Consoleation Reaction: Myopic (Acti)Vision

During a week when video gaming took center stage, Activision was behind two significant public relations blunders that are sure to accelerate the company’s plummeting degree of popularity among gamers.

On Wednesday, Activision filed suit against Double Fine, the Tim Schafer-helmed development team that is putting the finishing touches on Brutal Legend. The goal of the suit is to prevent the game from being released, at least temporarily. Although Activision makes some interesting charges in their case, such as claiming that Double Fine missed a major deadline and then asked for more time and money, the timing of the suit is highly suspect. To file suit during E3, and during a time when the game’s hype is beginning to reach fever pitch, reeks of sour grapes. After all, wasn’t Activision the publisher that decided not to publish Brutal Legend in the first place, therefore leaving it orphaned and without further funding? I can understand if Activision were to pursue litigation at a different time, or with a different goal in mind… such as claiming that they are owed a portion of the game’s sales rake because of the investment that they initially made in the game; however, suing to basically kill the game before it hits retail is not a good PR move. If Activision was so incensed that Double Fine had missed an important deadline, why did they not sue Double Fine earlier? 

As if this move wasn’t enough to incense gamers– and retailers, who had already been collecting preorder revenues on Brutal Legend which may now have to be refunded– Activision CEO Bobby Kotick decided to complain to the media (again) about the lack of price cuts for video game hardware. There was some speculation (including from myself) that Sony could steal the show by dropping the price of the PlayStation 3… but that didn’t happen. The big problem with someone like Kotick whining about this issue and crying “recession” is that Activision isn’t exactly doing much to make buying games easier for cash-strapped consumers. Instead, Kotick continues to hold the line on $60 games while inundating consumers with more expensive plastic peripherals than any one person needs. Activision continues to sell Guitar Hero games with instruments for triple-digit retail prices, and the new Tony Hawk game is going to come with a plastic skateboard and retail for around $120.

How is it fair to ask console hardware companies to strip away their profit margin when Activision is doing nothing to practice what it preaches? Look at this Kotick quote:

“Of all the things that the hardware companies need to be doing right now, it’s recognizing the difficulties of the economy and pricing their hardware appropriately.”

Why can’t software companies be held to a similar task? It’s not that consoles aren’t being bought that’s a major problem (so far); it’s that games are at least $60 each– and some of those $60 games can equate to only a few hours of playing time. Let’s also not forget that downloadable content (DLC) is a secondary revenue stream for software that, if used correctly, can lead to ongoing revenue for months after the shelf life of a game. I completely understand the rising expenses necessary for making a video game; however, double-dipping and not only charging $10 more per game than what consumers paid last generation, but also charging extra for downloadable content that either unlocks what’s on the game disc already (Street Fighter IV, Ace Combat 6) or adds modes to a game that arguably would have been there to begin with just a few years ago (Resident Evil 5’s Versus mode is the nasty example here), is blatent fleecing of what’s generally been a loyal customer base.

Activision’s moves this past week demonstrate the myopic vision of Bobby Kotick’s Activision. He can’t see the big picture and how these two incidents hurt the company more than help it. The lawsuit againist Double Fine, despite any merit, automatically makes Activision look like the villain and having the sole objective of halting the release of Brutal Legend rather than seeking monetary damages for any alleged breach of contract or poor work ethic is being interpreted as saying, “Well, if we can’t release Brutal Legend and reap the revenue, than none of you can play it.” As for Kotick’s continued price cut cry, it’s not making him any friends. Hardware companies want their piece of the pie, retailers make no money on consoles anyway, and gamers don’t want to hear about expensive consoles from a company who sells exorbitantly priced software.

To close this entry, I ask you to read this piece on Bobby Kotick, written by Ben Kuchera. Although Ben takes a bit of criticism for his rather raw demeanor, I think that he’s right on the money– and he wrote this piece way back in January. It’s unfortunate that the business side of video games overshadows the fun and creative sides of the industry now, more than ever.