The Activision CEO believes that quality online services are essential for a modern gaming platform.
Nintendo is preparing to roll out a new console at E3, but Bobby Kotick isn’t particularly impressed. The Activision boss says that the industry should be more focused on content than hardware, and he even expects another round of console price cuts in the not too distant future.
“The industry is evolving – we had more than 50 per cent of our revenues from digital this quarter – and one of the things you realize is that there’s less of a need for new hardware when people become much more enthusiastic about the online components of the game,” said Kotick. “The platform used to be defined as just the box, but the platform today is really the box plus all the online services and capabilities.”
Kotick referenced strong DLC sales to prove his point – the Call of Duty: Black Ops First Strike map pack enjoyed 1.4 million downloads during its first 24 hours on Xbox Live – and believes that developers need to adapt to a changing digital marketplace.
“We’ve more confidence in consumer spending, we feel like some of that has stabilized and there are price cuts on the [console] hardware in the works,” continued Kotick.
While I’ve certainly been critical of Kotick in the past, I have to give credit where credit is due and I happen to think that he’s making some great points this time around. He’s probably more concerned with microtransactions than I am, but I’d still like to see developers use the existing tools to make better games and that’s less likely to happen if everyone has to learn to use new technology.
It’d also be nice if Kotick is right about the price cuts. A $250 PS3 or Xbox 360 is pretty appealing even if there is a new console from Nintendo.
Source: Financial Times
