robert kotick
News
Bobby Kotick Hits The Cover Of Forbes, Does Not Worry
9:30PM Luke Plunkett | Activision boss Bobby “What, Me Worry?” Kotick is hot stuff right now, and in Bobby’s world, it doesn’t get much hotter than appearing on the cover of Forbes, wielding a plastic guitar like a battleaxe. More »
News
Activision Boss Was 2008’s Equal-Second-Best CEO
1:40PM Luke Plunkett | Business types Marketwatch are giving out awards! Important ones! Ones like “Best CEO 2008″. Eligible were CEOs from all walks of life. Mining companies, banks, you name it. And who came second? Bobby Freakin’ Kotick. More »
User-Generated Guitar Hero Content At Least Five Years Away
1:20AM Luke Plunkett | Making your own songs within a game like Guitar Hero, then self-publishing those songs, is a big deal, right? So you’d expect companies like Activision would be toiling day and night to get that kind of power into consumer’s hands, right? Notsomuch. As part of his address at the Morgan Stanley Technology Conference yesterday, Activision boss Bobby Kotick says that while his company recognises that it’s a big, big deal for a game like GH to incorporate its own user-generated content, he also says that making that kind of software available is “not easy”, and that it won’t be happening within the next five years. It will happen, he reiterates, just not soon. In the meantime, users will have to instead prepare for things like tournaments and playing for cash, which Kotick says are “the evolution of the medium”. [Pic] More »
News
Activision Get Heavy With Record Labels
4:00PM Luke Plunkett | More from Activision boss Bobby Kotick’s address at the Morgan Stanley Technology Conference: Activision are waking up to just how much money artists can make by appearing on Guitar Hero (HINT: it’s a lot). So, they figure, if artists are making money off Guitar Hero, then Activision can start making money off those artists. And their labels. More »
News
Guitar Hero’s World Domination Plans: Europe, Asia, “Multiple Instruments”
2:37PM Luke Plunkett | During his address at the Morgan Stanley Technology Conference earlier today, Activision boss Bobby Kotick was talking up Guitar Hero’s plans for world domination. While Rock Band continues to struggle to reach American shelves, let alone European ones, Activision have outlined the series’ potential to take over not just Europe, but Asia as well. More »
News
Activision Take Money Money, Make Money Money (Money)
2:20PM Luke Plunkett | Activision have announced their fiscal results for the past quarter. Seeing as they released both Call of Duty 4, the year’s top-selling game, and Guitar Hero III, the years #1 money-maker, you can probably tell backs are being patted in boardrooms across the company. Sales were up 80% from this time last year, at $US 1.48 billion, while profits were up from $1US 42.8 million to $US 272.2 million. All that cash has cemented Activision’s spot as North America’s #1 publisher, with Activision boss Bobby Kotick saying that NPD figures have them sitting atop a throne built from the skulls of fallen EA franchises. Also mentioned was the fact Call of Duty 5 and several Guitar Hero titles will be out next fiscal year, along with the company’s first Bond game, based on the upcoming “Quantum of Solace” movie. Oh, and over 5 million Guitar Hero songs have now been sold just on Xbox Live. Wow. More »
News
Tretton Tells Activision To Cram It, Stick To Making Games
4:00PM Luke Plunkett | Late last month, Activision boss Bobby Kotick issued an ultimatum of sorts. Said the 360 and PS3 needed to get to $US 199, or else. Well, speaking with the San Jose Mercury’s Troy Wolverton & Dean Takahashi, SCEA boss Jack Tretton responded to Kotick’s calls. And by responded, we mean totally call him out: Tretton:…you know, I’m surprised by it, because I would never venture to suggest what software publishers should price their software at. So I don’t think it’s appropriate for them to suggest what hardware should be priced at. SJM: I guess what he’s calling for is maybe a more nimble reaction to the Wii’s success. Tretton: I don’t know, maybe he should design a platform. Oh it’s on. Ringside tickets are $US 25, $US 18 for concession card holders. A Q&A with Sony U.S. games chief Jack Tretton, extended version [Mercury] More »
Activision: Sorry, Now We’ll Make Even More Money
11:20PM Luke Plunkett | Activision had originally forecast that it’d be making $US 1.050 billion in total revenue this Christmas season. Not anymore. No, as the realisation dawned on them that Guitar Hero III and Call of Duty 4 are conjuring money, they’ve bumped that estimate up to $US 1.225 billion. Activision CEO Bobby Kotick: We are well on our way to delivering our 16th consecutive year of revenue growth and the most profitable year in our history. We are confident that the third quarter of fiscal 2008 will be the largest and most profitable quarter ever. More profitable than the Pitfall era, even? Exciting times at Activision Towers! More »
