Slashdot Mirror
Activision Countersues Modern Warfare 2 Execs
WrongSizeGlass writes "AP is reporting that Activision has countersued former Infinity Ward executives Jason West and Vince Zampella. Activision claims West and Zampella 'morphed from valued, responsible executives into insubordinate and self-serving schemers who attempted to hijack Activision's assets for their own personal gain and whose actions threatened both the future of the Call of Duty franchise and the future of Activision's (Infinity Ward) studio.'"
This follows Activision's firing of the execs earlier this year. Legal documents indicate that this legal dispute has caused delays in the production of Modern Warfare 3. Lawyers for the two fired execs say Activision's claims are ridiculous, citing Modern Warfare 2's overwhelming financial success. Meanwhile, it's rumored that EA is seeing the whole fiasco as an opportunity.
Self-serving schemers? What, Kotick was afraid of some competition?
I'm sure as customers we'll all benefit from this litigation. Mad props to the lawyers!
- If we aren't supposed to eat animals, then why are they made out of meat? - Steven Wright
Please guys, don't go to EA, that is like going from a semi-evil organization to the ultimate evil organization. Go work for Valve or Bungie or one of the other decent studios out there.
Oh, so something witty should go here then eh?
I quit World of Warcraft over this. I've never played Modern Warfare, nor do I care who made it, but it is obvious that Activision wants to milk its franchises until there is nothing left but dessicated corpses, and fuck anyone who stands in their way.
Actually, that seems to be what pretty much everyone is doing these days...
We've got sequels and expansions and spin-offs of anything even remotely successful - on the big screen, in TV, with video games, and with books.
Seems like nobody wants to be creative/original anymore.
"Work is the curse of the drinking classes." -Oscar Wilde
http://www.penny-arcade.com/comic/2007/12/5/
Duh.
This is not the funny you're looking for.
it's rumored that EA is seeing the whole fiasco as an opportunity
Look for it soon! Executive Slayer, the Headhunter Edition! Can you chase down enemies, destroy smaller game companies, assassinate foes, all while managing to convince the public to buy crap products and run a profitable company? Preorder now for the 'IP Lawyer' character, which allows you to snipe your customers for extra pocket change! Bonus points if you can get them to keep buying afterwards!
Qxe4
I quit World of Warcraft over this. I've never played Modern Warfare, nor do I care who made it, but it is obvious that Activision wants to milk its franchises until there is nothing left but dessicated corpses, and fuck anyone who stands in their way.
Actually, that seems to be what pretty much everyone is doing these days...
We've got sequels and expansions and spin-offs of anything even remotely successful - on the big screen, in TV, with video games, and with books.
Seems like nobody wants to be creative/original anymore.
Give it a few decades.
Musicians and film artists are just now being able to really succeed free of the grips of their large respective "artist associations". There's still a long way to go, though. It's taken about 50 years for music, 80 years for film.
In 20 years, indie studios in video gaming are starting to get a real grip on the industry. Extrapolate that. So, I say, give it a decade or so. Being at the grips of some big, monolithic evil publisher won't be an issue anymore.
"Seems like nobody wants to be creative/original anymore."
I dunno... I heard Modern Warfare 3: Reuters' Photographer Extermination was supposed to be pretty different...
The problem with many games now-a-days is they're story based. You get invested into a story which adds lots of value to the game.
This is a problem? I always thought stories were a good thing...
FPS game are the only games that can easily be changed/unique because not being held to a story line.
I disagree. The fact that FPS games are more-or-less driven by their mechanics, rather than a storyline, typically makes them less unique.
In Doom I was some generic guy running around and blasting monsters... In Quake I was a different generic guy running around and blasting different monsters with slightly better graphics... In Unreal I was a different generic guy running around and blasting different monsters with even better graphics...
But in Half-Life I was Gordon Freeman attempting to escape from Black Mesa after a resonance cascade tore the facility apart and flooded our world with extra-dimensional nasties.
There's a reason why the crowbar has become a truly iconic weapon... While the nail gun has been all-but forgotten.
Any major FPS game is mostly multiplayer, so just make it fun and it's a winner.
Fun is, of course, subjective...
But let's assume you've got some FPS title that everyone agrees is fun. And you take those exact mechanics and just re-skin everything... Say, take some Call of Duty title and turn it into a sci-fi shooter... Aside from preferring a sci-fi setting to a more realistic one, why would I bother to buy the new game if it's identical to the old one in every way that matters?
RTS/MMORPG/etc are a lot more involved and are more fun when there's a history.
I agree... But that doesn't mean you have to keep rolling out sequels. You can create the history within the game itself. Give your characters some depth and detail... Fill in the blanks in the world... Make me feel like I know the characters, the places, the villains... Give me a history, even if I've never heard of the game before.
"Work is the curse of the drinking classes." -Oscar Wilde
I worked in the game industry for about 10 years (PS1-PS2) and I've said it here for years, game companies are putting themselves out of business. The development and production costs have gotten so far out of hand that only "safe" games can be made. Sequels, franchises, licensed crap. No one can afford to take a chance any more, and almost every great game back in the day came from risk. The great games that have had massive support and funding end up having every corner rounded off in the name of wider appeal or time/money constraints. The only games that have managed to be risky and creative are the super small indie games which I think deserve the spotlight these days. It is a steady decline regardless of the profits and numbers. In another few years it is game over and the 1980's crash will come again. Consoles will disappear instead of arcades. It's sad, it's sad to see developers and designers get screwed even more than they already were, but this shake up will knock all of the garbage out of the system and bring it back down to reality and well designed games.
http://teasphere.wordpress.com - A little spot of tea
In 20 years, indie studios in video gaming are starting to get a real grip on the industry. Extrapolate that. So, I say, give it a decade or so. Being at the grips of some big, monolithic evil publisher won't be an issue anymore.
Good point. Personally, I see the seeds starting now: hardware and tools are powerful enough that even without a budget, you can create a polished game experience. You don't have to code a physics engine by hand, you don't have to be a graphics wizard to create a colorful world with great draw distance, and you don't have to ration your CPU-cycles to have some sort of believable AI and pathfinding.
Since the biggest difference between blockbusters with 50 million dollar budgets and those with 50k budgets will be how many content creators and how many hair-physics creators they employ, there's a good chance that indie developers can actually be very successful. See Portal and Castle Crashers, for example.
Those who can, do. Those who can't, sue.