Judge: Activision's suit against EA and former IW heads can proceed

one of the few times you can support ea without looking like an ass

So wait, two of my least favorite companies are going to go head to head and try to rip each others jugulars out?

*gets popcorn*

This should be good.

http://i276.photobucket.com/albums/kk19/Threddd/console2.png

Can't we all just get along?

EA "conspired" with West and Zampella? Why is Activision even trying to get this to court?

Cryharder

@kgoo867

The fact of the matter is that Activision paid West and Zampella ZERO dollars in bonuses on a game (MW2) that they delivered on time and that grossed over a billion dollars. They were contractually obligated to pay tens of millions in bonuses, and they have paid zero.

The fact of the matter is that Activision witheld millions more in bonuses from rank-and-file employees in a (failed) attempt to keep them from leaving, even though they were contractually obligated to pay them out at the end of the fiscal year.

I love all of the Activision apologists who come in here crying about contracts. Bobby Kotick shits on contracts, stuffs them into his McRibs sandwich, and eats them for breakfast.

HALP! we made a good modern war-game, followed by a crappy one! Now a rival company made a completely different modern war-game, which is ALSO a sequel! Lawsuit,??????, PROFIT!!!!

@copa

You love the Activision apologists, and I'll love the people who can't stop crying about Activision. Deal? ;)

@kgoo867
kgoo867 ACTUALLY has the 'facts of the matter'?? Why didn't you say so sooner? So glad to hear that YOU actually are in possession of the FACTS, you can save both sides millions of dollars of legal fees. You need to head on down to the Court House and present those FACTS ASAP! The judge should believe you since only a total A-Hole would claim to actually know the facts of this case when they really don't. If only we had a guy like you to help clear up the Kennedy Assassination Conspiracy or tell us where the WMD's really were!

@kgoo867
The fact of the matter is Activision was formed by specifically sniping Atari's best and brightest away from Nolan Bushnell & Co. One of the main reasons why many Atari designers were not allowed to take credit for their work. But skip forward a few years to the period that you're talking about.

The fact of the matter is Activision, fearing competition from Scratch, bought out the developers, kept code belonging to Numack and Freestyle Games, refused to return the Numack controller prototypes and essentially sabotaged a competing product to the point that the ONLY people allowed to keep their jobs at Freestyle games are the people who have to be retained for the court case. So before jumping on Activisions side, just remember what other court case they're fight right now. Okay, cookie?

@copa

Bonus compensation in the games industry is *never* "contractually obligated". It is always discretionary. Meaning that, at any time, the publisher (or individual studio) can decide to not give out bonuses anymore or change the bonus percentages without telling the employees.

That's why you never hear about game developers suing a publisher for "bonus compensation" and winning. Because, legally, they aren't obligated to give them anything. The only time this hasn't been true was with EA Spouse. And that lawsuit wasn't about bonuses, it was about whether or not programmers fell into a particular legal loophole in regards to overtime pay. A loophole that has since been closed and game programmers are back to being screwed out of it again.

All major companies (and most smaller ones) have contracts like this, from the lowest developer all the way up to Studio Heads. West and Zampella are not "contractually obligated" to anything - except probably NOT having meetings with EA executives while still employed by Activision. I find it somewhat ironic that, while West and Zampella *admittedly* violated their contract with Activision, people expect Activision to continue to adhere to a broken contract and the fantastical "contractually obligated" bonus compensation that supposedly comes with it.

Hopefully, Activision burns. Hard.

And by some sort of magic, Blizzard isn't partnered up with them anymore. Then, everything will be right.

@kgoo867 "disappear into irrelevance"... AHAHAHAHAHA. Man, you're delusional. Bioware and DICE alone are probably enough to keep EA up for a long time. And EA actually comes out with new IP once in a while. If anything, Activision will kill itself with market saturation. Tony Hawk has proven that no franchise is gonna last forever. The only thing in terms of fresh IP Acti has going for it is Bungie and possibly Blizzard if Titan is actually good.

@kgoo867 What I find hilarious is that you can claim to know who is right and who is wrong in this case as if you were involved in it and are privy to internal company documents. Where is the evidence? When did they release that to the public? Oh yeah, they haven't. All you have to go on is Activision and EA's trash talking back and forth. It may be your opinion, but it's hardly fact!

By God, if Activision f*cks up Dead Space...

If companeeth make too mutch money, den dey aren't allowed to complain kus dey are bad enuf. Activithon and EA make oodlth and oodlth of money thso dey are bad people.

@kgoo867

EA has several multi-million copy selling games/series.

I would very much like to see your justification that those games aren't turning a profit.

Activision == Greed.

How much money did Activision make out of Infinity Ward?

@A Sandwich

I completely agree that Rovio is a one-hit wonder, and chances are they will be little more.

That being said, Vesterbacka's point is correct. Here are some of the games that I have purchased for 99 cents or less on my iOS device:

Peggle
Civilization Revolutions
Street Fighter IV
Puzzle Agent
Rage HD
Monkey Island

Any of these games would (and in several cases, already have) sell for a retail value of at least $30 on the DS, at least $40 on the 3DS, and very likely at least $40 on the NGP. I think the "pieces of plastic" that Vesterbacka is referring to are DS cartridges, not discs for console games.

Nintendo is desperately attempting to preserve their rights to charge huge markups to play the same game on their platform. But in the next couple of years, fewer and fewer consumers will be buying that argument. Or $40+ portable games.

Both iOS and DS platforms have a ton of crappy games and a few great games.

Nintendo has been viciously attacking mobile games,

and * that crappy games are exclusive to the non-DS platforms.

and implying that crappy games are exclusive to the non-DS platforms.

S-U-G-G-E-S-T-I-N-G

@Trogdorwhore

Sorry, dude, but I feel like there's a bit of hypocrisy here.

Anonymous engages in illegal, destructive behavior. Instead of engaging in dialog or an exchange of ideas, they just tear shit up.

It was wrong when they did it to support Assange, and it is wrong when they do it to attack Sony. It's kind of ridiculous to support them, but only when they are trying to shut down someone you don't agree with.

Also, you are conflating Mr. Hotz with this group. I understand and respect the arguments of people who don't think George should have hacked PS3 firmware, but he is the opposite of Anonymous in every way:

- He uses his real name, and does not cower behind a veil of anonymity. He openly describes exactly what he is doing.

- He has actually accomplished something of value in his life, including groundbreaking work in robotics and 3D imaging

- His work on the PS3 has a firm basis in his work on the iOS, which the Library of Congress found to be legal and protected.

This is not a guarantee that he will win all of his legal battles with Sony,

criminal behavior like Anonymous.

but he is not engaging in clearly thuglike,