Acti-Blizz restructuring, assigns new executive to Blizzard

[OmegaX]

The Los Angeles Times reports that Activision-Blizzard has restructured its management team into four distinct divisions and elected not to notify investors or the public of the reorganization. The changes were circulated in an inter-company memo obtained by the newspaper and later confirmed by a company spokesperson.

The new company map features one business unit focused squarely on the Call of Duty franchise, another overseeing Activision-owned brands such as Tony Hawk and Guitar Hero, and a third unit to handle licensed properties. Blizzard Entertainment rounds out the fourth unit but interestingly, Blizzard's Mike Morhaime now reports directly to newly appointed chief operating officer Thomas Tippl, who in turn reports to Activision CEO Bobby Kotick.

"This is an important change as it will allow me, with Thomas, to become more deeply involved in areas of the business where I believe we can capture great potential and opportunity," Kotick said in the employee memo.

Check out the original article from the L.A. Times.

http://www.massively.com/2010/03/31/acti-blizz-restructuring-assigns-new-executive-to-blizzard/

There goes Blizzard...

 

[CyberPitz]

"New in StarCraft 2, move your Marines to the tune of Smoke on the Water!"

 

[Quixoticism]

Well, they already dance you know. Have you played it to that music yet Pitz?

 

[the cow says moo]

"Diablo 3 will now be a fps!"
Oh wait, they already have that.

 

[CyberPitz]

Well, they already dance you know. Have you played it to that music yet Pitz?

I actually have

 

[Stigmata]

Well this is encouraging... me not to buy Starcraft 2.

 

[Ravioli]

Ï dont understand why blizzard sold their soul to Activision, they have enough money to handle themselves for eternity.

 

[the cow says moo]

Well this is encouraging... me not to buy Starcraft 2.

Don't kid yourself.

 

[63]

This happened a while ago, nothing to worry about.

 

[Krynn72]

This is good news!


Ignore my sig.

 

[63]

This is good news!


Ignore my sig.

Why the hate?

 

[Krynn72]

Why the hate?

Not sure if serious...

 

[63]

Not sure if serious...

Serious. We all know it's cool to hate the big guy.

 

[Krynn72]

Wait, does that mean you were serious or no? Do you really not know why someone might hate him and his corporation?

 

[63]

Wait, does that mean you were serious or no? Do you really not know why someone might hate him and his corporation?

I know what others say, I want to know why you hate. You obviously have strong feelings if you devoted your entire sig to denouncing him.

 

[Acepilotf14]

He.. needs to tell you why?
Have you been under a rock this past year?

 

[Krynn72]

I know what others say, I want to know why you hate. You obviously have strong feelings if you devoted your entire sig to denouncing him.

Alright, I'll just quote the man himself, and perhaps then you'll glean some insight as to why this man should be hated by every decent human being.

The games Activision Blizzard didn't pick up, he said, "don't have the potential to be exploited every year on every platform with clear sequel potential and have the potential to become $100 million franchises.

With Battle.Net we're definitely looking at possible different features that we might be able to do for additional money...
We charge people if they want to switch servers or if they want name changes, things that aren’t core to the game experience

In the last cycle of videogames you spent $50 on a game, played it and took it back to the shop for credit. Today, we’ll (charge) $100 for a guitar. You might add a microphone or drums; you might buy two or three expansions packs, different types of music. Over the life of your ownership you’ll probably buy around 25 additional song packs in digital downloads. So, what used to be a $50 sale is a $500 sale today.

He later added, "We have a real culture of thrift. The goal that I had in bringing a lot of the packaged goods folks into Activision about 10 years ago was to take all the fun out of making video games."

If that sounds like it would create a corporate culture that isn't all sunshine and hugs, then it's "mission accomplished" for Kotick. The executive said that he has tried to instill into the company culture "skepticism, pessimism, and fear" of the global economic downturn, adding, "We are very good at keeping people focused on the deep depression."

Activision has refused to honor the terms of its agreements and is intentionally flouting the fundamental public policy of this State (California) that employers must pay their employees what they have rightfully earned," said their attorney Robert Schwartz of O'Melveny & Myers LLP. "Instead of thanking, lauding, or just plain paying Jason and Vince for giving Activision the most successful entertainment product ever offered to the public, last month Activision hired lawyers to conduct a pretextual 'investigation' into unstated and unsubstantiated charges of 'insubordination' and 'breach of fiduciary duty,' which then became the grounds for their termination on Monday, March 1st

Theres much more on this prick if you just google it. This is kinda pissing me off just finding these links and rereading all this bullshit. Also, just look at that picture of him in the OP. How could you not want to punch him in his arrogant, cockbag face.

 

[unozero]

Der ewige Jude.


lol

 

[63]

links

You're mad at a business man for being a business man?

 

[the cow says moo]

He's mad because Kotick is going beyond being a "business man" and is being a douche.

 

[unozero]

You're mad at a business man for being a business man?

there's a thing called subtlety.

 

[Warped]

You're mad at a business man for being a business man?

apparently you have no foresight into where gaming is headed

 

[MorganFreeman911]

Or at least WoW, Starcraft, and every other game made by Actizard.
Also, I hate Kotick with the intensity of 1,000 hate-fueled suns.

 

[Stigmata]

Kotick's style is perfect for short-term gains, but in two years he'll be gone and the company will be up shit creek... again.

 

[Absinthe]

You're mad at a business man for being a business man?

Hey man, it's okay. You don't have to run to Kotick's defense for the **** of it.

 

[the cow says moo]

Kotick's style is perfect for short-term gains, but in two years he'll be gone and the company will be up shit creek... again.

It already happened to EA, who'll be the big dog next?

