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Vivendi selling off its shares in ActiVision for $8.1 billion

MusicallyInspiredMusicallyInspired
edited July 2012 in General Chat
Saw this this morning and thought it was very interesting. I like this quote: "Let's think about this for a moment: The world's biggest publisher, with the world's most valuable game property, is a liability."

http://www.digitallydownloaded.net/2012/07/activision-blizzard-is-up-for-sale.html?m=1

Also this is what I've been expecting for a long time now. And I hope it happens. Leave the industry to indie developers....and Valve.

http://www.digitallydownloaded.net/2012/06/e3-proved-games-industry-is-headed.html

Comments

  • GaryCXJkGaryCXJk
    edited July 2012
    Didn't it go downhill with Activision when Vivendi took most of the shares anyway?

    Does this mean a little less executive meddling?
  • DAISHIDAISHI
    edited July 2012
    I dunno. It's a good thing, but the direction in which games will go is not. Since they'll mostly be Angry Birds rip offs.
  • JedExodusJedExodus
    edited July 2012
    More proof that the mass AAA model isn't sustainable. The whole publishing business might even be on the way out the door in due time.

    I don't think game quality'll suffer if you continue to look in the right places.
  • RetroVortexRetroVortex
    edited July 2012
    Big Publisher projects are just too big and generic to be sustainable in the long-term.

    They will never make a "Mario" as it were, and they tend to over-invest in IPs. Eventually rotting them out from the inside.

    And the way they abuse the smaller companies they buy is also unsustainable.

    Its better to nurture that talent. Put several smaller teams and projects to good use, with independant managers, than pulling the best parts out and trying to merge them like some odd ball of jellybabies! XD

    If they acted more like a community, as opposed to a dictatorship, then they would do much better.

    EDIT: Even though THQ haven't been doing so well, I think they might go the right direction.
    Same with Nintendo and Sega.
  • JedExodusJedExodus
    edited July 2012
    RetroVortex wrote: »
    EDIT: Even though THQ haven't been doing so well, I think they might go the right direction.
    Same with Nintendo and Sega.

    Sega doesn't really have any good studios that come to my mind when I think of them. I reckon Ubisoft and Square-Enix are more likely to develop interesting IPs.

    Truth be told I prefer handheld gaming over console gaming, the titles are usually that bit riskier and out because they have smaller budgets :)
  • RetroVortexRetroVortex
    edited July 2012
    JedExodus wrote: »
    Sega doesn't really have any good studios that come to my mind when I think of them. I reckon Ubisoft and Square-Enix are more likely to develop interesting IPs.

    Truth be told I prefer handheld gaming over console gaming, the titles are usually that bit riskier and out because they have smaller budgets :)

    I agree with you there on handheld gaming.

    But as for Sega, while they don't have brilliant inhouse stuff (the Total War stuff and Sonic Generations were good though), they do publish some good stuff.

    And likewise, future releases look fairly positive for them.

    Square Enix have great portable stuff, and Eidos stuff, though they really need to work on their own IPs that are either ignored or bodged up (like Final Fantasy).

    Kingdom hearts seems to be nicely back on track though. And Dragon Quest has never been stronger!

    Ubisoft aaaree....um.... Ubisoft.

    Such an odd company.

    They make great games, and have some very strong IPs, but their business decisions are very questionable.

    Especially their DRM. People LOATHE it, they despise it, but Ubisoft ignore it quite blindly.

    I think they would benefit from taking a page out of CD Project, and loosen the grip on DRM, possibly just getting rid of it completely.

    Bethesda? They are Bethesda, they pretty much do what they want. To give Zenimax some credit, they don't seem to be as intrusive as some companies.

    Valve are basically God-tier. Far ahead of the pack.
  • MusicallyInspiredMusicallyInspired
    edited July 2012
    Valve will always be making great games. Always. No matter what happens to the market. Because they're geniuses.
  • RetroVortexRetroVortex
    edited July 2012
    MusicallyInspired wrote: »
    Valve will always be making great games. Always. No matter what happens to the market. Because they're geniuses.

    In a dream world, Valve would buy Activision, and turn them around into something epic.

