Activision confidence bolstered by 2009 lineup, 'sparser' competition
by Richard Mitchell 
{ Jun 23rd 2009 at 8:00PM } 
Griffith doesn't seem concerned by competition from The Beatles: Rock Band either, saying quite simply, "Well, Rock Band is the most similar title on the market, but Guitar Hero outsells it by four to one in the US; in Europe that number is ten to one." Okay then. Griffith also shakes off the notion that Activision is flooding the market with peripheral-based games (Ride and all of the Guitar Hero games rely on peripherals), stating that the company only uses peripherals when they "define a magical experience that comes about when you marry hardware and software."
Other topics covered in the interview include Griffith's feelings about Natal and the Playstation Motion Controller, Activision's business in Europe and the continued importance of retail.
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
The Dark Wayne @ Jun 23rd 2009 8:04PM
Fuck you mike!
koehler83 @ Jun 23rd 2009 8:06PM
+1 for beating me to it
Sly @ Jun 23rd 2009 8:23PM
FUCK YOU ACTIVISION!
fixed.
ohyeahcola @ Jun 23rd 2009 8:43PM
Everyone at activision is an immature asshole
Blind Io @ Jun 23rd 2009 10:47PM
Can someone tell me what all this hate is on Activision? I was mad when EA fucked everyone over with their DRM (Spore pre-order victim) but I don't get what this is all about.
BananaBoat @ Jun 23rd 2009 11:27PM
It's about Activision investing money for the production of Brutal Legend, then dropping it like it was a hot bag of shit. EA swooped in, and gave them the rest of the money to create it, and then it became a huge hit at E3, and one of the most anticipated games of the year. Seeing the potential success, Activision trolled EA (and all of us, who knows if the game will get released any time soon) and is now trying to get a cut of the profits, or to get the game shut down, or whatever (god knows what they really want).
I'd be pissed, but I'm still pissed at EA, so it isn't as if two wrongs make a right.
Then again, if I don't get to play Brutal Legend this year, I'm going to be very, very pissed, and I'm going to make a note not to buy anything from Activision.
Oh wait, Modern Warfare 2. Scratch that, I fail.
Sayed @ Jun 24th 2009 12:23AM
Activision i have jusr one thing to say to you:
YOU GO TO HELL! YOU GO TO HELL AND U DIE!
x_X
Blind Io @ Jun 24th 2009 12:59AM
@BananaBoat
Wow....wasn't expecting an intelligent response for at least a couple more posts. Although this seemed to be going on before the whole Activision/EA/Brutal Legend thing (and the same thing happened to The Watchmen and it came out on time...I wouldn't worry too much)
Luke @ Jun 23rd 2009 8:04PM
To be perfectly honest, the only title I'm excited for from that lineup is Modern Warfare 2...
Also, I thought MW2 wasn't a Call of Duty...so why is this CEO saying it'll be the biggest CoD yet? What a pompous douche.
solarshadows074 @ Jun 23rd 2009 8:06PM
activision: the douchebag of gaming industry.
"Well, Rock Band is the most similar title on the market, but Guitar Hero outsells it by four to one in the US; in Europe that number is ten to one."
solarshadows074 @ Jun 23rd 2009 8:10PM
and by the way, they're complete pricks because they just go around telling "oh hey have you seen our new games? ZOMG better than yours. HAHA, bai"
MrSpaceCowboy @ Jun 23rd 2009 8:17PM
I'd hate to think what that ratio is in Australia. Rock Band 1 limped into stores last November, 12 months after it's US release with 0 promotion. RB 2 doesn't have a release date yet (I had to import it). It wouldn't surprise me if some casual gamers here didn't even know it existed.
At least The Beatles: RB is getting a little bit of promotion over here. If I don't see it on store shelves here 9/9/09, I'll be pissed.