 

[smwScott]

Ï dont understand why blizzard sold their soul to Activision, they have enough money to handle themselves for eternity.

Blizzard wasn't privately owned before Activision got to them. Their parent company (Vivendi I think) sold them off. Not that Blizzard is the epitome of righteousness. These are the people that developed a game specifically designed to be addicting by doling out low to moderate levels of fun in a metered, escalating fashion. They've been draining money out of people in what is a glorified psychology experiment with consumers instead of lab rats.

As far as Activision's future is concerned, they're going to run their franchises into the ground and be left with nothing. They already did it with Guitar Hero and Call of Duty is coming up soon. They're going to take valuable, once respected franchises that could've been profitably exploited for the next decade or more and use them up in 2 years.

 

[Krynn72]

I can't wait to see Kotick kicked out. I hope they pull an EA move, and hire someone who is actually a decent person after Kotick ****s everything up.

 

[63]

He's mad because Kotick is going beyond being a "business man" and is being a douche.

He has the balls to speak what he's really thinking, that is admirable.

apparently you have no foresight into where gaming is headed

Ok, this is kind of random... What portion of the games industry are you referring to? Casual? Core?

Or at least WoW, Starcraft, and every other game made by Actizard.
Also, I hate Kotick with the intensity of 1,000 hate-fueled suns.

Blizzard has been making the same 3 games for the past 10 years. I think it's safe to that Blizzard won't be doing much else in the next 10.

Kotick's style is perfect for short-term gains, but in two years he'll be gone and the company will be up shit creek... again.

Kotick has been with Activision for 19 years. Activision is in the best shape it has ever been in. A 2012 without Kotick is unlikely.

Hey man, it's okay. You don't have to run to Kotick's defense for the **** of it.

Thanks mom.

I can't wait to see Kotick kicked out. I hope they pull an EA move, and hire someone who is actually a decent person after Kotick ****s everything up.

You mean like Riccitiello? The guy who bought his own studio then shut it down 2 years later?

 

[<RJMC>]

He has the balls to speak what he's really thinking, that is admirable.



Ok, this is kind of random... What portion of the games industry are you referring to? Casual? Core?



Blizzard has been making the same 3 games for the past 10 years. I think it's safe to that Blizzard won't be doing much else in the next 10.



Kotick has been with Activision for 19 years. Activision is in the best shape it has ever been in. A 2012 without Kotick is unlikely.



Thanks mom.



You mean like Riccitiello? The guy who bought his own studio then shut it down 2 years later?

hi kotick, how are you?

 

[Gargantou]

Only upcoming Blizzard title I'm remotely interested in is really Diablo 3.

 

[StarBob]

Sounds like a d-bag to me. Being a good business person and exploiting your market are different things. There's more to any industry than just turning profit. He seems like he would be satisfied selling a turd wrapped in plastic to every person willing to buy it and marketing it to be the next big thing as long as it made money.

Oh well maybe it'll bring some power to the Indy companies.

 

[Krynn72]

He has the balls to speak what he's really thinking, that is admirable.

That doesn't mean much when the things he is thinking are completely unethical.

Kotick has been with Activision for 19 years. Activision is in the best shape it has ever been in. A 2012 without Kotick is unlikely.

Kotick has not been in charge for 19 years. Hes made Activision an assload of money, but hes ruined several of their biggest franchises. We'll have to wait and see how that plays out.

You mean like Riccitiello? The guy who bought his own studio then shut it down 2 years later?

I'm not saying the guy is a saint. But if you recall who they had in charge before him, this guy is fantastic. And besides, he bought Pandemic for like 300 million dollars, and all they came out with was Saboteur and had nothing worthwhile coming up in their pipeline. Either way, hes a hell of a lot better than the previous shmuck, and is a saint compared to Kotick.

 

[Absinthe]

Krynn, how could you possibly dislike the magnanimous, gentle Kotick? He's just a businessman! Do you hate business, Krynn? Sure, he's elected to make it his personal mission to stamp the life out Activision's development studios and properties. And yeah, he does things like brutalize and withhold pay to the heads of IW, who only gave him the largest gaming sensation in the last few ****ing years. But he's only doing his job!

 

[Shakermaker]

Kotick has not been in charge for 19 years.

From his Wiki:

Robert A. Kotick (born 1963)[1], also known as Bobby Kotick, is the CEO, president, and board member for Activision Blizzard, a video game developer and publisher, and was previously the CEO for Activision from February 1991 until the merge in July 2008.[2][3] He was approved on 9 July 2008 by stockholders of Activision Blizzard for this role.[3]

 

[Krynn72]

Erm... yeah don't know why i said that. Was kinda groggy this morning.

 

[VirusType2]

Krynn, how could you possibly dislike the magnanimous, gentle Kotick? He's just a businessman! Do you hate business, Krynn? Sure, he's elected to make it his personal mission to stamp the life out Activision's development studios and properties. And yeah, he does things like brutalize and withhold pay to the heads of IW, who only gave him the largest gaming sensation in the last few ****ing years. But he's only doing his job!

Best selling video game (biggest entertainment launch of any kind) in history, I'm pretty sure. But I didn't buy it, because **** Activision - or whoever was in charge of ****ing that game up, and ****ing IW up.

 

[63]

Best selling video game (biggest entertainment launch of any kind) in history, I'm pretty sure. But I didn't buy it, because **** Activision - or whoever was in charge of ****ing that game up, and ****ing IW up.

What was wrong with MW2? How was it ****ed up?

 

[the cow says moo]

You mean you really don't know?

 

[63]

You mean you really don't know?

Enough of these posts please. I want your thoughts, I don't want you all to blindly regurgitate that comment you saw on Kotaku.