Bobby, Bobby, Bobby...

[Elethiem]

I guess Activision won't be making Star Wars games in the future.

[Daarksoul]

Can I see this cited?

I've seen estimates that there are only about 1 million US subs left.
And that the other 4 million non-Asian subs are split between Canada, Mexico, South America, Europe and Australia.
Though according to Bioware you can make money with 500,000 US subs so it's not bad.
But Blizz is definitely padding their numbers.
In fact, if they had a lot of US subs, you bet Bobby Kotick would be shouting it from the ceiling.... they don't.

[nazrakin]

Aren't Chinese players limited to a couple hours a day max by law? So they would legally only be putting in 14 hours a week. You also have to figure that Blizzard doesn't get all the money from China, the company that hosts the game over there gets a cut.

Actually, I didn't know they were limited to 14hrs, that drives them down to around $3 a month. I did mention Netease, I have no idea how the monies are distributed between them.

[iggie]

Can I see this cited?

Playing a LOT from China, I spent around 1/3rd of the average US Sub per month. Note that Taiwan is subscription based though, and people tend to lump that in with Mainland China's WoW.

Aren't Chinese players limited to a couple hours a day max by law

It's misinformed hogwash. Typical response I get most of the time to.

There is an internal hour cap system in place where those who don't have a valid Chinese identity card (Like SSN) linked to their accounts get their loot/experience substantially cut within a few hours of play a day. It's not all that hard for said child to use mommies card though. That being said, home internet here for the typically family is absolute trash, so many players flock to internet cafes, which often offer an overnight deal for fairly cheap. BUT, the internet cafes require a Chinese ID card to get access.

Pretty much anyone under 18 has a hard time playing at internet cafes.

[Karteli]

Can I see this cited?

Theres info here, which coincides with Netease data on revenues from China Game Room accounts. Also, Blizzard was reporting gains in Chinese accounts (with the exception of Q3 2011). Even when net "subscriptions" were decreasing earlier this year, Blizzard was reporting gains in China.

I would expect that it's between 4 and 5 million currently for EU / NA subscriptions. As noted on the graph, Blizzard ceased giving out concrete numbers (West and East) ~ 2010.

[Blznsmri]

Theres info here, which coincides with Netease data on revenues from China Game Room accounts. Also, Blizzard was reporting gains in Chinese accounts (with the exception of Q3 2011). Even when net "subscriptions" were decreasing earlier this year, Blizzard was reporting gains in China.

I would expect that it's between 4 and 5 million currently for EU / NA subscriptions. As noted on the graph, Blizzard ceased giving out concrete numbers (West and East) ~ 2010.

-snip-

I already knew all this, I was referring to the whole Chinese subs thing...

[BatteredSausage]

On a serious note, what the fuck does this prick know about computers games and what the people want?
All he gives a shit about is cash...be all and end all.
The quicker this idiot gets gone the better for everyone it will be.

[Blznsmri]

On a serious note, what the fuck does this prick know about computers games and what the people want?

'

He's the head of one of the most successful Video Game Publishers in the World. That's a pretty decent resume right there.

[Lemmiwink]

In my humble opinion, Bobby Kotick and Activision were bad news for WoW. I remember how much I loved WoW up to the point where Activision took over. Blizzard really worked their asses off to please their 8 million + subscribers in BC and WotLK, they really cared about content. One thing they were always lazy about though, was the servers.

How many EU/US servers have been extremely underpopulated/unbalanced? Even when whole Battlegroups were completely in chaos due to storms of complaints on realm and battlegroup forums, Blizzard sat on their high horse and said they would fix the problems within a few months. They never did, they made the LFD tool instead and made players transfer off those servers. But, at least they were a company that cared about their game, if not their customers.

