World of Warcraft: "Tens of Dollars!"
Posted: Friday February 29th, 2008
by
Activision CEO, Bobby Kotick, recently explained to a group of investors that he believes an investment of half a billion to a billion dollars would be required to take on World of Warcraft and success would not be guaranteed.
Source: EuorGamer [ more info ]
Just so no one misinterprets what Kotick is getting at, the half billion to billion dollar assessment is why Activision decided to merge with Vivendi not some kind of challenge to the industry.
Kotick notes that other companies threw money into their attempts to develop a MMOG "opportunity" and failed. But qualifies his comments by telling the investors that "even a well-managed company like Activision" couldn't see a "prospect for profit any time soon" in the MMO arena. But for Kotick's candor on Activision's position, there's no reason why their assessment prior to merging with Vivendi should be taken as some kind of gospel by other companies persuing MMOG endeavors.
My belief is that a quality product, no matter the the total investment or ongoing budget, could change the MMOG landscape. That is to say if a small developer made a game with immensely enjoyable gameplay, the product could very well spread like wildfire across gaming's global stage. Sure it would the equivalent of hitting the development jackpot. But, it's possible. I'd just hate to see Kotick's comments taken out of context and used as an excuse for developers/publishers to not even try.
[ discuss ]
Source: EuorGamer [ more info ]
Just so no one misinterprets what Kotick is getting at, the half billion to billion dollar assessment is why Activision decided to merge with Vivendi not some kind of challenge to the industry.
Kotick notes that other companies threw money into their attempts to develop a MMOG "opportunity" and failed. But qualifies his comments by telling the investors that "even a well-managed company like Activision" couldn't see a "prospect for profit any time soon" in the MMO arena. But for Kotick's candor on Activision's position, there's no reason why their assessment prior to merging with Vivendi should be taken as some kind of gospel by other companies persuing MMOG endeavors.
My belief is that a quality product, no matter the the total investment or ongoing budget, could change the MMOG landscape. That is to say if a small developer made a game with immensely enjoyable gameplay, the product could very well spread like wildfire across gaming's global stage. Sure it would the equivalent of hitting the development jackpot. But, it's possible. I'd just hate to see Kotick's comments taken out of context and used as an excuse for developers/publishers to not even try.
[ discuss ]
[ top ]
- advertise on gu -