    There would be Valve, and Valvevision! XD

    But real life is never that fun sadly... :(
  • Shadowknight1Shadowknight1
    edited July 2012
    The thing with E3, it's not a good indication for all game companies anymore. Nintendo is a huge example of this. They didn't save their big announcements for E3 and haven't been for a while. They don't see E3 as a forum for their fans, they see it as a forum for investors. When they want to show the fans something, such as the 3DS XL or the news about Smash being co-developed by Namco, they seem to save that for the Nintendo Direct things. The thing is, and this is something Reggie fils-Aime said that I agree with, the "fans" are insatiable. Heck, fans have been clamoring for Pikmin 3 for ages now. You'd think that wouldn't be a problem with how franchises get exploited, but it's taken this long. And not only did they finally announce Pikmin 3, they announced a New Super Mario AND their new IP NintendoLand. And the overwhelming opinion was, "Okay, that's fine. What else do you have? Where are Zelda and Smash Bros. and Metroid?" No one looks at it realistically anymore. For those three examples, Zelda: Skyward Sword hasn't even been out a year, the very most we could've expected would've been a piece of art, Smash Bros. has barely started development, and I think that the Metroid brand has been "tarnished" by the "flop" of Metroid: Other M*. Personally, I think Nintendo's going to be fine. I don't know why Activision insists on simply repackaging Call of Duty every year instead of doing something different, but it'll catch up with them eventually.

    *I do not agree with the majority of people as far as Other M goes, I felt it was a pretty good game, but I'm in the minority so my opinion has about as much worth as a barrel of crap.
  • SlamHammerSlamHammer
    edited July 2012
    I like this trend, it's almost like watching the dinosaurs die out and the tiny mammals starting to replace them.
    I love indie games, they're fresh, have original graphics and artwork (Botanicula and Tiny & Big come to mind) and also have unique gameplay.

    Publishers like EA seem to want to have this "Universal Game Interface" spread across all of their published games.
    When I tried Splintercell conviction, it seemed strangely familiar like I had played it before as Mass Effect 2, (The running and diving behind cover mechanics etc).

    I hope this trend starts in the Music Industry too, music went to hell once they stopped calling themselves "Record Companies" and became the "Music Industry"
  • DAISHIDAISHI
    edited July 2012
    The majority of indie games won't be Sword and SwOrcery style ventures but ripoffs of Angry Birds and Doodle Jump. The process will repeat except with even lower barriers to crap flooding the market.
  • SlamHammerSlamHammer
    edited July 2012
    DAISHI wrote: »
    The majority of indie games won't be Sword and SwOrcery style ventures but ripoffs of Angry Birds and Doodle Jump. The process will repeat except with even lower barriers to crap flooding the market.

    We already have crap flooding the market at $59.99 a title
    I'd rather pay for $19.99 crap than $59.99 crap

    Also the following are some indie titles aren't Angry Birds or Doodle Jump ripoffs

    Legend of Grimrock
    Tiny and Big
    Botanicula
    Krater
    Avernum
  • GaryCXJkGaryCXJk
    edited July 2012
    And those are offset by the crapload of Bejeweled clones.

    Just like with the more commercial commercial games, the indie market is also being flooded by poop.

    Also, how many non-core gamers have heard of how many of these games in your list? And I'm missing a ton of stuff on that list that should have been more popular, like Super Meat Boy or BIT.TRIP RUNNER, but aren't.
  • MusicallyInspiredMusicallyInspired
    edited July 2012
    Either way, there's more freedom for developers to do whatever they want in the indie market than there is in the AAA publisher market. As a result, we get fantastic creative games along with shovelware like Angry Birds.
  • KuroShiroKuroShiro
    edited July 2012
    MusicallyInspired wrote: »
    Valve will always be making great games. Always. No matter what happens to the market. Because they're geniuses.

    Too bad they hardly make games anymore. :(
  • Darth MarsdenDarth Marsden
    edited July 2012
    RetroVortex wrote: »
    In a dream world, Valve would buy Activision, and turn them around into something epic.

    There would be Valve, and Valvevision! XD
    That already exists. It's the look Valve employees get on their faces when you ask when Half-Life 3's coming out.
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