VaultICEE @ Jun 23rd 2009 8:23PM
As much as I love Rock Band and Harmonix, they really have no one to blame but themselves for all of the bad taste from Australia, and even Europe.
Too bad Guitar Hero is still on top by a long shot over there.
Mazrael @ Jun 23rd 2009 8:47PM
Rock Band had the crappy hardware... which Europe are still waiting to see the 2nd wave.. although we'll possibly see RB3 first.. also, wasn't Rock Band, Xbox 360 timed exclusive in the region?? EA need to pull their finger out.. because Actshition are over flowing the market with crap..
Only game I'm tempted with is MW2.. they can shove the rest up their ass..
E.J. @ Jun 24th 2009 5:06PM
Activision is a douchebag for telling the truth?
stormtrooper190 PSN= (im not telling you that) @ Jun 24th 2009 7:47PM
well here in Iceland RB1 never came here. wee now just resently just got RB2 with no perinsipals .
Kill a mans jiro @ Jun 23rd 2009 8:10PM
I sure hope people see sence by Call of duty Modern warfare 32 and Guitar hero 19.
rambodude72 @ Jun 23rd 2009 8:38PM
and hopefully you will be able to spell by then too
chispito @ Jun 23rd 2009 8:48PM
If you must complain about spelling, then the least you could do is use a complete sentence, with proper capitalization and punctuation.
@Kill - If you would like to look like someone who is good at spelling without having to put in the work, consider using a plugin like http://www.iespell.com/ or just using a different browser that has a spell check utility turned on by default (I recommend Chrome).
Kill a mans jiro @ Jun 23rd 2009 9:44PM
Thanks chispito
But i dont take notice of dicks like rambodude72 who have to complain about spelling :)
Kill a mans jiro @ Jun 23rd 2009 9:47PM
Just read over my sentence, lmfao i misspelled sense and wrote sence i absolutely CANNOT believe that he took his time out to make a rude comment about that lol
rambodude72 @ Jun 23rd 2009 10:15PM
I have a lot of spare time, but i can't believe you took all that time to make 2 posts about me being a dick.
Kill a mans jiro @ Jun 24th 2009 12:32AM
Well less than 10seconds had probs past since the 1st comment, took me about 3seconds to read over my post, and seing as i was alreay by default in the chatbox i took another couple seconds out my time to make a second one....
B3astofthe3ast @ Jun 23rd 2009 8:11PM
"define a magical experience that comes about when you marry hardware and software."
More like the magical experience that comes about when you marry hardware and a giant pricetag!
MrSpaceCowboy @ Jun 23rd 2009 8:21PM
I remember when my 360 Wireless Networking dongle married my 360 Software.
The wedding was crap but the reception was good.
Seishino @ Jun 23rd 2009 9:13PM
"define a magical experience that comes about when you marry hardware and software."
I know what he meant, but am I the only one who finds this mildly creepy? It sounds like he is trying to convince a chicken and a My Little Pony to breed.
B3astofthe3ast @ Jun 23rd 2009 8:44PM
Ay, I was at that same wedding.
Magetto @ Jun 23rd 2009 8:11PM
I wonder if releasing all of these music hero games in the same year is a good idea. Wont they cut into the sales of each other?
rambodude72 @ Jun 23rd 2009 8:40PM
you would sure think that and that people havestarted getting tired of these games yet i still find myself wanting guitar hero 5
ArchiGamer @ Jun 23rd 2009 8:12PM
If Dante's Inferno was about the sins of games, Activision would be Lucifer, Pacther would be Judas, Kotick is Brutus, and Jack Thopmson would be Cassius.
Girugamuk (Moptimus Slimed) @ Jun 23rd 2009 8:32PM
And we're Krat-I mean Dante right?
ArchiGamer @ Jun 23rd 2009 9:18PM
When referring to the poem, then yes we are Dante.
oldgamer @ Jun 23rd 2009 8:12PM
"This is the best competitive position we've ever had," said Griffith
I would think that the best competitive position that Activision has ever had was during the Atari 2600 days. Back in the day, the very best Atari games were made by Activision. No one even came close. There were other companies that made games for the Atari as well, but no one did it better than did Activision.
