Activision Boss Wants Consoles to Be Replaced by PCs

[Ares]

Activision Boss Wants Consoles to Be Replaced by PCs

CEO Bobby Kotick wants open, TV-connected PCs to be the new industry standard.
By Frank Cifaldi, 07/05/2010

Activision Blizzard CEO Bobby Kotick has spoken out against dedicated videogame consoles, claiming that his company could be making significantly more money on more open platforms like the PC.

Speaking to the Financial Times (registration required), Kotick claims that 60 percent of Xbox Live users are there "principally because of Call of Duty," and that Activision doesn't see a fair share of the money from it.

Kotick described closed console networks as "walled gardens," and said that his company would "very aggressively" support PC manufacturers such as Dell and HP in any efforts to produce gamer-friendly PCs that plug directly into televisions, creating the opportunity for Activision to open an online network of its own.

Kotick made similar statements to The Wall Street Journal last month, claiming at the time that only 30 percent of the company's profits come from console games.

Source: 1up

Dear Bobby Kotick, Since you have made it clear that you don't want or need console Gamers, since we only make up 30% of your company's profits. Do all of us console Gamers a favor, pull all of your games off the PS3, Xbox 360, and the Wii and beat it. What was that? you can't do that because your shareholders will be upset because of the money lost from that 30% and you would lose your job, then stop talking about us like you don't need our business because many of us game on a PC too. I'm cool if your company want's to make money just don't pi** on console Gamers. -Ares

 

[Nemo128]

PC > consoles.

 

[Nugu]

Is this guy a moron? Almost any PC shipped in the last year or 4 has come equiped with HDMI out (or HDMI via DVI adapter) enabling anyone who even realizes it to use their TV as a monitor. Sad thing is, I would place money that the majority don't even know what a "DVI" connection is even though they have one plugged into their monitor.

OPEN PLATFORM?!? In the last several years PC has become one of the most CLOSED platforms for consumers at the very least. Each iteration of DRM imposed on the PC Gamer has gotten worse and worse until we've hit the current state - PC GAMING IS BACK ON LIFE SUPPORT AND ONLY ABOVE WATER THANKS TO MMORPGS!

Support Dell in making gaming PCs? It's called their XPS line moron and they charge 3x as much as a PS3 to even get a base line gaming PC. Better start offering consumers 600$ rebate checks.

Consoles are popular because they're plug and play. They require almost 0 upkeep and provide no suprises. That's why I finally caved a couple years ago and got a PS3 after being sick of having no games because I would not infect my gaming rig with their DRM products.


Just because WoW is lining your pockets doesn't mean that PC is the end all of gaming.


/rant Back to watching 1080p videos on what used to be my gaming machine. (OC Phenom@2.94ghz, 8gigs ram, 260gtx, 4x250gigs in RAID5)

 

[GlocksRock]

It would make sense for him to say that, so they could charge you a monthly or annual fee for gaming on their servers, instead of M$ getting your money.

 

[Hi Ho]

I am a PC gamer. I still prefer to play games with a mouse. Joysticks suck. I only have one game on my Xbox and that is Halo 3 which I play with a few friends once in a while. Other than that it's all PC. The PC has better visuals, better controls, and with Steam, a great gaming experience.

I am surprised to hear someone at Activision touting PC gaming since they seem not to care about us PC gamers that bought Modern Warfare 2...

 

[Shock]

I like this guy.

 

[Nemo128]

Is this guy a moron? Almost any PC shipped in the last year or 4 has come equiped with HDMI out (or HDMI via DVI adapter) enabling anyone who even realizes it to use their TV as a monitor. Sad thing is, I would place money that the majority don't even know what a "DVI" connection is even though they have one plugged into their monitor.

OPEN PLATFORM?!? In the last several years PC has become one of the most CLOSED platforms for consumers at the very least. Each iteration of DRM imposed on the PC Gamer has gotten worse and worse until we've hit the current state - PC GAMING IS BACK ON LIFE SUPPORT AND ONLY ABOVE WATER THANKS TO MMORPGS!

Support Dell in making gaming PCs? It's called their XPS line moron and they charge 3x as much as a PS3 to even get a base line gaming PC. Better start offering consumers 600$ rebate checks.

Consoles are popular because they're plug and play. They require almost 0 upkeep and provide no suprises. That's why I finally caved a couple years ago and got a PS3 after being sick of having no games because I would not infect my gaming rig with their DRM products.


Just because WoW is lining your pockets doesn't mean that PC is the end all of gaming.


/rant Back to watching 1080p videos on what used to be my gaming machine. (OC Phenom@2.94ghz, 8gigs ram, 260gtx, 4x250gigs in RAID5)

PC > console.

I am a PC gamer. I still prefer to play games with a mouse. Joysticks suck. I only have one game on my Xbox and that is Halo 3 which I play with a few friends once in a while. Other than that it's all PC. The PC has better visuals, better controls, and with Steam, a great gaming experience.

I am surprised to hear someone at Activision touting PC gaming since they seem not to care about us PC gamers that bought Modern Warfare 2...

PC > console!!!

I like this guy.

And for the triple word score, PC > CONSOLE!!!

 

[MinusTheBear]

I'm a console guy.

 

[pzaur]

What's a console?

-pat

(I don't game.)

 

[Ito]

I am having trouble beleiving what he said is actually good. Why?

