There is so much I could say about this situation, but I'd like to start with who I feel is responsible for what. I have no idea if West and Zampella have any ground for their suit, and the same goes for Activision. What I do know is the reputation of Activision, and the likelihood that West/Zampella probably have great reasons for this. The fact that security stormed the office indicates that Activision was not happy with something IW was doing, or in this case, not doing. It certainly appears that IW ceased early development on Modern Warfare 3 in protest over the fact that Activision was making them work at full force again without full compensation for the last game. It's also quite possible IW wanted to make a different game other than MW, which would be a breach of contract for IW. Regardless, IW did something that they weren't technically supposed to be doing, and West and Zampella were let go because of this.
The fact that they decided to sue Activision almost immediately after their termination indicates to me that Activision was most likely holding extra compensation from them due to the widely successful sales of MW2. I say this because the immediate actions of these two men indicate that their legal counsil suggested immediate action, meaning that their must be good grounds for a suit. This fact is even more likely because of the 30 some other people that have joined the suit against Activision. Activision, in my opinion, is at fault here. The CEO of Activision, Bobby Kotick, stated once that Activision is not there to make games but to make money. His influence over game studios is evident. The Guitar Hero franchise has suffered from it, because of the various peripherals the publisher demands be developed for each game. His very authoritative and unprofessional relationship with developers has finally blown up in this incident. This is no clearer to me than with the issue of money.
Activision, according to West and Zampella, neglected to pay developers for a game they made. Let me put this in perspective. MW2 was finished around August of last year. IW employees have not been fully compensated yet, and it is already March of next year? That makes no sense. Activision, after the remarks Kotick has made about their goal of money, is in trouble. Their past reputation definitely goes to show that this lack of compensation is not only possible, but likely. Especially if over 30 employees of IW have quit and moved to Respawn Entertainment, escaping Activision swiftly and willingly.
Of course, none of my opinion matters, and doesn't count as fact. But it's bad when a normal member of the gaming community gets these types of vibes from a big publisher like Activision. And I am aware that I am NOT the only one who feels bad about this situation, and who feels mad at Activision. This makes a gamer like myself question Activision in the future. Which is bad for business. Activision will pay for this event, even if the suit against them goes in their favor. Activision will have to deal with many things because of this.
They'll have to deal with the Call of Duty franchise taking a gigantic hit in the future. IW has lost almost all of its significant talent to Respawn. The crew that made Modern Warfare and the studio is gone, and won't ever be coming back. The talent gamers once knew and loved is gone from Call of Duty. Now, I can speculate to my eyeballs what I think will happen with the Modern Warfare franchise, and the Call of Duty franchise. But what I know for a fact is that gamers will NEVER get another Modern Warfare game like the ones Infinity Ward made. The ones that were, for the most part, amazing games.
Saying that, Activision needs to realize this if they want to maintain their hold over the FPS genre, and the modern shooter genre. Medal of Honor and Battlefield are positioned to take away a lot of the MW crowd, and the fact that this is an "off-year" (a phrase I despise) means that Activision doesn't plan on Treyarch making a COD as successful as Modern Warfare. Activision risks a lot of their success due to this event. Their money comes primarily from three things: World of Warcraft, Guitar Hero, and Call of Duty. The Guitar Hero franchise is already showing signs of weakness. World of Warcraft, while providing a steady income of money, has peaked at users, meaning growth has significantly slowed. And if Call of Duty can't be saved, then the tripod that Activision is balanced on will break.
Activision will also have to deal with their main competitor, EA. This year could very well shift the tables quite a bit. As I previously stated, Medal of Honor could take away any thunder left from Modern Warfare. EA is also making strides with its EA Partners program. Unlike Activision, who directly owns its developers, EA has made a program for developers to be fully independent of EA, and still publish under their name. Devs like BioWare and Visceral Games have made million-dollar franchises under this program. A program like this will hit Activision hard, and it already has started to label them as a publisher no developer wants to be with.
And let's not forget Respawn Entertainment. The "new IW" does have all the talent. This studio is going to be a great studio, just for the fact that they can do whatever they want without the influence of the publisher. Something I'm sure they are dying for. Respawn with EA could put the final nail in the coffin for Activision. If they create a new game, and that game is successful, then it just goes to show the failures Activision has as a publisher. Activision will have to deal with this loss of what is surely their most creative talents. Especially to EA.
Stay tuned for Part 2 where I give my two cents on what Activision needs to do to clean up this mess. Enjoy and comment!
Regardless of who's at fault, I find myself amazed at how little respect Activision has for one of its biggest cash cow. IW essentially put together an overall great game in two years that became the most successful console game of all time, and this is how they're repaid? I know all businesses are out to make money, but you would assume Activision would realize IW was doing something right when they released such a successful game. Now it's come back to bite them in the ass.
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