Cesaria (seh-sare-ee-ah) @ Jun 23rd 2009 8:14PM
I wish I didn't have to give Activision my money by buying Modern Warfare 2, but it looks like I have no choice. Is there a way I can directly wire my money to Infinity Ward for a copy???
U U D D L R L R B A SELECT START @ Jun 23rd 2009 8:17PM
Half.com, Gamestop, ebay....etc etc etc....they won't see a dime ^^
Sly @ Jun 23rd 2009 8:22PM
@konami code
he still wants to give IW money though. they don't get anything either if you buy used.
Mehl @ Jun 24th 2009 5:27AM
Download it and send Grant Collier a check p;
mietha CAG @ Jun 23rd 2009 8:14PM
When this fucking piece of shit company finally crashes and burns, it will be a very happy day for me.
Uncontrol @ Jun 23rd 2009 8:17PM
whyyyyyyyyyy did they merge with blizzard
ArchiGamer @ Jun 23rd 2009 8:20PM
Because every evil empire must expand by conquering a peaceful kingdom.
Mazrael @ Jun 23rd 2009 9:00PM
Germany - Belgium, France, Germany, Austria, Poland, Czechoslovakia, Romania, Denmark, Yugoslavia, Greece, Norway, the Netharlands, Hungary, Belarus, Ukraine, Luxembourg, Libya, Tunisia, East Prussia, Latvia, Lithuania & Estonia
Settlers - Native Americans...
Spanish - Mayans
Romans - England/Wales, Spain, France, Greece, the Middle East and the North African coastal region
Alexander the Great (Macedon) - Egypt, Persia, India, Greece..
Sith - Jedi....
Get the picture?
Sly @ Jun 23rd 2009 8:21PM
thank you joystiq for the post. i don't think i've laughed that much in a LONG time.
VaultICEE @ Jun 23rd 2009 8:21PM
For those who didn't read the article:
Activision: "Quantity > Quality, we don't care if our games suck as long as they're outselling our competitors, ROCK BAND SUCKS"
They are seriously the butthole of the industry, no doubt.
WhiteShield @ Jun 23rd 2009 8:43PM
and lets see how much money we can squeeze out of people with peripherals for games and not do anything original again since we have guitar hero and CoD MW
sony boy @ Jun 23rd 2009 8:24PM
all the hero games COMBINED can't beat the beatles...well except maybe dj hero.
VaultICEE @ Jun 23rd 2009 8:31PM
As much as I dislike Activision, I hope DJ Hero redeems the franchise
Tyler @ Jun 23rd 2009 8:25PM
Not trying to fanboy RB but I do wish more Guitar Hero consumers would give Rock Band a shot. It truly is a blast and I think Harmonix deserves a bigger piece of the pie.
AvA (ice~) @ Jun 23rd 2009 8:50PM
but most consumers are scared. they trust guitar hero and it's the only thing they'll buy unfortunately. I know a lot of people who refuse to play Rock Band because they claim "Guitar Hero is the best and rock band SUCKS!!!" when, really, they can't say that cause they've never even played RB, thick headed bastards...lol
Mazrael @ Jun 23rd 2009 9:06PM
Most consumers don't know what goes on.. if GH somehow went to Koei or Atari, they would still buy it because it's GH.. they most likley have no clue that HMX made GH in the first place, and now NS have it, it's consistently getting worse just like their other franchise..
Young_Nastyman @ Jun 24th 2009 1:36AM
When Rock Band came out their excuse was, "only the drums look interesting and besides guitar only is better" then when World Tour and Rock Band 2 came out "I like circles better than rectangles" became the new one
both of those are real excuses told to me by a GH fanboy, btw