Tue, Nov 16, 2010 | 21:57 GMT
Kotick: Listening to customers “matters more now than ever before”
Activision CEO Bobby Kotick has told attendees at San Francisco’s Web 2.0 Summit that .
Speaking on a panel with Microsoft’s Don Mattrick and listened in on by Gamasutra, Kotick said “because you have incredibly passionate and vocal consumers” it’s best to listen to them.
“They are really thoughtful and articulate about what they would like to see in a game, how you can enhance the experience,” he said. “So if you take the time and actually listen to what your customers have to say, you are going to create much better experiences.
Kotick said the merger with Blizzard helped the firm learn “patience” thanks to the added financial resources allowing the firm to take time to listen to the consumer.
“I would say that one of the great benefits of the merger of Activision and Blizzard is the elevation of patience,” Kotick said. “Partly because we have the financial resources to do it, but we’re now in a place where we can really take the time to make sure that we’re going to deliver the best games. And that’s an incredible luxury.
“You have to instill that value into the culture. Blizzard has that as a unique value of the culture, and it’s now been very well-instilled across all of Activision Blizzard. Patience is rewarded.”
It was announced earlier today Activision was thinking about what to do with Bizarre Creations, and giving itself 90 days to come up with a solution.
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Posted in: Activision Blizzard, Development, Retail, Trade
Tags: Bobby Kotick
11 comments
#1
Erthazus
16/11/10, 10:01 pm
More like this:
http://www.jeffhanover.com/_/rsrc/1274802873458/Home/trollface.jpg
#2
Captain Fruitloop
16/11/10, 10:04 pm
They already know what they’re going to do with BC – shut it down. The 90 days’ consultancy period is just to comply with UK employment law.
#3
DSB
16/11/10, 10:15 pm
I can’t remember Blizzard listening to consumers once when I was playing WoW. I’m still amazed that they caved on RealID.
@2 What are the options? Do you want to own a mediocre games developer in a country where the politicians have made it a point not to offer tax incentives? No one else does.
#4
Hunam
16/11/10, 10:30 pm
Microsoft could pick them up for a song right about now and get them back on PGR, if I was MGS, I’d make that deal.
#5
Phoenixblight
16/11/10, 10:32 pm
@3
Blizzard listens to their customers. my mian being a priest I have seen them change talents because of the priests wanting it for example inner fire being brought down in the tree for all specs to get it and like the Mastery adding more dot damage vs burst.
#6
The1stMJC
16/11/10, 11:05 pm
And he does listen to the customers they show him they love buying Call of Duty and he is willing to provide them a shit ton of Call of Duty.
#7
Dr.Ghettoblaster
17/11/10, 12:57 am
Look at his eyes in that picture.
He’s totally baked.
#8
NightCrawler1970
17/11/10, 5:12 am
All he cares is…bloody money that bloody wanker
#9
MegaGeek1
17/11/10, 6:32 am
Hes a doucher to be sure, but as long as he keeps packing disks with the same amount of content as the latest COD, then Im inclined to believe him when he says hes listening to the customer.
#10
Blerk
17/11/10, 8:46 am
Perhaps not the best day for Bobby to be sticking his head over the battlements.
#11
Rah_Xephon
17/11/10, 3:23 pm
It’s the developers you have to feel sorry for. Bobby keeps on trucking while the people who actually make the games get the chop.
As for being a money grabber, as long as the idiots who bought Black Ops (and the like) will buy the inevitable map packs, they’ll keep churning them out.