To Infinity and Beyond, part 2

On the last post I wrote about my thoughts on the Infinity Ward scandal.  Remember that this is a very complex situation, and it's hard to find concrete solutions or even concrete evidence in anything.  That's just how our perspective as run-of-the-mill gamers ends up being.  But that doesn't mean that the common gamer, like myself, can't offer some helpful ideas as to how Activision might clean up this mess, or even if they can clean up this mess.

The first thing they must do is assure their audience in some way that they are dedicated to bringing quality games.  Activision is the largest and the richest gaming company on the planet.  Their gaming audience includes almost everyone.  For a company like them to head into a scandal like this can be devastating to their gamers.  They need to take action is reassuring people that they are still on track with bringing great games from great developers.  There are many ways they could do this, but the primary way would be to issue a statement or calm fears in some way.  Now, Activision has done some of this already, but they need to officially let people know what is going on.  And there is no better place to do this than at this year's E3. 

I'm not an idiot.  I'm sure Activision wants to not attract any unneccesary attention.  I'm not saying they should have a representative go up and talk about Infinity Ward.  But their conference at E3 would serve a much better purpose if it focused on something the gamers would like and would not expect from Activision as of late.  It could be something as small as focusing on quality games.  It could be a focus on restating that Activision is committed to the gamer.  Anything would be good.  Activision, above all, needs to connect with the gamer again.  Activision was already on shaky ground with gamers with Kotick's remarks and Activision's lack of support for PC gamers; by not addressing this in some way, gamers will become even more detached.

Activision needs to adress Infinity Ward also.  No one knows what is going on with the studio.  The majority of the talent and the muscle are gone, and are now working at Respawn.  But Activision is adamant on ensuring gamers that IW is still around and still working on something.  Most people assume this is Modern Warfare 3, but the fact that there are so few developers left leads me to believe development has come to a stand-still.  I can speculate what Activision might be doing with IW, but the one thing everyone needs is concrete evidence that IW is working on something, and that the studio isn't destroyed.  This could come through a partnership with another studio.  It could come through Activision closing IW.  Whatever way it comes, it needs to come.  Gamers need to know what is going on with IW for Activision not to be assumed as the destroyer of development companies.

Another thing I suggest is let Treyarch show their stuff.  Treyarch is actually in a really good position because of the IW scandal.  Treyarch, when partnered with IW, has always been underrated.  Treyarch makes great games, but when compared to gold like the Modern Warfare series, Treyarch is second-best.  Treyarch has been given the oppurtunity to show that they can make a game as great as Modern Warfare.  If Activision lets them, they could become the next IW.  E3 will show just what they have with Call of Duty: Black Ops.

Call of Duty: Black Ops will most certainly take the focus somewhat off of IW.  If the game looks great at E3 and starts garnering some hype, then Activision can start focusing on something else other than the gigantic pink elephant that is IW.  Activision still has great ties with Treyarch, and they should take advantage of this in every way.  Make Treyarch the new IW and the success they had could come back in some way.  Treyarch deserves this chance to show that they can hold out with the big developers, and Activision should give them this oppurtunity.

Activision needs to also show gamers a new IP that can stand on its own.  This prediction is a bit of a slim one, but I really feel that by introducing a strong new IP, Activision can get rid of this ridiculous "tripod" business plan they have.  When a company becomes solely based upon three franchises and does not dedicate itself to a new IP, they raise the risk of failing exponentially.  Guitar Hero has already begun to show signs of weakness.  World of Warcraft is beginning to slow in growth.  Call of Duty, well, we all know what's going on there.  Activision actually has shown that they are trying to fix this problem already with a great company named Bungie.

The partnership between Activision and Bungie may have been one of the smartest decisions Activision has ever made.  There are so many great things that could come out of this.  First, Activision has guaranteed the public that Bungie maintains complete creative control over their new IP, and Bungie has seconded this fact.  This is great because not only does it ensure that the issue of Infinity Ward hopefully does not happen again, but it shows that Activision is moving towards a healthy partnership, ala EA.  Secondly, this partnership gives Activision an almost definite way of having a successful new IP.  It is unlikely that Bungie will create something bad.  Bungie has shown that they can successfully create a franchise, and create it well.  Activision has just hired what could be the best creators of a franchise in history.

Lastly, Bungie brings with them not only great experience in making games, but a great community with them.  Activision has gained many new gamers because of this Bungie deal.  Bungie has always been committed to community involvement, and their experience in this area gives Activision some much needed improvement in the area.  Activision has never been great with the community.  This is evident no more than in Modern Warfare 2, where glitches and a lack of a pre-release beta caused the game and the gaming community to suffer.  Bungie can be the spring-board (no pun intended) for Activision's improvement in this area. 

Finally, I make one more prediction, and it's an unlikely one, but one I feel is completely necessary if Activision wants to make it back into gamers' hearts.  FIRE BOBBY KOTICK.  Mr. Kotick has destroyed any sense of credibility that Activision once had with gamers.  When the CEO of the biggest gaming company on the planet says he's in the business to make money and not necessarily make good games pisses me off.  I want a publisher to make great games.  I want that to be a priority.  All gamers do.  I'm not ignorant.  Of course they want to make money. But that should go along with some type of passion to make games.  Mr. Kotick continues to show gamers that he doesn't care for community, he doesn't care for quality, and by the example of Infinity Ward, he doesn't care for his employees.  I could write an entire post on why Mr. Kotick is ruining Activision, but I don't need to.  Because I can tell you that all of these suggestions I made in this post become exponentially unlikely with Bobby Kotick as CEO. 

Do you agree with my suggestions?  Do you have anything else that you think could help Activision in the future?  What's your opinion on the issue?  Comment and enjoy the rest of your day.