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Infinity Ward Lead Developers Axed Unexpectedly
RogueyWon writes "Kotaku is reporting that Infinity Ward, the development studio behind Modern Warfare 2, has been at the center of strange events recently. Jason West and Vince Zampella, two lead developers, have been fired by parent company Activision for 'breaches of contract and insubordination.' Speculation is rife as to the reasons behind this; following Modern Warfare 2's spectacular sales figures, it seems unlikely that the studio's performance could be to blame."
Infinity Ward is in California, where non-compete clauses are automatically void. I believe (though I'm not an expert by any means) that they can get back to work immediately should an offer present itself.
That last bullet point was a widely misquoted joke, as plenty of people who were on the call in question have confirmed.
---- Den ene knappen er powerknapp, den andre er Bender voice knapp "Bite My Shiny Metal Ass"
They're from the wikipedia article I linked, and it has the cites in it.
Here you go: http://www.joystiq.com/2009/09/14/activision-ceo-talks-console-less-guitar-hero-turning-fear-into/
Now for the promised strange and, yes, disturbing comments on Kotick's part. What may have been music to bean counters' ears still has ours ringing, as he described tailoring developer bonuses to "really [reward] profit and nothing else" and how an air of "skepticism, pessimism, and fear" is promoted within the company with the goal of "keeping people focused on the deep depression." You know, so they focus on profit and nothing else. It's all to plan, though, seeing as Kotick confided that, "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."
Canada: The US's more awesome sibling.
http://games.slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=10/03/01/0536236 Enjoy... and learn to search next time.
Every time I start to have faith in humanity, I ruin it by driving to work between 7 and 8 am.
300% of China?
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_exports
People's Republic of China $1,194,000,000,000
Germany $1,187,000,000,000
In fact, the money they make isn't bad considering what their job involves
Plus, McDonalds is one of the few places you can start out at the bottom and work your way practically to the top.
My brother-in-law started out as a fry cook as recent immigrant with practically no English skills. 20 years or so later, he's a director responsible for 500+ stores.
Hollow words will burn and hollow men will burn.
You do know the red states take more Federal money than they pay in taxes, right? Funny how people always like socialism that benefits them, isn't it? Funny how they can feed from the trough, and at the same time, claim it is immoral to feed from the trough, so no one else should.
http://www.taxfoundation.org/research/show/266.html
Look how well socialism worked to turn a subsistence level farming community into an industrial powerhouse in under fifty years:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mondragon_Corporation
DeLorean? How was that remotely socialist?
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/DeLorean_Motor_Company
The Kibbutzim? Okay, well, that was socialism, but the situation is complex, and the failures of the kibbutzim is not necessarily an indictment of socialism.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kibbutz
That all being said, flamebait? Really? I hate it just as much when it happens to people I disagree with as when it happens to me. "Flamebait" and "Troll" are not synonymous to "I disagree." I don't need your help, reactionary mods, I can make my arguments just fine without your 'helpful' down-moderation of my opponents.
- None can love freedom heartily, but good men; the rest love not freedom, but license. -- John Milton
What about unions that artificially restrict labour supply? I have a friend who is a movie cameraman. He had to join the union or else he could get no work - no studio was allowed to hire him, even if he was the best cameraman in the whole world. Nor could the studios fire bad or lazy cameramen and hire him instead. That sort of lock on labour mobility is just plain wrong.
I don't know how much in taxes my employer has to pay, but here in Sweden, those taxes are only part of the picture.
My employer must give me 30 days paid holiday per year (since I'm on salary; otherwise they could get away with giving me only 25 days but then they'd have to pay overtime).
My employer must also provide paid parental leave; don't remember the exact duration, but IIRC it's 120 days for each new child (applies to both mothers and fathers).
My employer also pays a big chunk into my retirement and disability funds.
My employer also can't fire or lay me off without notice (90 days). In my case, since we were just acquired, the new owners must guarantee my job for at least 6 months following the acquisition.
I may be slightly wrong with regard to some of the exact figures, but that's the gist of it.
As for 'personal privacy', I don't see where that's lacking. It's true that anyone in the country can find out very easily where I live, my profession, employer, civil status, and income and tax information. It's just as true that I can find out these things about anybody else in the country -- if I want to know how much my boss or even the Prime Minister is worth, what kind of home he lives in, and how much he pays in taxes, a quick trip to Skatteverket (tax office) is all it takes.
There's none of that puritanical 'ZOMG you're gay/FSM/liberal/whatever' bullshit one has to endure in the US -- here, absolutely nobody cares who I sleep with (as long as she's at least 15 and it's consensual) or what my political or religious views are. THOSE things are considered private matters here, as well they should be.
(Actually, I'm hetero/Buddhist/Socialist. But you get the point.)