in there too, if you'd be so kind :>

 

[Nizz]

Toss my gif in there too, if you'd be so kind :>

http://i40.tinypic.com/29lfiia.gif[IMG][/QUOTE]
I second this! :lol

 

[Mooreberg]

So what is the total up to with today's departures, 12 so far? Imagine if 10+% if Rockstar North had left five months after San Andreas had come out... :lol

How stupid can a company be to cause something like this so soon after the biggest game launch ever?

 

[Jex]

So, 2 more for the OP list.
Wonder if they will sign with Respawn Games.

It's a mystery!

 

[SapientWolf]

Have Activision released the MW2 royalties to IW employees yet (edit - rumour says yes)? I can't imagine these guys would voluntarily leave without that fat paycheck. Perhaps they're being progressively released, hence we're not seeing a total exodus.

No one is going to leave their job in this economy until they get a contract somewhere else. My theory is that a lot of folks at IW were going to be made redundant when they got merged into another team so they made their exit plans early. There will be no back-royalty payouts in the future because there will be no IW.

 

[kinoki]

My guess: Activision will merge Treyarch and whatever's left of Infinity Ward and rename both teams Infinity Ward. And then all Call of Duty games will be from Infinity Ward.

 

[Akia]

Toss my gif in there too, if you'd be so kind :>

Done. I hope you like its placement.

fyi: I didn't add a credit in there because its already in the gif.

 

[Azih]

I highly doubt Kotick plans to be there for the long term. He's going to make his money and then bail out, the future of the company be damned.

Already done, Stock unloaded.

 

[LeMaximilian]

Done. I hope you like its placement.

fyi: I didn't add a credit in there because its already in the gif.

Thanks much, dood.

 

[oracrest]

 

[Barkley's Justice]

now people are leaving just so they can make the "Infinity Ward Bailout Watch" list on neo gaf.

 

[oracrest]

now people are leaving just so they can make the "Infinity Ward Bailout Watch" list on neo gaf.

That is strength boy! that is power! The strength and power of GAF.

 

[TemplaerDude]

now people are leaving just so they can make the "Infinity Ward Bailout Watch" list on neo gaf.

gaf > iw > gaf?

 

[Akia]

now people are leaving just so they can make the "Infinity Ward Bailout Watch" list on neo gaf.

Even the guys who don't have families wouldn't pull a move like that in this economy just because of an internet thread. come on guys.

 

[BobsRevenge]

Even the guys who don't have families wouldn't pull a move like that in this economy just because of an internet thread. come on guys.

That depends on how easy it is to get a job at a recent start-up they could have some kind of connection with, or something. I dunno.