Comments on: On Bungie, Activision, and Speculation

By: Nicholas Brown

Nicholas Brown — Fri, 30 Apr 2010 05:09:12 +0000

More than that the person that controls the IP can avoid bad versions of those types of connections. It also makes it easier for the developers to tell a coherent story that’s believable and fun. Nothing ruins a hard-core fan’s day faster than a glaring continuity error.

Personally I’m happy to hear that the people of IW are sticking together as a studio and I’m happy to hear that Bungie and Activision are working together on a new IP.

By: Matthew Weigel

Matthew Weigel — Thu, 29 Apr 2010 22:00:51 +0000

I was just reading that the Halo franchise has made $1.5B in revenue since Halo first launched. Modern Warfare 2, all by itself, hit $1B in revenue two months after launch. I’m sure Activision intends to more fully exploit Bungie’s next IP than Microsoft did (for one thing, hitting more platforms more quickly than Microsoft let Bungie), but those kinds of numbers don’t really support ditching IW in favor of Bungie.

Also, Darius: ‘The deal, termed an “alliance” by both Bungie and Activision executives, took nearly a year to lock down, Tipple said.’ -http://kotaku.com/5527137/bungies-first-post+halo-game-coming-to-all-platforms

Just the same, this comic is funny… http://www.cad-comic.com/sillies/20100429/

(I’m not sure if I can embed HTML, so I’m just leaving raw links, sorry)

By: Darius Kazemi

Darius Kazemi — Thu, 29 Apr 2010 19:14:23 +0000

The best kind of deal is one where the developer owns the IP, absolutely. That’s where the real money is. Sure, Halo makes X amount of money. But look at all those crazy deals with soft drink companies and movie studios and whatever else. The person who controls the IP controls the long-term profitability. From the details that have been made public so far, it looks like Bungie was negotiating from the power position here. And rightly so!

By: Dan

Dan — Thu, 29 Apr 2010 19:06:51 +0000

Current events aside, are these kinds of partnerships the best way to go for developers? Will we see more proven developers own their IP and negotiate the publishing of their titles?

By: Darius Kazemi

Darius Kazemi — Thu, 29 Apr 2010 19:02:47 +0000

CoD/IW are a cash cow for Activision. Activision is smart enough to know that firing the IW heads would cost them a shitload of money in the short term (restaffing) and in the long term (possible damage to the franchise). Believe me, Activision would much rather have an IW-led CoD6 AND a new Bungie IP on their hands than whatever it is they have now.

By: Darius Kazemi

Darius Kazemi — Thu, 29 Apr 2010 18:59:22 +0000

It’s possible that the press release was timed in relation to IW stuff. But the actual deal? No way in hell. If IW was trying for a Bungie-style buyback, that would still be independent from any ATVI/Bungie deals.

By: Dan

Dan — Thu, 29 Apr 2010 18:46:30 +0000

Not directly related. Say West and Zampella catch wind of the deal that Bungie is working out with Activision. Or better yet, they look at what Bungie was able to do with Microsoft. They think that this arrangement would be great for Infinity Ward and proceed to try to work with Activision toward that goal. After a lot of back and forth over several months, West and Zampella are dismissed for insubordination.

The timing of this announcement is suspect. Infinity Ward is bleeding talent and Activision is being raked over the public opinion coals. What better way to improve the image of the company and appease shareholders by announcing this partnership with Bungie.

By: Michel

Michel — Thu, 29 Apr 2010 18:42:13 +0000

The only crazy link I could see is knowledge of an imminent (or already signed) Bungie deal influenced how Activision handled West and Zampella. Would they have been fired if Activision wasn’t getting Bungie?