Tue, Jun 21, 2011 | 00:52 BST
Hirshberg: “You can’t say” Activision isn’t investing in new ideas
Activision Blizzard publishing head Eric Hirshberg feels the company doesn’t get enough “credit” for its investment in IP beyond Call of Duty and World of Warcraft.
“I don’t feel like Activision gets credit for the support it gives to the big ideas we get behind. And when we get behind something, we get behind something big,” the executive told IndustryGamers.
“I think that any company who has the scale and kind of hits that we do would be just as motivated to protect them and to invest in them as we are. I think when you have a massive hit like Call of Duty or you have the kind of hit that Blizzard has in World of Warcraft, the first priority, of course, is to focus on and put every resource possible into keeping that leadership position.
” … But I think it is an unfair characterisation to say that that’s all we’ve got.”
Hirshberg highlight a “pretty big investment” in Skylanders: Spyro’s Adventures, a “doubling down” with Prototype 2, and a “huge investment” in Bungie’s “new intellectual property and a new gaming universe”.
“These are all things that take real innovation,” he argued.
“You can critique us for narrowing our slate and making tough decisions, but what you can’t say is that we’re not investing in new IP and new ideas. When Toys for Bob came up with the idea of bringing toys to life, we put everything behind them. We gave them the time and the resources they needed to make it great.
“Now if it succeeds remains to be seen, but you can’t say that Activision underinvested in new ideas. You can’t say that we’re under investing in Bungie. You can’t say that we’re under investing in Radical and Prototype,” he reiterated.
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Posted in: Activision Blizzard, Trade
Tags: Eric Hirshberg
16 comments
#1
Hunam
21/06/11, 12:54 am
Well it’s because we have no idea what else you are doing because you only seem to let us know about CoD and Blizzard stuff.
#2
Phoenixblight
21/06/11, 12:58 am
Spyro another game that is based off overpriced pieces of plastic. Prototype 2, which the original was mediocre at best, and you do a sequel? Bungie is the only one that I would be curious about because it’s Bungie.
#3
Hunam
21/06/11, 1:00 am
Prototype is one of the finest games around sir. You are mistaken in your observation of it’s merit and I think we should duel over this matter.
#4
TikiSadZombie
21/06/11, 1:02 am
Funny, I just did say it.
#5
Phoenixblight
21/06/11, 1:02 am
@3
It had lots of potential for the more action based super hero game I will give it that but it was horribly implemented and the gameplay was shoddy at best. If they can improve on those I would seriously consider buying it.
#6
DSB
21/06/11, 1:03 am
Sledgehammers own IP is going to be interesting as well.
I think you’re both right though. Currently they aren’t showing anything halfway interesting beyond their megaton franchises. All the while putting out crappy Spiderman and Transformers games.
That’s just not the way to go. I think it’s great that they reupped for Prototype though, it had huge potential, but if they sign up for a sequel without making sure it’s going to be good, then they just look incompetent.
#7
Kuwabara
21/06/11, 1:19 am
another case of jews supporting jews, no matter how badly they fucked up
#8
ASBI
21/06/11, 1:19 am
I admit that they arent as good as the others
but I wont say that a game is mediocre just because it was published by a greedy publisher
they milk their popular franchises ? so what ? EA and ubi do that too
how many nfs games did we see this generation ? 6 games and the 7th is on the way
#9
Phoenixblight
21/06/11, 1:32 am
@8
I never stated it was a mediocre game because it was published by Activision. It was a mediocre game because *shock* it was a mediocre game.
#10
DSB
21/06/11, 1:34 am
@7 I don’t think you’re on the right site right now.
#11
Hunam
21/06/11, 2:22 am
@7 erm… I don’t think we asked for any random idiot racism today.
Wait… you’re Mel Gibson aren’t you?
#12
deadstoned
21/06/11, 2:50 am
Their certainly innovative in new ways to nickel and dime us at whatever we do in COD. But apart from that I see little innovation. EA may have once been similar, but right now their the ones bringing new ideas and new innovation. And of course Take two and everyone else also do hell a hell of a lot of innovation. But Activision………. no……
#13
Dralen
21/06/11, 3:20 am
Activision made a deal with Bungie for one reason; they saw Bungie as the current big developer and wanted their next franchise for themselves. Because that’s what Activision does, they take a great franchise and milk as much money as they can from it and then move on to the next one. In fact, I wouldn’t be surprised if Activision buy up Bungie if their next game turns out to be a hit.
#14
ultramega
21/06/11, 4:13 am
AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA. Man. He really should go into comedy.
#15
OlderGamer
21/06/11, 4:17 am
The funny part to me is that everything he listed there new or old is pretty generic. No disrespect to anyone working on said games, but none of them are boundry moving.
#16
IL DUCE
21/06/11, 7:16 pm
Yeah either way even with Spiderman, Spyro, Prototype, 007, Transformers and whatever else Acti brings out, they are all mediocre games and franchises…that’s why all Acti is seen for is CoD and WoW is because that’s all they are and frankly, probably the only reason they are still in business at all…I will give you maybe Starcraft II on there as well since that’s been successful, not as big as WoW though, plus it takes Blizzard 10 years to come out with a new game so there is obviously innovation between franchise entries since it took forever to come out, yet Acti turns out CoD year after year, with little to no innovation…I’m not saying others don’t do it, but its all that Acti does, milk the two big cash cows and drop mediocre games the rest of the time…
And no one told you to put “huge” investments in Prototype 2 and Spyro…so if that doesn’t work out that’s your fault…Bungie on the other hand is a somewhat justified investment, curious to see what they have up their sleeves…and then it will just be three big cash cows (Bungie, Blizzard and CoD)