When activision came in, they introduced TOC, micro transactions by the bucketloads, Premium subscription with remote AH, guild chat etc. Ypu could really see that making literally hundreds of millions a year wasn't enough for them. They dumbed down the game so that everyone and their mother could start WoW and pwn in it, no content was too much. And they left the previous hardcore players with hard modes and a recruitment pool where you would need to train every third recruit to not be cleaved/stand in fire etc.

Activision Blizzard has been so greedy the last 3 years that they have definately risen to my top 5 list of evil companies with Apple and Microsoft challenging Activison Blizzard hard for the top spot. Never before have I seen so little being given for a pretty high subscription fee considering my phone company includes more data traffic than what I use in WoW for a lower price!

I used to love WoW, I don't anymore and that mr. Kotick, is due to your and Activisions ubelievable greed. kkthxbai

[tripplebooya]

He's a douche and even though I love blizzard, and played wow for 7 years, its things like this that make me want swtor to burn wow to the ground.

[vizzle]

'

He's the head of one of the most successful Video Game Publishers in the World. That's a pretty decent resume right there.

He's a business man, not a game developer.

[Karteli]

I already knew all this, I was referring to the whole Chinese subs thing...

Ah I see.

Here is an article explaining some numbers, as WoW relates to China. The Chinese pay about 6 cents per hour, charged on Game Room passes (anytime minutes essentially):

Blizzard’s World of Warcraft: The China Growth Story
March 11, 2010
http://www.sinletter.com/2010/03/bli...-growth-story/

Also there is some info on government restrictions:

World of Warcraft China Examined
November 03, 2005
http://www.gamingsteve.com/archives/...all_the_ta.php

Also, doesn't this thread belong in WoW General Discussions, as it concerns Activision / WoW?

[Avelii]

He's the head of one of the most successful Video Game Publishers in the World. That's a pretty decent resume right there.

Which only means, he knows how to run a business. He has people working for him, who know what their customers want. Maybe you should read www . teamliquid.net/forum/viewmessage.php?topic_id=128252 (sorry, no links for me -.-) it shows alot what he personally thinks "people want".

[DaGhostDS]

Which only means, he knows how to run a business. He has people working for him, who know what their customers want. Maybe you should read http://www.teamliquid.net/forum/view...opic_id=128252 (sorry, no links for me -.-) it shows alot what he personally thinks "people want".

Well after reading that my hate for wow, Blizzard, Activision and MW3 has gone up by 500%, thank you sir

[otro]

Bobby, Bobby, Bobby ...

Digi, Digi, Digi....

RZA FTW


(it will be a clear message to the ones that know what im talkin about :P)

[iggie]

Well after reading that my hate for wow, Blizzard, Activision and MW3 has gone up by 500%, thank you sir

Justifies my boycott on future Blizzard products as well!

[Deleted]

I'm just surprised there's still people out there who try to justify Bobby's behaviour, though. This level of greed is becoming increasingly common across the board and leads to stagnation rather than innovation. So many decent gaming developers have sold out in recent years and the quality of their products has slipped significantly.

[Tonystark]

Justifies my boycott on future Blizzard products as well!

I boycotted any EA games and have stuck by it since Battlefield 2 was screwed over. EA hired the old Desert Combat modders and created Battle field 2 then fired them around release time and now hold all rights to their stuff.

SWOTOR is produced by EA and I broke the Boycott by playing this stress test weekend, well sort of as it didn't cost me.

[Kourvith]

This Kotick guy is really, really, REALLY an asshole.
I can't believe he's actually cocky, demonstrating how strong he is with WoW, as he's not the one who built its real success. He just took the train on the go.
Please, someone dump this guy out. It's franchise murdering at this point ...

[DeanyKong]

He's a business man, not a game developer.

Business is business. Development is development. You don't put the businessman in charge of programming. You don't put the programmer in charge of art. You don't put the artist in charge of balancing the budget. Everyone has an important part and like it or not Bobby's got a job, too. It's just more of a "I want the company to be HERE at the end of the year" than "I want a new cash shop mount in WoW by next week!"