I’m not quite sure how something could have a broader appeal than World of Warcraft, but apparently Activision Blizzard CEO Bobby Kotick thinks his company can do it.
Just in case you live under a fucking rock, World of Warcraft is the biggest and most dominant game in the MMO space right now – topping something like 10+ million subscribers. That’s a lot of people playing this fucking game.
To me, that seems about as popular as a game like World of Warcraft could be. Although some things that might be considered more popular, perhaps the subject of Activision’s new game:
That is actually all I can think of right now. Failing a game about blowjobs, I’m thinking that Blizzard might be making a more fast paced and modern MMORPG game. The Massive Multiplayer Online genre itself dates back a little more than a decade or so, and considering the age of the genre, not much has really changed about the gameplay. Most games are cooldown or auto attack based, and character advancement can slow down to a crawl or become tedious after a while. Part of this is that these type of games need to be designed around a range of computer hardware configurations, and part of this is due to somewhat lazy developers trying to copy design elements instead of innovating.
My money is on a massive third person action game, like Mass Effect, perhaps set in modern day or a sci-fi setting. If there is anyone who can pull this off, it’s Blizzard. And frankly, I’m sick of swords and sorcery games. Just give me a fucking railgun.
The music video game genre has been in a profound slump this year, with sales down 46% so far, according to the NPD Group. Part of that is due to the recession, of course, but part of it may be waning consumer interest in Guitar Hero and Rock Band. The games’ publishers, Activision Blizzard and MTV Networks (owned by Viacom) have seen the impact on their bottom lines and are taking big steps to shake up their businesses as a result.
As a story in the Times explains, the biggest change comes in the form of The Beatles: Rock Band, a risky bet worth tens of millions of dollars in royalties alone.
But as MTV launches the game with its distribution partner, it’s also implementing a new strategy: flee the hardware business. Sure, there’s a limited-edition, $250 hardware package, but quantities are limited. And there’s a $160 “value bundle” featuring original Rock Band hardware that MTV is eager to get rid of.
If you’re new to music video games and want controllers for The Beatles: Rock Band, MTV has a preferred solution: buy Guitar Hero.
Hit the jump for more »
One of the biggest PC gaming developers has said bye-bye to the PC Gaming Alliance. Activision Blizzard has withdrawn its membership, according to GamesIndustry.biz.
What does this mean, really, for the alliance? Well, for starters, they no longer have the biggest MMO or some of the games with the most rabbid followings (Starcraft and Diablo). Not to mention any offerings from Activision.
While the move certainly won’t hurt Activision Blizzard, the PC Gaming Alliance may suffer a bit in how they’re going to push and market PC gaming over the console. We’ve yet to really see anything major come out of the initiative, and that’s likely why companies are leaving.
In the turbulent times we are living globally, I thought it would be relevant to highlight some of the industry happenings as there are potential impacts to the gaming public. Hopefully this will continue as semi-regular Loot-Ninja feature. The following have been the recent headlines in no particular order. Hit the links for the Loot-Ninja articles.
Lots of grim news financially and lots of studios shutting down, downsizing, rightsizing, etc. The global recession taking a toll on the gaming industry, probably. The above news updates are pretty similar to latest news in the banking industry. In case you’ve been living in a cave for the past year that means things are not very good.
By Keith Carter
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Tagged Activision Blizzard, amazon, Avalanche Studios, Brash, Budcat Creations, E for All, Electronic Arts, Industry update, Koei, Konami, midway, Reflexive, Square Enix, Take Two, Tecmo, THQ, Vivendi, WizKids
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