Activision confidence bolstered by 2009 lineup, 'sparser' competition
by Richard Mitchell 
on Jun 23rd 2009 8:00PM
Speaking to
MCV,
Activision CEO Mike Griffith was feeling pretty confident about his company's position in the game industry this year. "This is the best competitive position we've ever had," said Griffith, adding, "Our titles are strong, and competitive titles are a little sparser than in the past." Griffith sounds particularly proud of the
Guitar Hero franchise, which he notes has its strongest lineup ever with
DJ Hero,
Guitar Hero 5 and
Band Hero all set to release this year (what, no love for
Van Halen?). Griffith also mentioned
Modern Warfare 2, which he says will be the biggest
Call of Duty ever (no surprises there). And let's not forget
Tony Hawk's Ride and Bizarre's upcoming racer,
Blur.
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.