::Looks at MW2::

WHERE ARE THE DEDICATED SERVERS?!?!

 

[Serj22]

Pc is good for some stuff, console is good for others. I think the whole ordeal could be broken down by allowing everyone to play online games with eachother, I.E> People playing PC Modern Warfare 2 can go online and play against 360 people playing it. Windows live offers a tracking record of your stuff on the PC, so it only seems plausible that they could combine the players. Then just throw the PS3 players in, then the whole "PCRULZ1337skillz" thing can be put to the test as they play people on consoles. Then we can truly see which one is better.

 

[Nugu]

It's simple, Kotick wants total control over CoD and online play. As much as I semi-hate closed networks like PSN and XBox Live they keep him in line. As long as MS has a strangle hold on network access for their consoles Kotick can't charge for and run his own Pay to Play CoD servers.

Xbox live is keeping him from going to subscription service for CoD. He can't do it on PC either as the fanbase is mainly console after pissing in PC players faces.

And yes I also believe PC Gaming is the way to go for several game types but in their fight against pirating they've alienated me. PC gaming is dead to me except for MMOs and the rare gem that doesn't go to DRM hell. <3 for World of Goo

 

[yepimonfire]

the problem with PC's is that game system requirements go faster then you can afford to buy computers, the new CoD requires a 3.2GHZ processor, a computer with that speed is expensive, not to mention the GFX card it requires, computers are much more expensive then consoles and where a console will last you 5-7 years minimum before its time to upgrade to the newest thing your PC goes out of date fast with computer games, for example, i was able to play the new CoD on my PC because it only required like a 2GHZ CPU etc, the newer one requires a CPU that is much faster and much more expensive, the amount of money i would have to spend each year upgrading my computer would be worthless, i could see spending 2000 on a brand new computer, and then putting 500 dollars in it a year just to play the new games, not worth it one bit. and dont even get me started on the oh so irritating DRM crap.

 

[Hi Ho]

the new CoD requires a 3.2GHZ processor, a computer with that speed is expensive, not to mention the GFX card it requires,

It is true that a PC gamer must upgrade more often. However, one can't just look at GHz as the only measure of performance.

Modern Warfare 2 requires at least a 3.2GHz Pentium 4 CPU. That is an old and outdated processor. It is only single core. Virtually any CPU, besides some low power mobile units, made in the last three or four years would have no problem playing MW2. I have two PC's. One is a Core2Duo clocked at 2.4 GHz and the newer one is a Core i7 quad core clocked at 2.8GHz. The i7 is MUCH faster than the Core2Duo and both of them are multitudes faster than a Pentium 4. Both of them run MW2 without any issues at all. GHz don't mean much anymore. The minimum graphics card is a GeForce 6600. That is four years old.

I generally upgrade my video card every 3 years or so. That's more often than a console, yes, but I also enjoy better visuals than any console could push.

 

[yepimonfire]

yep PC graphics own console graphics by a lightyear.

 

[Hi Ho]

Steam has a pretty good overview of the hardware that the average PC gamer is using. They have very detailed information.

http://store.steampowered.com/hwsurvey

 

[lsiberian]

I find it tragic that the CEO doesn't understand that the Xbox and PS3 are PCs.

What do they use to make game systems? The same things they use to make PCs. He should just make his own game systems if he thinks it would be so valuable. Fact is MMORPGs ended the golden age of PC gaming. The days of Warcraft 2, Starcraft, C&C, Doom 2, Counterstrick and Unreal Tournament have passed. Consoles simply make more sense these days.

 

[yepimonfire]

the Xbox is really really close to a PC if you look at what hardware is in it, it's all modified PC components, that anyone could buy for a PC.

 

[SopRage]

Despite Mr. Kotick's greed, consoles are here to stay.

While it's true that PC gamers will have the upper hand with visuals (usually within months after a console launch), the fact of the matter is that the average consumer doesn't want to buy a PC money pit that will require know-how and constant upgrades he neither has nor wants to work for.

Tycho at Penny Arcade has outlined the problem many times, and frankly, even when one pays for all the upgrades required to play at "normal" settings on many games, sometimes the hardware or software simply won't play with each other. Bugs and mods are far more rampant due to the sheer number of different specs being used, and unless you're in the hardcore camp, for many people it's simply not worth it.

PC players will always have their mice (for RTS and FPS's) and bragging rights regarding sharper textures, better lighting, framerates beyond what the human eye can even register, etc. Console gamers will have games that are often more stable, a system that needs replaced every 5+ years, and a setup that requires far less technical knowledge and patience (remember, half the people with HDTVs still run component to their machines!).

 

[Ares]

This issue is less about what platform you prefer whether it's PC or Console it has to do with the fact that Bobby wants to charge you for every game you would like to play online. He's upset at the fact that both Sony and MS won't let that happen so he's turned his attention to PC gamers since there isn't a gatekeeper so to speak to prevent this. How many 360 owners would be happy to pay for XBL and a sub to play COD? Activison under this guy's leadership is becoming a joke from rehashed sequels, expensive peripherals, same day DLC, threats to stop supporting consoles, etc..etc..etc.....there is a long list of stupidity that has come from this guy to list here. So at the end of the day it's not about PC vs Consoles, it's about Gamers vs Activision and the choices they have made to nickle an dime Gamers at every turn.